Surveys via portal + Power Automate

Surveys are a critical tool for collecting feedback, gauging satisfaction, and understanding user behavior. When integrated with Power Pages (formerly Power Apps Portals) and Power Automate, surveys become automated, personalized, and actionable. This step-by-step guide walks through setting up surveys via the portal, automating workflows using Power Automate, and tracking responses effectively.

Step 1: Define Your Survey Goals

Before building, clarify your objectives:

Customer feedback post-service
Event follow-up surveys
Feature satisfaction surveys
Training assessment surveys
NPS (Net Promoter Score) collection

Decide on:

Questions (rating, open-ended, multiple choice)
When to show the survey
Who should see it (target audience)
What actions follow submission (e.g., notifications, analytics)

Step 2: Create the Survey Data Model

Use Dataverse or SharePoint to store survey structure and responses.

Example Dataverse tables:

Survey – Title, Description, Status
Survey Questions – Linked to Survey (Question Text, Type)
Survey Responses – Linked to User, Survey, Submission Date
Answer Details – Linked to Survey Response, Question, Answer Value

This relational setup allows flexibility and analytics later.

Step 3: Build the Survey Form in Power Pages

Use a Basic Form or Custom Web Page to render the survey:

Use a form connected to the Dataverse table (Survey Responses)
Dynamically pull questions based on active surveys
Use conditional rendering for question types (e.g., text input, dropdown, radio buttons)
Use Liquid templates or JavaScript to personalize (e.g., user name, page logic)

Example Liquid to render questions:

{% for question in survey.questions %}
  <label>{{ question.text }}</label>
  {% if question.type == "Text" %}
    <input type="text" name="q{{ question.id }}">
  {% endif %}
{% endfor %}

Step 4: Trigger Power Automate on Submission

Once the user submits the survey, a Power Automate Flow is triggered to process and act on the data.

Common Flow Actions:

Store responses in Dataverse or SharePoint
Send a thank you email
Notify an admin or team on Teams
Update a CRM record with sentiment score
Trigger sentiment analysis using Azure Cognitive Services
Aggregate for reporting in Excel or Power BI

Example Power Automate steps:

Trigger: When a new record is created in Survey Responses
Get related answers using “List rows” from Answer Details
Send an email or Teams message
Append to a centralized data source for reporting

Step 5: Display Survey Results (Optional)

You can build a Power BI dashboard or use portal components to show:

Survey participation rates
Average scores per question
NPS trends
Sentiment summary

Example: A dashboard for admins displaying average scores grouped by product or user region.

Step 6: Automate Survey Scheduling

Use Power Automate to schedule surveys for different triggers:

After a transaction (e.g., booking, form submission)
Monthly/weekly cadence
Based on inactivity (e.g., “We miss you” survey)

Flow sample:

Trigger: New Booking Created
Action: Send Survey Link via Email
Action: Create Survey Response record with tracking ID

You can personalize survey links using unique tokens to identify users, and expire links after a deadline.

Step 7: Conditional Logic and Branching

Advanced survey logic (e.g., “If user chooses ‘Poor’, show additional questions”) can be implemented with:

JavaScript on the portal
Conditional fields in the form
Dynamic question rendering using Liquid and hidden fields

You can even pre-fill answers using query strings or previous answers saved in the database.

Step 8: Security and Privacy

Secure forms using portal authentication
Associate each response with logged-in users
Use role-based access to view responses
Follow data privacy laws (e.g., anonymize after processing)
Add CAPTCHA to prevent spam

Step 9: Feedback Loop

Use survey results to power feedback loops:

Send alerts for low scores
Automatically escalate to customer service
Auto-close loop by sending apology or response
Feed insights into customer profiles in CRM

Benefits of Portal + Power Automate for Surveys

No code or low-code setup
Reusable templates for different departments
Easy integration with Microsoft ecosystem
Real-time notifications and analytics
Scalable for external and internal audiences

Use Cases

IT support feedback after ticket closure
Training feedback in employee portals
Product interest surveys before a launch
Healthcare feedback post-appointment
Community input for government portals