Create and Launch Surveys

Create and launch surveys in LinearB to collect structured feedback from engineering teams.

The survey flow guides you through Setup, Topics, Participants, Distribution, and Launch. You can use standard topics, add custom topics and questions, or combine both.

Survey Availability

Surveys are generally available (GA). Availability depends on your organization’s existing setup:

• Slack connected: Surveys become available automatically. Participants receive personalized survey magic links through Slack DMs.
• Microsoft Teams connected and Surveys already enabled: Existing customers continue using their existing link-based distribution.
• Neither condition applies: Connect Slack to make Surveys available automatically, or contact LinearB Support for manual enablement if you want to use Surveys without Slack.

Start a New Survey

1. In the navigation bar, click Productivity > Surveys.
2. Select the Management tab.
3. Click + Create new.

At any point before launch, click Save as draft to continue later or Discard survey to abandon the survey.

Step 1: Setup

On Name Your Survey, enter:

• Internal survey name: Used by editors to identify and manage the survey. Respondents do not see it.
• Display survey name: The title shown to respondents.

Each name can contain up to 100 characters.

Review the Survey Usage Guidelines. Custom questions must not request personally identifiable information such as names, email addresses, or contact details, and must not contain inappropriate, offensive, or discriminatory content.

Click Continue.

Step 2: Topics

Select one or more topics. Standard topics contain predefined questions with a 1–5 rating scale and an optional comment field for additional feedback. Expand a topic to preview and configure its questions.

Available standard topics include:

• AI-assisted development
• Tools and platforms
• Productivity and workflow
• Satisfaction and well-being
• Developer empowerment and professional growth
• Code quality and maintainability
• Collaboration and team culture
• Developer experience
• Engineering Productivity Snapshot - Extended
• Engineering Productivity Snapshot - Short version

Select at least one topic and ensure every selected topic contains at least one question before clicking Continue.

Set Questions as Required or Optional

Questions are optional by default. In an expanded standard or custom topic, use the Required/Optional control for each question to choose whether respondents must answer it before submitting the survey.

To make every question in a topic mandatory, click Require all at the topic level. Required and optional settings are retained when you save a draft, edit the survey, or duplicate it.

Add a Custom Topic

1. At the bottom of the Topics page, click + Add a topic.
2. Enter the custom topic name and save it.
3. The topic is selected automatically and marked Custom.
4. Use the pencil icon to rename the custom topic or the trash icon to delete it.

Add a Custom Question

1. Expand the custom topic.
2. Click + Add a question.
3. Under Answer type, select Rating scale (1–5), Open text, or Predefined answer choices.
4. Enter the question text. A question can contain up to 250 characters.
5. Configure the fields for the selected answer type.
6. Use the Required control to determine whether respondents must answer the question before submitting.
7. Click Save, or click Save & add another to save the question and immediately create another one.

Rating scale (1–5)

Respondents rate the statement on a five-point agreement scale. Phrase rating questions as positive statements when possible so results are easier to compare.

• Reverse scoring: Enable this when a higher response represents a worse outcome. LinearB reverses the score automatically so reporting remains aligned.
• Free text comment instruction (optional): Add a follow-up prompt for open-ended context. The instruction can contain up to 250 characters. The comment remains optional even when the rating question is required.

Predefined answer choices

Use predefined answer choices when respondents should select one answer from a fixed list, such as the primary AI tool they use.

• Add between 2 and 10 answer choices.
• Respondents can select one answer.
• If an Other option is included, respondents can provide a free-text answer.
• Predefined answer choices are not scored and do not contribute to topic or overall survey scores.

Selected-answer results, including free-text responses entered for Other, are displayed only when at least 5 responses are available for the relevant result.

Open text

Use an open-text question when you want a written response without a numeric rating or a predefined list of options. Respondents see a free-form text field that accepts up to 4,000 characters. Reverse scoring and the separate free-text comment instruction do not apply to this answer type.

Open-text responses are not scored and do not appear in the heatmap or scored analytics. To review them, export the survey results as a CSV. Each response appears in the Free text answer column, and its Grade value is N/A.

After saving, the question appears inside the custom topic. Use its pencil icon to edit it or its trash icon to delete it. Click + Add a question to add more questions.

Step 3: Participants

Choose who can respond:

• Unlimited Access: Makes the survey available to all eligible users in the organization.
• Managed Access: Limits the survey to eligible users in selected teams or groups.

For Managed Access, select one or more teams or groups from the organization hierarchy. Selecting a higher-level group includes its teams.

Step 4: Distribution

Review how participants will receive the survey. For Slack-connected customers, LinearB sends each participant a personalized, secure magic link through a Slack DM after launch. Participants can open their survey without logging in. The link remains active until you manually end the survey.

LinearB automatically matches team contributors to Slack accounts using contributor email. Slack Contributors appear under Settings > Users & Teams, where you can review their Slack connection details.

LinearB identifies selected participants who cannot receive the Slack notification. Select Manage User Details to review affected users. If automatic matching does not find the correct Slack account, manually assign it using the user’s Slack email or Member ID.

Existing customers with Microsoft Teams connected and Surveys already enabled continue using their existing link-based distribution. This existing access does not introduce a new Microsoft Teams survey distribution integration.

Step 5: Launch

Review the internal and display names, selected standard and custom topics, questions, required settings, and participants. Preview the survey if that option is shown, then click Launch Survey.

After launch, the survey appears in Management with a Running status. For Slack-connected customers, eligible participants receive personalized magic links through Slack DMs. Existing customers with Microsoft Teams connected and Surveys already enabled continue using their existing link-based distribution. The survey remains open until it is manually ended.

Respond to a Survey

For Slack distribution, open the personalized magic link in your Slack DM to respond without logging in. Existing customers using link-based distribution continue to access surveys through their existing links.

Required questions are marked with an asterisk (*), and optional questions are labeled (optional). A required predefined-answer question must have one option selected before submission. You can save partial progress without completing required questions, but you must answer every required question before final submission. If you try to submit early, LinearB indicates the unanswered required questions.

Manage the Survey After Launch

• Monitor response progress in the Management tab.
• Open the row menu to preview the survey, send a reminder, or duplicate it. For Slack distribution, reminders are sent through Slack DMs to participants who have not responded. You can send one reminder per survey every 24 hours; wait at least 24 hours after the previous reminder before sending another.
• Click End survey to close a running survey.
• Analyze submitted results from the Dashboard tab or click View results for a completed survey.

Troubleshooting

Related Articles

• Surveys in LinearB
• Managing Teams in LinearB