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Survey Management and  AutoSurvey™

Ascellon has become a leader in survey research for the Federal Government, especially in the increasingly significant field of healthcare.  Ascellon uses the expertise it has developed in the information technology field to develop new ways of “slicing and dicing” the survey research data it has collected.  Ascellon’s AutoSurvey™ application looks at each survey answer from more than a dozen different statistical angles, e.g., mean, standard deviation, skewness, and percentiles. This provides added value by facilitating new approaches to the analysis of the data. 

For instance, a Federal agency has recently enlisted Ascellon to perform survey consultative services.  Ascellon deployed its subject matter experts and other necessary team members. Ascellon planned the survey design and determined the proper methodology. The Company’s technical experts also serve as trainers to conduct in-house training sessions for the surveyors.  This assures that the surveyors can interpret and apply regulations effectively.

Ascellon determined the optimum survey team composition, based on facility size, condition-level deficiencies, and previously identified concerns, and may perform hundreds of surveys of individual agency installations.  The surveys are outcome-oriented, aimed at real improvements in service delivery. Survey team members review historical organization data and Federal procedures as part of their analysis. Ascellon produces reports to include, e.g., description and summary of results with graphs, charts, and tables. 

Ascellon also is active in the area of customer satisfaction surveys.  It recently did such a survey for a leading inter-governmental body in the Washington, DC, area.  Ascellon first performed a segmentation analysis, which included sample size and confidence level.  The analysis also covered the means (telephone, secure web, in-person, paper, etc.) by which the survey would be conducted.  The Company then designed a survey for the organization’s stakeholders (regulatory agencies and elected officials) and customers (rate-payers and service providers). 

Ascellon made sure that all classes of stakeholders and customers were properly represented.  The Company provided extensive survey analysis, including cross-tabulations, frequency distribution tables, and regression analysis.  Ascellon used its proprietary AutoSurvey™ application to automate the process, while maintaining quality assurance. 

Most or all of Ascellon’s survey work is done through Ascellon’s AutoSurvey™ survey data collection and analysis tool.  AutoSurvey™ facilitates the work of both the survey administrator and the survey respondents. As examples, for the administrator AutoSurvey™ can generate unique random number identifiers for each member of the survey population, thus protecting the participant’s privacy, and it specifies automatic skip patterns, or branching, based on answers received. Respondents can leave and then return to the survey, resuming after the last question previously answered, and there is a counter that lets participants know how many questions they still have to answer.

These are just a few of the many features of Ascellon’s AutoSurvey™.  Ascellon uses this application in its own survey work, and AutoSurvey™ is also available to outside clients.

Ascellon conducts a number of activities using accepted standards for data quality and statistically valid analyses. Examples include statistically evaluating survey data and drawing meaningful conclusions, assessing individual surveyor citation patterns to help monitor surveyor performance and inter-rater reliability, and analyzing survey findings to recommend how training should be refocused.

Ascellon’s Data Manager prepares periodical reports analyzing the survey process and findings.  The Company consolidates all data collected from the surveys and periodic reports into meaningful and actionable information. The reports allow the contracting agency to identify administrative improvements, areas for outreach and education, and refinements to guidelines and surveyor training, where policies or legislation might be strengthened or created.  

Ascellon also performs quality assurance of its own data collection processes, to correct any weaknesses. Ascellon incorporates its CMM quality practices to support the quality assurance system. Ascellon’s Quality Assurance Representative performs data and process quality reviews on the project as documented in its Quality Assurance Plan.

Ascellon’s analysis and recommendations can lead to enhancements and improvements to the refining of surveyor guidance and surveyor training. The company is building a repository of best practices, which will contribute to its reports and recommendations.  Ascellon can assume end-to-end responsibility for a survey project, and it does it right.   

Ascellon Corporation                                                                                           Telephone: 301-918-4070                    

8201 Corporate Drive, Suite 950                                                                         Fax: 301-918-4071

Landover MD  20785                    Web address: www.ascellon.com                E-mail: aadebisi@ascellon.com