What's New at Fuel Cycle
From the evolution of FC UX into Fuel Cycle Qual, to tighter session controls and a redesigned export experience, this month’s updates expand qualitative research capabilities, improve session reliability, and simplify data management across the platform.
A New Era for Qual Research
FC UX becomes Fuel Cycle Qual, covering the full spectrum of qualitative research — from usability testing to interviews, focus groups, and beyond.
Reliable Sessions, Every Time
Auto recording, participant controls, and guided launch experiences ensure every moderated and unmoderated session runs as planned.
Faster Data, Less Friction
A redesigned export builder and flagged response downloads make data management faster and more consistent across the platform.
A New Chapter in Qualitative Research
The platform’s qualitative research suite has grown well beyond its origins in UX testing. FC UX is now Fuel Cycle Qual — a name that reflects a full range of qualitative methods including interviews, focus groups, live chats, and diary studies. This month also brings qualitative reporting to open-ended responses from surveys and Quick Questions, extending analysis capabilities to data gathered across all your research instruments.
- Fuel Cycle Qual — The platform’s qualitative research suite expands beyond UX testing to support the full spectrum of qualitative methods, from moderated interviews and focus groups to live chats and longitudinal diary studies, under a name that reflects its true scope.
- Platform Qualitative Reports for Survey & Quick Question Open-Ends — Moderators can now build qualitative reports directly from survey open-ended responses and Quick Questions, applying analysis tools including tagging, response management, and visibility controls to data gathered outside standard research activities.
Reliable Sessions and Sharper Participant Control
This month’s FC Qual updates make every session easier to manage from start to finish. Automatic recording eliminates missed sessions, new in-session participant controls reduce disruptions, and improved launch guidance keeps unmoderated studies on track.
- Moderated Study: Auto Recording — Sessions now start recording automatically, with a timer notification confirming capture is active. A Stop Recording button remains available if needed, removing missed recordings as a source of lost data.
- Moderated Study: Mute and Remove Participants — Researchers can mute or remove participants directly from a live session. A soft remove allows the participant to rejoin; a hard remove prevents re-entry, giving researchers precise control over session flow.
- Voices App: Launch Guidance for Unmoderated Studies — Participants starting an unmoderated FC Qual study now see step-by-step instructions directing them to the Voices by Fuel Cycle app on both mobile and desktop, eliminating the leading cause of drop-off and incomplete sessions.
- Voices App: Audio Output Selection — Participants can select their preferred audio output device — speaker, Bluetooth, or other available options — directly within the session, without leaving the call.
Streamlined Exports and a More Consistent Platform
New export tools and platform-wide consistency improvements reduce friction in how researchers collect, manage, and share their work. The redesigned Export Builder standardizes a previously inconsistent process, flagged response downloads accelerate quality control, and URL standardization makes the platform easier to navigate and share.
- New Export Builder — A guided two-step flow now standardizes how researchers create exports across all eleven export types. A dedicated type-selection screen replaces the previous inconsistent entry points, making the process predictable regardless of what you’re exporting.
- Download Flagged Survey Responses — A new export button on the survey response listing page lets moderators download all flagged responses in one action, with a notification confirming when the export is ready — making quality control at scale significantly faster.
- URL Standardization — URL structures for surveys, reports, email campaigns, and activity creation now follow a consistent hierarchy, making it easier to bookmark key views, navigate directly, and share links with colleagues.
- Reorder FC Qual Block on Landing Pages — The FC Qual block in the landing page builder can now be positioned anywhere in the layout, giving researchers precise control over how respondents experience the research flow.
The Little Things Matter Too
Platform Enhancements You Asked For
- Expanded Login Email Support — The login page now accepts a broader range of email formats, including subdomains and complex corporate addresses, eliminating authentication failures for users with non-standard email structures.
- Quick Question: Quant Report Adjustment — The response status filter no longer appears in Quick Question quantitative reports, keeping the interface focused on controls relevant to the data at hand.
- Standardized Dropdowns, Language, and Mouse Pointers — Consistent appearance and behavior across platform sections, reducing navigation friction when switching between study types and visually signaling interactive controls.
- Multiple FC Qual display and audio enhancements and improvements.
- Multiple platform display, navigation, and workflow refinements across surveys, projects, and the moderator experience.
More Resources
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