17 product survey questions for new products and testing

Use new product survey questions to find out how people handle a problem today. For product testing, ask about a task they just tried. Existing customers can tell you where your product gets in their way. These 17 questions include answer formats; choose the set that fits your decision and audience.

New product survey questions: before you build

Ask people who already face the problem, including people who do not use your product. Start with their current behavior before showing a concept. Follow up on positive reactions; enthusiasm alone does not tell you whether someone will buy it.

1. When did you last need to [complete the task]? (Within the past 7 days / 8 to 30 days ago / More than 30 days ago / Never)
2. How did you handle it that time? (Open text)
3. Which part, if any, was difficult? (Open text; allow “None”)
4. What did that approach cost you in time or money? (Open text; allow “I do not know”)
5. After seeing this concept, what would you still need to know before trying it? (Open text; allow “I would not try it”)

Compare answers from people who do the task weekly with those who have never needed to do it before choosing an audience for your next test. If their current approach works well, ask what would justify switching. “Would you use our innovative new product?” praises the idea and asks people to predict behavior they have not tried.

Product testing survey questions: after a task

Give each participant the same realistic task, then ask about the attempt they just made. Record the version tested so feedback about different prototypes does not get mixed together.

1. Were you able to complete [the task]? (Yes / Partly / No / Did not attempt)
2. How easy or difficult was it to complete? (Very difficult / Difficult / Neither easy nor difficult / Easy / Very easy / Did not attempt)
3. Where, if anywhere, did you get stuck? (Open text)
4. Did the result match what you expected? (Yes / Partly / No / No result; optional explanation)
5. What would you change first to make this task easier? (Open text; allow “Nothing”)

Review failed tasks and unexpected results before the next test. Ask about completion directly; a preference question will not tell you whether someone finished. If you watched the session, compare their answer with your notes. Ask about differences without correcting their account of what happened.

You can adapt the Product Survey template for either set. Its default questions focus on existing customers; replace those questions when researching a concept or testing a prototype.

Ask about a recent task

Start with "What were you trying to do the last time you opened the product?" Give people an optional text field. Follow it with a choice about whether they completed the task: Yes, Partly, or No. Include a way to say they have not used the product recently if that applies to the audience you invited.

For an export workflow, "I needed a file to send to our accountant" gives you a task to investigate. Ask what they had to do outside the product to finish it. They might describe formatting problems, missing columns, or instructions they could not follow.

Existing product survey questions: feedback after use

1. How often have you used the product during the past month? (Daily / Several times a week / Weekly / Less often / Not at all)
2. Which features did you use during that period? (Select all that apply; include Other and None)
3. What did you use the product to accomplish most recently? (Open text)
4. Were you able to complete that task? (Yes / Partly / No / Have not tried)
5. Which part took more effort than you expected? (Open text; allow “None”)
6. What did you do outside the product to finish the work? (Open text; allow “Nothing”)
7. Which improvement would make that task easier? (Open text; allow “No change needed”)

Choose a few questions that will help you make the decision. Give frequency questions a clear time period and update the feature choices to match your product. Include Other or an optional comment field so people can describe tasks you have not listed.

Avoid asking people to rate a feature they have never used. Put "Have not used this" beside the rating if your survey includes one. Keep that answer out of the rating calculation; it does not mean the customer was dissatisfied.

Keep satisfaction, usage, and renewal separate

Someone may use the product every day because their employer requires it and still struggle with a task. Someone who uses it once a month may be pleased with the result. Ask about frequency and satisfaction separately so you can distinguish those experiences.

Ask about renewal when the respondent makes that decision. A person on a free account or company subscription may have no say in it. Survey the buyer separately, or let respondents say renewal is not their responsibility.

For satisfaction with a particular interaction, use the customer satisfaction survey guide. It explains the rating scale and calculation separately from product usage or renewal intent.

Adapt the Product Survey template

The Thunder Forms Product Survey template asks about usage frequency, features, renewal, and what to build next. Replace the feature choices with your own product's features. Remove the renewal question if it does not fit your audience and add the recent-task question if that is what your team needs to understand.

Check which questions are required and which controls have starting values. If a rating needs a deliberate selection, use an unselected choice field and test a blank submission. A default value can reach the response list even when somebody has not thought about the scale. Our form validation guide covers required questions and error checks.

Test the wording with someone who uses the product

Ask a colleague or customer to complete a draft and explain any question they find unclear. Check whether they recognize the feature names and understand the time period. Pew Research Center's questionnaire guidance describes pretesting as part of evaluating new questions. Revise a confusing label before sending the link to the full audience.

Also try a response from someone who did not finish the task. The form should let them describe what happened without forcing a positive answer to continue. Keep the invitation neutral about the improvement you hope to make.

Use feature requests to plan further research

Group requests by the work people are trying to finish. "Add a PDF export" and "Let me send this to my client" may describe the same underlying need. Keep the original comments so you can check that your summary still reflects what respondents said.

Report how many people answered and how you selected the audience. Responses from a small group of active users do not describe everybody who tried the product. If usage data is available, compare it with what respondents report and investigate differences before treating request counts as roadmap votes.

Use an optional contact field only when you intend to follow up and explain its purpose. A conversation about the latest task can help you evaluate whether a requested feature would solve it. Record the task, proposed change, and next research step together when reviewing the survey results.

For each group of requests, decide what needs an interview, a check of product usage, or a small test before you commit to a change.

For example, three requests for a "download button" might come from a customer who needs a monthly archive, a manager who needs a review copy, and an accountant who needs one specific column. Ask what each person did immediately before and after needing the download. Those details help you distinguish the tasks before counting the requests as votes for one change.

For question banks by goal, from product testing to employee pulses, see the survey questions guide.