Glossary
Session shape
A pacing control that tells the Insight agent how deep to go — pulse vs deep dive — without rewriting the study.
Session shape is how you tell the Insight agent how many follow-ups to ask after each answer. A pulse shape keeps sessions short for in-context website or post-transaction feedback. A deep dive shape probes for examples and edge cases in discovery or churn research.
Changing session shape does not require rewriting objectives or blueprint fields. The same study brief can run as a two-minute pulse on a pricing page or a longer async interview for power users. Pacing is a control, not a second study to maintain.
Teams use session shape to match channel and attention: embed widgets and post-delivery check-ins lean pulse; CRM-invited research waves and churn diagnostics often lean deep dive. Pick the shape that fits the moment, then keep the blueprint stable for comparable metrics.
If completion rates drop or answers stay shallow, reshape before rewriting the entire brief. Pulse may be too shallow for root-cause work; deep dive may be too long for in-page intercepts. Session shape is the first lever to try.
Session shape sits next to conversational interviewing (the method) and blueprint fields (the structure). The Insight agent applies the shape during AI-moderated interviews; the analysis hub still receives notes and fields either way — with different depth of evidence.
When it matters
- The same research question will run in both interruptive and invited channels.
- You need a short in-context pulse without cloning the study.
- Deep-dive sessions need more examples without inventing new objectives.
- You are tuning completion vs depth after a pilot wave.
Common mistakes
- Running deep dive inside a website widget and blaming the embed for drop-off.
- Using pulse for churn root-cause and expecting rich narratives.
- Rewriting prompts every time when only pacing needed to change.
Frequently asked questions
- Is session shape the same as survey length?
- Related but not identical. Shape controls follow-up aggressiveness around your objectives and fields; it is not merely a max-question counter.
- Can I change shape mid-program?
- Yes, but treat shape changes like methodology changes when you compare waves — note them in analysis so depth differences are not mistaken for opinion shifts.
- Which shape should website feedback use?
- Usually pulse. Save deep dive for invited sessions where participants expect a longer conversation.
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