Dear Qualtrics Support Team,

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to suggest an enhancement to the current process of accessing survey responses through the Qualtrics API. The existing three-step process, which involves starting an export, checking the export progress, and then downloading the responses, can be quite cumbersome and inefficient, particularly for applications requiring real-time or near-real-time data access.

Current Issues:

1. Multiple API Calls: The process requires multiple API calls, which increases complexity and latency.
2. Polling Mechanism: Continuously polling for export progress can lead to inefficiencies and potential rate limiting.
3. Delayed Access: The necessity to wait for export completion can delay access to responses.

Proposed Solution: To address these issues, I propose the following improvements:

1. Single-Step API Endpoint: Introduce a single API endpoint that directly retrieves survey responses without the need for an export process. This endpoint could leverage pagination to handle large datasets effectively.

   • Example: GET /API/v3/surveys/{surveyId}/responses?page={page}&pageSize={pageSize}

2. Asynchronous Data Retrieval: If a single-step process is not feasible due to processing constraints, consider an asynchronous approach where the initial request initiates the data retrieval, and the response includes a callback URL or webhook for when the data is ready.

   • Example: POST /API/v3/surveys/{surveyId}/responses/export
   • The response could include a callback URL to notify when the data is ready.

3. Streaming Responses: Implement streaming of responses, allowing clients to start processing data as it is being retrieved, reducing overall wait times.

   • Example: GET /API/v3/surveys/{surveyId}/responses/stream

Benefits:

• Reduced Latency: A direct or asynchronous approach would significantly reduce the time taken to access survey responses.
• Simplified Integration: Developers would benefit from a simplified API integration process.
• Improved Efficiency: Reducing the number of API calls and the need for polling would improve overall efficiency and reduce the load on your servers.

I believe these enhancements would greatly improve the user experience and efficiency for all users of the Qualtrics API. Thank you for considering this request. I am happy to discuss this further if needed and provide any additional information or feedback.

All best,
Joshua