What This Guide Covers
This guide shows you how to create, edit, and manage questions that appear in your incident forms. You'll learn about question types, conditional logic, tags, and how to link questions to sections.
What Are Incident Questions?
Questions are the individual fields that users complete when recording an incident. They can be:
Text boxes (short or long answers)
Dropdown lists (pick one option)
Checkboxes (pick multiple options)
Radio buttons (choose one from several options)
Date/time pickers
File uploads
Questions are grouped into sections (see Guide 2) and appear in incident forms based on the incident type being reported.
How to Access Incident Questions
Log into ComplyFlow
Navigate to Incident > Admin
Select Questions in the submenu
You'll see a list of all questions configured for your organisation.
Creating a New Question
Follow these steps to create a new incident question:
1. Select Add on the top right corner of the Questions list page.
2. Complete the Question form. You'll see a form with several fields. Here's what each one means:
a. Question (Required) - The actual question text that users will see in the incident form.
Examples:
What time did the incident occur?
Describe what happened
Were there any witnesses?
What was the weather like?
Tips:
Write clear, specific questions
Use simple language
Avoid jargon or technical terms unless necessary
Keep questions focused on one thing
b. Tooltip (Optional) - the Tooltip field allows you to add helper text for the question. This text will appear as a small popup when users hover over the question in the incident form.
Purpose | Example | Tips |
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c. Section (Required) - Choose which section this question belongs to.
How to choose:
1. Click the dropdown
2. Select the appropriate section from the list
3. If the section you need doesn't exist, create it first (see Guide 2)
Example:
What time did the incident occur? → Incident Details section
Describe what you witnessed → Witness Information section
d. Add More - Lets you add the question to additional sections, so it can appear in multiple sections of the form.
Example:
Question: Was safety equipment used?
Sections: Initial Response + Investigation Findings → The question will show in both sections
You cannot add a question unless you select an incident section.
e. Question Type (Required) - Select what kind of answer format you want.
Common types | When to choose |
Checkbox – Multiple checkboxes (choose one or many) |
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Date – Date picker |
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Date/Time – Combined date and time picker |
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Dropdown – Dropdown list (choose one option) |
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Entity in System – Select from existing system records (e.g., employees, locations, equipment) |
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File – File upload |
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File and Free Text – Upload a file and also enter a text comment |
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Image Map – Clickable image for selecting or marking specific areas |
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Free Text – Short text answer (single line) |
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Number (number) – Numeric input only |
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Radio – Radio buttons (choose one) |
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Static Text – Display-only text (no user input) |
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Text Area – Long text answer (multiple lines) |
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For multi-select and dropdowns or radio questions refer also to Guide 3: Managing Incident Questions | Managing Question Values (Answer Options)
f. The Allow Other option under the Checkbox type is used when you want to give users the ability to select an option that isn’t listed in the predefined choices.
How it works:
Normally, a Checkbox question has a set of predefined options.
If Allow Other is enabled, an additional input field appears labeled as Other
Users can type a custom answer that is not in the predefined list.
Example:
Question: Which tools were used?
Options:
Hammer
Screwdriver
Wrench
Other → User can type ‘Pliers’
When to use Allow Other:
When it’s hard to anticipate all possible answers
When flexibility is needed for user responses
When you want to keep the predefined list short but still allow exceptions
g. Required (Optional) - Tick this checkbox to make the question mandatory.
When to use | When not to use |
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Warning: Making too many questions required can frustrate users. Only require truly essential information.
h. Order (Optional) - Set the display order of this question within its section.
How it works:
Lower numbers appear first
Questions without order numbers appear last
Use increments of 10 (10, 20, 30) to allow inserting questions later
Example:
Order 10: What time did it happen?
Order 20: Where did it happen?
Order 30: What happened?
Order 40: Who was involved?
i. Label Width and Input Width - You can configure how much space the question label and input field take up in the form.
Label Width: Determines the width of the question text area
All Questions: 6
Static Text: 9
Input Width: Determines the width of the answer/input area.
All Questions: 6
Static Text: 9
Notes:
These settings help with form layout and alignment
Use wider labels for longer question text
Use wider input fields for longer answers or file uploads
3. Select Add to create your question.
You'll be redirected back to the question list, and your new question will appear.
Editing an Existing Question
To modify a question you've already created:
1. Go to Incident > Admin > Questions
2. Find the question you want to edit in the list
3. Select Action > Edit
4. Make your changes
5. Select Edit to save your changes
Warning: Changing question text will update it everywhere it appears, including in existing incidents. Historical incident data remains unchanged, but the question label will update.
Managing Question Values (Answer Options)
For questions that use dropdowns, multi-select, radio buttons, or checkboxes, you need to create the answer options.
Quick Overview
Question values are the predefined options users can choose from.
Example:
Question: What was the weather like?
Question values: Sunny, Cloudy, Rainy, Windy, Snowing
How to Add Question Values
From the List Questions Screen
1. Select Actions > View
2. Look for the Answer Options section and select Add Answer Option
3. Enter the option text
4. Select Add
Setting Up Conditional Questions (Parent–Child Questions)
Child questions only appear when the parent question is Yes/No type.
How It Works
A child question is shown only if its parent question is answered Yes (or sometimes No, depending on your setup).
You create the child question first, then link it to a parent question.
How to Set It Up
Step 1: Create the Child Question
Add the question you want to appear conditionally.
Example: “How many witnesses were there?”Save the question.
Step 2: Create the Parent Question
Create the Yes/No question that will control visibility.
Example: “Were there any witnesses?”Under the child question settings, choose this as the parent question.
Select the condition (usually “Show when answer is Yes”).
Step 3: Test It
Create a test incident.
Answer the parent question.
Check that the child question appears only when the condition matches (Yes/No).
Tips for Conditional Questions
Do:
Keep conditional logic simple
Test thoroughly before rolling out
Document complex conditional chains
Limit nesting (child of child of child gets confusing)
Don't:
Create circular dependencies (A depends on B depends on A)
Make required questions conditional (users might not see them)
Nest more than 2-3 levels deep
Use conditional logic for critical information
Linking Questions to Sections and Incident Types
Understanding the Relationship
Questions need three things to appear in incident forms:
A section - Where the question appears
An incident type - Which types of incidents show this question
Answer options (if applicable) - What choices users can select
Linking Strategy
Question for SPECIFIC incident types
Select one or more incident types
The question only appears for those types
Use for type-specific questions like "Vehicle registration" (only for vehicle incidents)
Example Configuration
Question: Vehicle registration number
Section: Vehicle Information
Incident Type: Vehicle Incident, Near Miss (Vehicle)
Required: Yes (for selected types only)
Using Tags Effectively
Tags help you organise and filter questions for reporting and review.
When to Use Tags | Example |
Cross-section grouping |
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Reporting purposes |
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Review cycles |
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Tag Naming Best Practices
Good tag names:
"safety-equipment"
"root-cause-analysis"
"corrective-action"
"witness-details"
"environmental-conditions"
Poor tag names:
"stuff"
"misc"
"q1" (not descriptive)
"important" (subjective)
Best Practices for Writing Questions
1. Be Specific and Clear
Good: What time did the incident occur?
Poor: When did it happen?
Good: Describe the injuries sustained
Poor: What happened to them?
2. Use Simple Language
Good: Were you wearing safety glasses?
Poor: Was appropriate ocular personal protective equipment utilised?
3. Ask One Thing Per Question
Good (separate questions):
What were you doing when the incident occurred?
Where were you located when it occurred?
Poor (combined):
What were you doing and where were you when it occurred?
4. Provide Context with Help Text
Question: Incident severity
Help text: Rate from 1 (minor, no injury) to 5 (critical, serious injury or death)
5. Use Appropriate Question Types
For "Yes/No" questions: Use radio buttons or dropdown
For descriptions: Use text area
For specific dates: Use date picker (not text field)
For multiple selections: Use checkboxes or multi-select
6. Consider Your Audience
Write questions that make sense to the people filling out forms:
Use terms they understand
Avoid unnecessary technical jargon
Provide examples when helpful
7. Group Related Questions
Put similar questions together in the same section:
All time-related questions together
All witness questions together
All equipment questions together
Common Question Patterns
Pattern | Sample |
Basic Information | Questions:
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Yes/No Follow-up | Parent: Were there any injuries? (Radio: Yes/No, required) |
Multiple Choice with ‘Other’ | Question: Type of equipment involved (Multi-select)
Follow-up: Please specify other equipment (Text, conditional on ‘Other’ selected) |
Rating Scale | Question: How severe was the incident? (Radio, required)
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Deleting Questions
Before You Delete
Warning: Deleting a question may affect:
Existing incident forms that use this question
Historical incident data (the question data remains, but loses context)
Conditional questions that depend on this question
Recommendation: Instead of deleting, consider:
Making the question optional instead of required
Removing it from incident types (so it only shows for specific types)
Creating a new question and deprecating the old one
How to Delete
1. Go to Incident > Admin > Questions
2. Find the question you want to delete
3. Select Action > Delete
4. Confirm the deletion when prompted
Troubleshooting
Problem | Possible causes | Solution |
My question doesn't appear in incident forms |
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Question values (dropdown options) aren't showing |
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Conditional questions aren't working |
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I can't delete a question |
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Question order isn't working |
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Common Questions
Can I change a question after it's been used in incidents?
Yes, but be careful. Changing the question text updates the label, but historical answers remain unchanged. Changing the question type or answer options can cause data issues.
How many questions should I have?
There's no fixed limit, but consider user experience. Forms with 50+ questions can be overwhelming. Group questions logically and only ask for necessary information.
Can I reuse the same question in multiple sections?
Yes. You can assign the same question to multiple sections so it appears wherever you need it.
Can I make a conditional question required?
Yes, but be careful. If the parent condition isn't met, users won't see the required question. This can cause confusion. Generally, conditional questions should be optional.
What happens to question data if I change the section?
The question moves to the new section. Historical data remains associated with the question, but the section context changes.