To get the most value from your M-Files solution, it's crucial to ask for feedback from your end users. While some users readily offer suggestions, others might be more reserved, even if they sense opportunities for improvement within the system. Therefore, taking the initiative to actively seek feedback is important. In this blog post, we'll share effective strategies to proactively gather valuable user input for optimizing your M-Files solution.
Engage in Face-to-Face Discussions
The quickest way to get feedback from your M-Files users is to simply talk to them directly and ask about what their M-Files experience is like. This can take the form of one-on-one discussions or group settings. However, it's important to note that, particularly in larger groups, feedback may be limited to individuals who feel at ease providing it directly.
Utilize Email
Inform your M-Files users who is the contact person for feedback via email. This contact could be your personal email address, or a shared inbox managed by the M-Files administrator team. Email provides a simple and convenient platform for sharing feedback and rarely requires additional setup.
Utilize a Microsoft Teams Channel (or Similar Platform)
Consider establishing an open M-Files feedback forum within a messaging application like Teams. This approach may be a good idea, as feedback shared in this forum is visible to others. Users can engage in discussions, offering other perspectives on the feedback. Additionally, your responses are transparent and accessible to everyone involved.
Send a Survey
If you have too many M-Files users to engage in a group discussion, or if you simply want to provide a way for people to deliver feedback totally anonymously, a survey can be a really powerful tool. With a survey, you can collect data in a systematic way, and even observe changes over time. However, people already suffer from survey fatigue, and may need some convincing to participate. Here are some steps that you can take to maximize the number of people who answer your survey:
- Explain to the users why it is important to respond to the survey, and how the data will be used to improve their M-Files experience. Tell people what benefit they will get from responding.
- Establish a reasonable response deadline, perhaps spanning a couple of weeks, allowing users enough time to answer in the middle of their daily responsibilities. Striking a balance is crucial – provide sufficient time without extending the deadline to the point where respondents may procrastinate or forget about the survey.
- Keep the survey short and ask only for actionable information. Avoid asking about something that is "nice to know" but can't be used to make a positive impact.
- Keep survey questions simple to ensure the respondents immediately understand what is asked from them. Multiple-choice questions should always offer suitable response options to minimize frustration for respondents. Any confusion or difficulty may discourage users from completing the survey.
- After the results are in, share a brief high-level overview of responses and let everyone know what steps will be taken next. This way, everyone, including those who didn't respond, can see that participating in the survey had real results. By showing users that their survey responses had an impact, they'll likely be more willing to participate in any future surveys you might do.
There are many survey tools available. For simple surveys, options such as Microsoft Forms or Google Forms are likely sufficient. You may need more advanced tools if you plan on doing deeper analysis, such as cross-referencing data.
Here are some example questions for an M-Files user survey, along with a description of the purpose of each question:
|
Question |
Question type |
Purpose of the question |
|
What is your department or location? |
Multiple-choice with departments, geographical locations etc. |
Use a question like this to find out how representative the group of respondents is. Depending on your survey tool, this data can also be used to compare the answers of different departments/regions. |
|
How would you rate your expertise with M-Files? |
Multiple-choice, listing different expertise levels, along with examples of what users on each level can do. |
Use to assess where the users are on their skill level. A lower than desired level probably means that the users would benefit from additional training. |
|
How do you usually access M-Files? |
Multiple-choice (M-Files Desktop, Web, Mobile) |
Use to find out which method is preferred by the users. May or may not be relevant in your case. |
|
How often do you use M-Files? |
Multiple-choice (Every day, once a week, less than once a week etc.) |
Use to find out if people are using M-Files as often as they should. |
|
How do you find information in M-Files? |
Multiple-choice where several options can be chosen (for example Common Views, Quick Search, Pinned items, Advanced Search…) |
This way you can check if the users should be made more aware of some search methods. |
|
What do you think is most useful to you in M-Files? |
Text box |
Open-ended feedback about what the respondent values in M-Files. |
|
What would you change in M-Files? |
Text box |
Open-ended feedback about areas to improve. |
In addition to these questions, you can have agree/disagree statements, for example:
- I understand the basic principles of M-Files.
- I have received enough training in using M-Files.
- M-Files makes my daily tasks at work easier.
- I know what metadata to use when saving documents to M-Files.
- I can find what I need in M-Files.
- I know where to get help in using M-Files.
Notice that in the examples above, almost all questions had a predefined list of options for answers. These kinds of questions provide numerical data and are therefore much easier to analyze than open-ended questions, especially if you have a lot of respondents.
Don't forget to include a chance for respondents to share their thoughts freely. These open-ended comments can offer valuable insights into both the strengths and areas for improvement within your M-Files solution.
Armed with these tips, you're now well-equipped to reach out for feedback from your M-Files users. It's definitely worth doing!
