Negometrix USA Inc.

Different types of questions

Every buyer who works with Negometrix uses the questionnaire and has to set up question details. Negometrix offers different types of questions. Using these different types of questions, a buyer can exactly determine how suppliers have to answer the questions. Besides the variety of question types, there are also additional settings regarding the questionnaire. The options are explained in this document.

Question types

The type of question determines how a supplier can provide an answer to the question. It is in the best interest of both the buyer and the supplier that these question types are set correctly. Incorrect question types can cause delay in the process of the solicitation and create disadvantages for the participants.

Yes/no

With a yes/no question type the supplier can only answer the question with yes or no. This type of question is suitable to formulate a requirement. The system automatically evaluates the answer of the supplier.

Value

When using this type of question, the supplier has to fill in a value. When setting up this type of question, you have to determine the minimum and maximum value. If the question is weighted, the supplier will get the minimal score when he/she fills in a value that is lower or equal to the given minimal value. The supplier will get the maximum score, when he/she fills in a value that is higher or equal to the given maximum value. This type of question is suitable if you want to know amounts (numbers, hours, timeframes, etc.). The system automatically evaluates the answers of the supplier.
When a question has a ‘KO’ (Knock Out) and the supplier has filled in a value which is equal to or lower thanthe set minimum, the supplier is assigned a KO.

Multiple choice

When you choose this type of question, you must provide different answer options from which the suppliers can select from. Additionally, you can allow suppliers to select more than one answer or to formulate an additional answer themselves.
The software automatically evaluates the answers of the supplier (unless you chose to let the supplier formulate an additional answer, this needs to be evaluated by you as the buyer).

Open question

When you choose an open question, the suppliers will get a text box to fill in their answer. You must choose the maximum amount of characters in which the respondent may use to respond, which can be between 0 and 10,000 characters (spaces included).

The answer a supplier gives to an open question, cannot be evaluated by the system. Therefore, you need to evaluate this answer yourself. The score that is given to the answer during the evaluation is then calculated to a quality score by the system. You are able to set up the evaluation method after selecting the type ‘open question’.

Warning: Do not confuse the type of question (for suppliers) with the evaluation method (for buyers).

Document evaluation

If you use the question type ‘document evaluation’, suppliers are only allowed to upload document(s) as an answer. The document that is uploaded by the supplier cannot be evaluated by the system. Therefore, you need to evaluate this document yourself. The score that is given to the document during the evaluation is then calculated to a quality score by the system. You are able to set up the evaluation method after selecting the question type ‘document evaluation’.

Warning: Do not confuse the type of question (for suppliers) with the evaluation method (for buyers).

Table
When using this type of question, you have to create a table by making rows and columns. The cells that appear need to be filled in by the suppliers. The filled data in the table cannot be evaluated by the system. Therefore, you need to evaluate these answers yourself. The score that is given to the answer during the evaluation is then calculated to a quality score by the system. You are able to set up the evaluation method after selecting the question type ‘table’.

Warning: Do not confuse the type of question (for suppliers) with the evaluation method (for buyers).

Evaluation without answer to question

By choosing this type of question, you can set up a question which you can answer yourself in the evaluation phase. The suppliers are not able to give an answer to this question. During the evaluation phase the system will indicate that this question still needs an answer and you can fill in your answer. You can use this type of question if suppliers have to give a presentation or do a test after the offer phase and you want to include this in the total quality score of the supplier. This option is also commonly used if you'd like to provide information to the suppliers but do not want them responding to it. 

Extra settings

The settings stated below are optional and can be chosen per question. The visibility of some settings depends on choices made on a ‘higher’ level, like the options “Weight” and “Verification needed”.

Weight:

If you have indicated on the questionnaire level that the questionnaire is weighted, you can set the weights for each question. On the right of the text box, where you formulate the question, a box appears where you can fill in the weight for this question. The weight has to be set for each question. The weight you can fill in starts with 0 (the question has no weight, or is a requirement) till X-number. The number that is filled in will automatically be translated to a percentage by the system. This percentage is calculated using the weight of the question group and the other questions in the group.

KO
KO stands for Knock Out. When you choose this option for a question, you indicate that it is a requirement. When the supplier answers the question with an unsatisfactory response (either did not respond, or did not meet the scoring requirements you set),he or she is assigned a KO and has (in theory) no chance to become the awarded supplier.

Allow supplier to attach document(s)

By activating this option you give the suppliers the option to upload a document along with their answer, however the document is not mandatory. This differs from the question type “Document evaluation”, where it is mandatory to answer the question by uploading a document.
The ‘Allow supplier to attach document’ option can be activated in combination with each question type.

Warning: because this is an optional function, the attached documents do not automatically appear during the evaluation phase. This is only the case when the attached document is related to an ‘open question’ of a ‘table question’.

Verification needed

If your solicitation needs to fulfill the requirements of the procurement law it is sometimes necessary to use the option ‘verification needed’. You can only use this option when you have activated the verification phase in the tab ‘Solicitation Properties’. If you select this option the system will indicate that you need to create a verification question after saving the questionnaire.

Add documents

As a buyer you have the opportunity to share documents with suppliers. These can either be informative documents or documents which suppliers have to fill in information. You have the option to select a document from your own hard drive or select a document from “My Documents” in Negometrix.