Interview Lifecycle

Version: 2.0 Last Updated: 2026-10-14

This guide is intended for Enumerators, Supervisors, Project Managers, and Administrators who work with survey interviews in MQUAD.

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What is an Interview?

An interview represents a single survey session conducted with a respondent. It is the entity that tracks:

• The survey being completed
• The respondent being interviewed
• The progress of the interview (which questions have been answered)
• The overall lifecycle status (from creation to submission)

Every interview is created when you start a form, and MQUAD keeps it in sync so its state survives closing the browser, losing connectivity, or switching devices. When completed, the interview is associated with a SurveyResponse.

Interviews are managed in two places in the web application:

• The Resume Center (/resume) - best for continuing work in progress.
• The Interviews page (/interviews) - a complete list of all interviews with search, filtering, and per-interview details.

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Interview Statuses

Created

The interview has been initialized but not started. No questions have been answered.

In Progress

The interview is actively being conducted. While in progress, MQUAD sends a heartbeat every 30 seconds. If heartbeats stop (for example, the browser is closed or connectivity drops) the interview is marked Interrupted.

Paused

Temporarily suspended. All entered answers are preserved and the interview can be resumed exactly where it was left off.

Interrupted

The interview was disrupted unexpectedly, usually because heartbeats stopped. When you reopen a form that has an incomplete session, a recovery banner appears (see Recovering an Incomplete Session).

Completed

All questions have been answered and the interview ended normally. If a review workflow is enabled, the response proceeds into review; otherwise it is stored directly.

Needs Revision

A supervisor rejected the interview and flagged specific questions. Only the flagged questions remain editable; the rest stay read-only to preserve approved answers.

Terminated

Ended early before completion. Partial data is either retained or discarded depending on the termination reason (see Terminating an Interview).

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Status Transitions

A status can only change to specific next statuses. The Actions available on an interview reflect these rules:

An interview is completed only from In Progress. To finish a paused or interrupted interview, resume it first.

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The Resume Center

Open the Resume Center from Fill Forms → Resume Center, or go directly to /resume. It is the fastest way to continue work that is not finished.

Grouping

Interviews are grouped so the ones that need you most appear first:

1. Needs Attention - highlighted in amber (for example, an in-progress interview with no recent activity).
2. Active - currently in progress.
3. Paused
4. Interrupted
5. Needs Revision
6. Completed - completed and terminated interviews.

Filters and controls

• Search by session token.
• Sort by: Last Activity, Started, Completion %, or Created.
• Status filter (All Statuses, In Progress, Paused, Interrupted, Needs Revision, Completed, Terminated).
• A running count of interviews.

Interview cards

Each card shows:

• A status badge (and a Needs Attention badge when applicable).
• The survey and session token.
• When it was last active (for example, "2 hours ago").
• A progress bar and the percentage complete, with answered / total questions.
• A checkbox for selecting multiple interviews.
• A card action:
  • Start for Not Started interviews.
  • Resume for In Progress, Paused, Interrupted, and Needs Revision interviews.
  • Done (disabled) for Completed interviews.

Clicking a card (outside the action buttons) opens the interview's details page.

Batch actions

Select two or more interviews with the checkboxes to reveal the batch action bar. It shows how many are selected and offers:

• Terminate - terminates all selected interviews (with confirmation).
• Clear - clears the selection.

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The Interviews Page

The Interviews page (/interviews) lists all interviews you can view. Use it when you need the full history rather than just unfinished work.

• Search and status filter (All statuses, In Progress, Paused, Interrupted, Needs Revision, Completed, Terminated).
• A running count of interviews, with pagination for long lists.
• Click any interview to open its Interview Details page.

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Interview Details

The Interview Details page (/interviews/{id}) shows everything about a single interview.

Interview Info

• Survey name
• Session Token
• Progress (answered / total)
• Current Page

Timeline

• Started, Paused, Completed, and Terminated timestamps (whichever apply)
• Termination Reason (if terminated)
• Data Action - whether partial data was Retained or Discarded
• Supervisor Notified - Yes or No
• Explanatory Notes (if provided)
• Created and Updated timestamps

When an interview has been terminated, a red Termination Details card is also shown, summarising the reason, who terminated it and when, the data action, and whether the supervisor was notified.

Actions

Available actions depend on the current status:

Tabs

• Event History - every status change, shown as from → to badges with timestamps.
• Audit Timeline - the field-level change history for the interview (read-only).

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Typical Interview Flow

1. Create - you start a form; MQUAD creates the interview with status Not Started (created).
2. Start - you begin answering. Status becomes In Progress, started_at is recorded, and heartbeats begin (every 30 seconds).
3. Answer - each answered question updates progress; current_page tracks your position; the session is saved automatically.
4. Complete - you finish the last question. Status becomes Completed and completed_at is recorded.
5. Submission - if a review workflow is enabled the response proceeds into review; otherwise it is stored directly.

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Pausing and Resuming

When to pause

• You need to break off temporarily (sharing a device, taking a break).
• Connectivity is unreliable.
• The respondent asks to pause.

What happens while paused

• All entered answers are preserved.
• The interview stays in Paused and can be resumed at the exact point you left off.

How to resume

1. Open the Resume Center (or the interview details page).
2. Click Resume.
3. The form opens at the point where you left off and the status returns to In Progress.

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Recovering an Incomplete Session

If an interview was left unfinished (for example the browser was closed), MQUAD detects the incomplete session when you open the form again and shows a recovery banner:

• "We found an incomplete session" with Restore and Dismiss buttons.
• While restoring, it shows "Restoring your interview session...".

Choose Restore to bring back your previous work, or Dismiss to start fresh. An interview whose heartbeats stopped is shown as Interrupted, and you can also resume it from the Resume Center or its details page.

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Revising a Rejected Interview

What happens when rejected

When a supervisor rejects an interview:

1. The associated response is marked as rejected.
2. The review notes and rejection reason are recorded.
3. The interview status changes to Needs Revision.
4. The flagged questions are marked as requiring correction.

Resuming a rejected interview

1. Open the interview from the Resume Center or the Interviews page.
2. Click Resume Revision.
3. The form reopens with your previous answers pre-filled.
4. Only the flagged questions are editable; other questions display read-only with their original answers.

Why only some questions are editable

• Prevents unnecessary re-entry of valid data.
• Ensures supervisor feedback is specifically addressed.
• Maintains data integrity by preserving approved answers.

Resubmitting after revision

1. Complete all required corrections to the flagged questions.
2. Submit the form again.
3. The response is updated and re-enters review if required.

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Terminating an Interview

Terminate an interview when it cannot be completed - for example, the respondent refuses, they are not available, or there is a technical or safety issue.

The two-step termination dialog

1. On the interview details page, click Terminate.
2. Step 1 - choose a reason. Each reason shows whether data is retained or discarded and whether the supervisor is notified.
3. Step 2 - confirm. The dialog shows the selected reason. If the reason requires an explanation (the "Other" reason), you must enter explanatory notes before proceeding. Click Confirm Termination.

Termination reasons

After termination

• The status changes to Terminated.
• The Data Action recorded on the interview shows whether partial data was Retained or Discarded.
• The supervisor is notified.
• A terminated interview cannot be resumed or "un-terminated". A new interview must be created to collect again.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why can't I edit every field?

A: When revising a rejected (Needs Revision) interview, only the questions flagged by the supervisor are editable. Other questions remain read-only to preserve valid data and maintain audit integrity.

Q: Why is an interview Interrupted?

A: An interview is marked Interrupted when its heartbeats stop - typically because the browser was closed or connectivity was lost. Reopen the form and use the recovery banner, or resume it from the Resume Center.

Q: Why was my interview rejected?

A: Common rejection reasons include missing required answers, failed validation rules, suspected data-quality issues, or incomplete sections. Check the reviewer comments for specific feedback.

Q: How do I submit again after revision?

A: After correcting the flagged questions, submit the form again. The response is updated and, if review is required, re-enters the review queue.

Q: What happens if I close the browser mid-interview?

A: The interview keeps its state:

• Answered questions are preserved.
• The interview becomes Interrupted once heartbeats stop.
• Reopening the form offers to restore your session, or you can resume it from the Resume Center.