# Independent numbered questionnaire specification

Version 1. Newly fictional, CAWI, English. The numbers and response codes below define the research contract independently of either parser. `.qube` is the default implementation; `.odin` is the independently implemented compatibility example. Do not infer the expected route from a script under test. Q35 is the estimate-availability item inserted before Q12; existing Q01–Q34 identities remain stable.

All asked items require a response. Free text accepts 1–200 Unicode characters, except Q34 which accepts 1–600. The focus-tool label is an interview label, not a verified organisation or vendor identifier. Numeric answers are whole numbers. Multiple-choice selections require at least one code; None must be alone. A respondent can leave the interview rather than answer. Endings are Complete or Screenout; no partial interview is a complete.

| No. | Measure and response contract | Applicability / action |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Q01 | Consent: 1 Yes; 2 No. | No → Screenout immediately. |
| Q02 | Age in completed years, 0–120. | Below 18 → Screenout. Out-of-range or noninteger is invalid, not a screenout. |
| Q03 | Software choice role: 1 Final decision; 2 Shared decision/budget approval; 3 Formal evaluation/recommendation; 4 User without influence; 5 No involvement. | 4 or 5 → Screenout. |
| Q04 | Organisation workers including respondent: 1 One; 2 2–9; 3 10–49; 4 50–249; 5 250+; 6 Don't know. | Eligible respondents. |
| Q05 | Sector: 1 Professional/business services; 2 Retail/wholesale; 3 Manufacturing/construction; 4 Technology/communications; 5 Education/health/community; 6 Other. | All eligible. |
| Q06 | Other sector description, no organisation name. | Q05=6 only. |
| Q07 | Current software categories, multiselect: 1 Projects/tasks; 2 Customer records/sales; 3 Finance/invoicing; 4 Workforce scheduling; 5 Document sharing; 6 Other; 7 None (exclusive). | If 7, skip Q08–Q23 and Q35, then go to Q24. |
| Q08 | Other software category text. | Q07 includes 6. |
| Q09 | Category satisfaction: 1 Very dissatisfied; 2 Somewhat dissatisfied; 3 Neither; 4 Somewhat satisfied; 5 Very satisfied; 6 Cannot judge. | Repeat once per Q07 selected category 1–6 in selected mention order. Save separate category identity and rating. Never rate None. |
| Q10 | Short label for the tool whose selection/renewal respondent most influences. | Current software users only. Generic label allowed. |
| Q11 | Tool tenure: 1 <6 months; 2 6–11 months; 3 1–2 years; 4 >2 years; 5 Don't know. | Current users. |
| Q35 | Can estimate people with access: 1 Yes; 2 Don't know; 3 Prefer not to answer. | Current users, immediately before Q12. Codes 2/3 leave Q12 absent and continue at Q13. |
| Q12 | Approximate people with access, integer 1–100000. | Q35=1 only. This is access, not measured active use. Unknown/refusal is absent, never zero. |
| Q13 | Typical organisation use: 1 Most working days; 2 Weekly; 3 Monthly; 4 Less often; 5 Don't know. | Current users. |
| Q14 | Licence/payment: 1 Monthly subscription; 2 Annual; 3 Other renewable paid contract; 4 Perpetual/one-off; 5 Free/open-source; 6 Don't know. | Current users. |
| Q15 | Next renewal/continuation decision: 1 ≤3 months; 2 4–6; 3 7–12; 4 >12; 5 Don't know. | Q14 in 1–3 only. |
| Q16 | Continue chosen tool in next 12 months: 1 Definitely; 2 Probably; 3 May/may not; 4 Probably not; 5 Definitely not; 6 Don't know. | All current users, including free tools. |
| Q17 | Replacement triggers, multi: 1 Price; 2 Workflow mismatch; 3 Reliability; 4 Security/compliance; 5 Integrations; 6 Support; 7 Other; 8 None (exclusive). | Current users. |
| Q18 | Other replacement trigger text. | Q17 includes 7. |
| Q19 | Ease-of-use satisfaction, scale Q09. | Current users. |
| Q20 | Reliability satisfaction, scale Q09. | Current users. |
| Q21 | Integration satisfaction, scale Q09. | Current users. |
| Q22 | Support satisfaction, scale Q09; Cannot judge if unused. | Current users. |
| Q23 | Value satisfaction, scale Q09. | Current users. |
| Q24 | Up to three purchase criteria, multi: 1 Security; 2 Ease; 3 Cost; 4 Workflow fit; 5 Integration; 6 Support; 7 Data export; 8 Other. | All eligible. Randomize 1–7; fix 8 last. Reject zero or >3 selections. No cross-engine identical permutation requirement. |
| Q25 | Other purchase criterion text. | Q24 includes 8. |
| Q26 | Adoption barriers, multi: 1 Budget; 2 Evaluation time; 3 Data migration; 4 Training; 5 Security/procurement; 6 Change resistance; 7 Other; 8 None (exclusive). | All eligible. |
| Q27 | Other barrier text. | Q26 includes 7. |
| Q28 | New-tool adoption next 12 months: 1 Decided; 2 Considering; 3 No; 4 Don't know. | All eligible. |
| Q29 | Implementation start: 1 ≤3 months; 2 4–6; 3 7–12; 4 Undecided. | Q28 in 1–2 only. |
| Q30 | AI policy: 1 Approved tasks; 2 Limited trials; 3 Not permitted; 4 No decision; 5 Don't know. | All eligible. |
| Q31 | Useful AI tasks, multi: 1 Summaries; 2 Task organisation; 3 Follow-up drafting; 4 Data checking/exploration; 5 Administration; 6 Other; 7 None (exclusive). | Q30 in 1–2 only. |
| Q32 | Other AI task text, no confidential data. | Q31 includes 6. |
| Q33 | Recommendation of chosen tool, integer 0–10: 0 Not at all likely; 10 Extremely likely. | Current users only. No label should pipe for nonusers. |
| Q34 | One improvement suggestion; No change permitted. | All eligible; then Complete. |

## Behavioral contracts

1. Screenouts stop before organisation/experience questions. No assent or inferred eligibility is filled in by the host.
2. Nonusers reach adoption criteria, barriers and AI policy; they never see tool-specific labels, ratings or recommendation.
3. Repeated Q09 saves a distinct answer for each selected category. A change in one category's rating must not overwrite another category.
4. Other follow-ups appear only for their specific code. Exclusive None plus an ordinary code is rejected atomically, without advancing or retaining the invalid selection.
5. Q15 is asked for renewable paid licences; continuing a free tool is still asked at Q16.
6. Criteria retain stable codes after randomization; Other stays last and no substantive code is duplicated or removed.
7. Numerical and cardinality bounds reject invalid values without changing the current question or accepted answer record.
8. Synthetic scenario expectations explicitly list ordered visits and skipped branches. Successful records retain submitted values and separate repeated identities. A saved/restored session must finish with the same answers and route.
9. Q35 distinguishes an available access-count estimate, an unknown count and a refusal. Only Yes asks Q12; neither unavailable category stores a Q12 answer or blocks Q13 and the remaining applicable tool questions. The numeric lower bound remains one for an available estimate.

Cross-engine equality is semantic: numbered items, codes, repeat member identities, submitted values and endings. Internal IDs, record encoding, random streams and event formats differ. The focused test script reports actual runtime evidence and limits; the specification alone does not certify implementation.