Track participant progress with external tools

Learn more on the UI Academy: Integrations with User Interviews

Choose how to track participants

When your task is in another tool, such as a survey or usability testing tool, User Interviews needs a way to know who started and who finished. You can track participants in three ways.

Task platform options in your project

In your project, go to Research design > Research activity. Under Task Platform, choose one option:

A response time limit is only available with Integrations or Tracked custom link.

Which should I use?

1. Your tool has a connected-account integration. Use it. For Qualtrics, this is the option we recommend.
2. Your tool has a guided redirect integration. Use it.
3. Your tool has neither, but it can add a participant ID to its link and redirect participants when they finish. Use a tracked custom link. Check your tool's help for "URL parameters," "custom variables," or "redirect at the end."
4. Your tool can't do both. Use Paste link. To match participants to responses, collect an identifier in your task, such as the participant's name or email address, then mark each participant yourself.
5. You'll send the task link to participants yourself. Use No task link, then mark each participant yourself.

Supported tools

Set up a connected-account integration

1. In the navigation bar, click your initials and select Account settings. Then click the Integrations tab.
2. Find your tool and click Connect. Follow the prompts to sign in to the other tool.
3. In your project, go to Research design > Research activity. Under Task Platform, select Integrations, then select your tool and your survey or task.

Each tool has its own requirements. Follow the setup article for your tool in Supported tools. Accounts are connected for each user, not for your whole team.

Set up a guided redirect integration

1. In your project, go to Research design > Research activity.
2. Under Task Platform, select Integrations, then select your tool.
3. Follow the steps to paste your task link and add the redirect links to your tool. For UserTesting, paste the link to your Invite Network test.
4. Click Preview and Confirm set-up to test the experience before you launch. If you change your task link later, paste the new link before you test again.

Set up a tracked custom link (redirects)

Use a tracked custom link when your tool doesn't have an integration. Each participant gets a unique link with a tracking ID. When they finish, your tool sends them back to User Interviews with that ID, and we update their status.

Before you launch, test the full participant journey with Preview and Confirm set-up. Check that the participant's link includes their tracking ID, and that finishing the task sends them back to User Interviews. If the test fails or you need help, reach out to your CSM or contact our team.

1. Choose Tracked custom link. In your unmoderated project, go to Research design > Research activity. Under Task Platform, select Tracked custom link. The Use a tracked custom link panel opens.
2. Paste your task link. Paste the link from your testing tool into the field. We add ?iid=TRACKINGID to the end of the link. When we send the link to a participant, we replace TRACKINGID with their unique ID, such as pp_123456. A preview of a participant's link appears below the field.
   
   If your tool needs a different format, edit the link and keep TRACKINGID in it. For example:
   • A different parameter name: yourtaskurl.com/123456?participant_id=TRACKINGID
   • The ID in the link path: yourtaskurl.com/123456/TRACKINGID
3. Add the complete URL to your tool. Copy the redirect URL from the panel and paste it in your tool, where participants go when they finish. The URL is:
   https://www.userinterviews.com/project-task-events/custom_link_with_redirect/complete?iid=TRACKINGID
   In this URL, TRACKINGID is a placeholder. Replace it with your tool's variable for the participant ID, so your tool fills in each participant's ID when it sends them back. Keep iid= as it is, even if your task link uses a different parameter name. Your tool may also need to save the ID from the task link first, for example as embedded data in Qualtrics or a hidden value in Alchemer.
   
4. Add the incomplete URL for screen-outs. Learn how in Handle screen-outs.
5. Test it. Click Preview and Confirm set-up, then go through the participant flow. You may need to launch the project in your testing tool first. You get a message saying whether the redirect worked. When a participant completes the task and is redirected, their status changes to Submitted.
6. Click Save.

Participant ID variables by tool

Each tool writes its participant ID variable differently. Use your tool's variable in place of TRACKINGID in the complete and incomplete URLs. If you use a guided redirect integration, the setup steps give you the URLs to copy.

For tool-specific redirect help:

• Maze: Setting Up URL Redirects at the End of a Test
• Lyssna: Post-Test Redirects
• Optimal Workshop: Using external parameters or a recruitment provider
• Alchemer: Set Up Your Own Panel Integration
• Qualtrics Support

Set up redirects in Qualtrics

The Qualtrics integration is the easiest option. Use these steps only if you'd rather use a tracked custom link.

1. Add iid as embedded data. In Qualtrics, open Survey flow. Select Add a new element here > Embedded data, and name the field iid. Leave the value blank, so Qualtrics reads it from the participant's link. Move this element to the very top of the Survey flow, then select Apply.
2. Add the complete URL to every End of survey element. If your survey doesn't have an End of survey element yet, select Add a New Element Here > End of Survey in Survey flow.
   
   In Survey flow, find each End of survey element that participants reach when they finish, including any inside a Branch. Select Customize > Override survey options > Redirect to a URL, and paste:
   https://www.userinterviews.com/project-task-events/custom_link_with_redirect/complete?iid=${e://Field/iid}
3. Add the incomplete URL for screen-outs. On the End of survey element inside your screen-out Branch, use the same steps, but paste the incomplete URL:
   https://www.userinterviews.com/project-task-events/custom_link_with_redirect/incomplete?iid=${e://Field/iid}
4. Test it. In User Interviews, select Preview and Confirm set-up and go through the survey. Test both the complete and the screen-out paths before you launch.

Handle screen-outs

Some participants qualify in User Interviews but screen out in your tool, for example on a tech check or an extra screening question. When your tool sends them to our incomplete URL, we mark them Incomplete, move them to the Removed tab, and open their spot for a new participant. You don't need to update them yourself.

If your tool can't send screen-outs to the incomplete URL, screened-out participants stay in Started and keep their spot. You can mark them Incomplete yourself only after your project deadline. To free their spot sooner, contact our team. To avoid this, screen participants in User Interviews rather than in your tool where you can.

Add the incomplete URL for your tool:

Alchemer

1. Click Action > URL Redirect > Add.
2. In the URL section, make sure https:// is selected.
3. In the URL field, paste: www.userinterviews.com/project-task-events/alchemer_redirect/incomplete
4. Don't set a delay for the redirect.
5. In Fields to Pass, open Select a Question to Map and select the iid hidden value you created.
6. Click Add field and enter iid in the Variable Name field.

What each status means

You can mark participants Incomplete yourself only after your project deadline. Incomplete URLs and response time limits can mark participants Incomplete before then. Learn how incentives are paid in Distribute incentives to participants automatically or manually.

Troubleshoot tracking issues

A participant finished, but their status is still Started

First, check how they opened the task. With an integration or a tracked custom link, participants must use the link from User Interviews. If you share your tool's link directly, for example in a message, we can't track them.

If you use a guided redirect integration or a tracked custom link:

1. Check your tool's last page. We only know a participant finished when your tool sends them back to User Interviews. If your study ends on the tool's default thank-you page or end screen, the redirect never runs. Set the last page to redirect to User Interviews.
2. Check that they reached the end of the task. If a participant closes the tab before the last page, or doesn't click the final button or link that some tools show, the redirect doesn't run.
3. Check your setup.
   • Guided redirect integration: Compare your tool's settings with the steps in the project builder and your tool's setup article in Supported tools.
   • Tracked custom link: Check that the task link in User Interviews still includes TRACKINGID (for example ?iid=TRACKINGID), and that your tool captures the participant ID. In Qualtrics, iid must be embedded data at the very top of the Survey flow. Check that the complete URL is on every place a participant can finish (in Qualtrics, each End of survey element, not only Survey options), and that it's copied exactly, including the ?iid= part. The redirect must use iid, even if your task link uses a different parameter name.
4. Click Preview and Confirm set-up again.

If you use a connected-account integration:

1. Check the linked survey or task. Go to Research design > Research activity and check that Task Platform points to the right survey or task in your tool.
2. Check the response in your tool. Only finished responses move participants to Submitted. Partial or disqualified responses don't.
3. Check what your tool has reported. Go to Participant management > Participant tracking and open the participant to view their progress details. In Lookback, recordings under 5 minutes don't appear in User Interviews.

To check whether the participant really finished, find their tracking ID in your tool's results. Many tools save it with each response, for example in an iid column in your export. If they finished, mark them Completed yourself.

A participant finished, but they were marked Incomplete

If your project has a response time limit, participants who don't submit in time are marked Incomplete and moved to the Removed tab, even if they finish in your tool afterward. You can't change the time limit for one participant. If your tool shows they finished, or you want them to try the task again, contact our team. We'll move them back to Started so you can mark them Completed, or give them another try. Learn more in Set a time limit for participant responses.

Participants are still in Started after your deadline

Mark participants who didn't finish as Incomplete: go to Participant management > Started, select the participants, and select Mark incomplete. To keep recruiting, extend your deadline and, if your project is full, increase the number of participants. Learn how in Extend your study.

Preview and Confirm set-up says the test failed

Work through the redirect checks in A participant finished, but their status is still Started. If you changed your task link, paste the new link in step 1 of the panel before you test again. If the test still fails, contact our team and include your project ID.

Your Qualtrics connection fails, or your surveys don't appear

Your Qualtrics account needs the Access API permission. Ask your Qualtrics Brand Administrator to turn it on, then connect again. To change the API token your team uses, contact our team. Learn more in Use the Qualtrics integration.

You can't find your tool under Integrations

Task Platform integrations are for unmoderated projects. Check that your project's research activity is set to Unmoderated. If your tool isn't listed, use a tracked custom link if it supports participant IDs and redirects. Otherwise, select Paste link or No task link and manage participant progress manually. Learn more in Which should I use?

Participants get stuck on the first page in Optimal

If participants keep returning to the first page of your Optimal study, check the participant identifier setting in Optimal. Set it to Anonymous or Other identifier, not Email.

A participant can't reopen your task

If your tool says the participant already took the test, for example after they fixed a camera or microphone permission, contact your tool's support to reset their attempt.

The number of completes doesn't match your tool

Compare the participant IDs in both tools. In User Interviews, IDs start with pp_. Some tools show the same ID in a slightly different format. For example, pp_9exh736 in User Interviews appears as i9exh736 in UserTesting. Participants who used a direct link instead of the User Interviews link won't match. In Lookback, recordings under 5 minutes don't appear in User Interviews.

Still need help? Contact our team and include your project ID.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What do participants see when they finish?
A: With a guided redirect integration or a tracked custom link, your tool sends participants back to User Interviews, and we confirm we received their completion. The images below show this page. With other tracking methods, participants see your tool's own end page. Here's the User Interviews page for Hub projects:

And for Recruit projects:

Q: Can I send participants my tool's link directly?
A: Only if you don't need us to track them. With an integration or a tracked custom link, participants must open the task from the link User Interviews sends. Otherwise, we can't connect their response to their User Interviews record. With Paste link, we send your link for you, and with No task link, you share it yourself. With both, you track and update each participant yourself.

Q: Do redirects mark participants as Completed?
A: No. A successful redirect moves the participant to Submitted. Review their response, then mark them Completed. If User Interviews distributes your incentives, this starts the incentive process, and the participant gets an email to redeem their incentive. If your team distributes incentives, no payment is sent.

Q: Why don't I see duration or response links?
A: Tracked custom links and guided redirect integrations show each participant's status, but not their duration or a link to their response. Some connected-account integrations show these details on the Participant tracking page, depending on the tool.

Q: Can I set a response time limit with Paste link?
A: No. A response time limit is only available with an integration or a tracked custom link.

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