We have pre-loaded assignments with expected quantity as 1. We are noticing that we are receiving duplicate interviews (different interview keys) for the same assignments. This hasn’t happened during a questionnaire version update (last update to the questionnaire was in the first week of march).
While the interviews created were in May with different Keys, and creation time differs by a minute.
The app shouldn’t allow creation of 2 interviews here.
We had the same problem 2 weeks ago:
https://forum.mysurvey.solutions/t/multiple-interviews-from-single-interview-assignment/3610/8
The problem still seems to be under investigation.
Dear @ashwinikalantri ,
@klaus has already reported this case and this should have been partially fixed in a recent hotfix 21.5.3. As noted, we have so far suspected the multiple interview creation from the map dashboard as the vulnerability and addressed that issue. If there is any remaining scenario when the multiple interviews are still created, please do let us know the steps.
Your screenshot indicates the interviews were initiated on May 24, which is about the same days as in Klaus’ report. Have you had any recent reports of the same problem in the version 21.5.3+ ?
Best, Sergiy
We do not use map dashboard. All the assigned with duplicate interviews were reassigned to the interviewers on or before 19 May.
We installed 21.05.3 on 30 May 2021. Please find an example where the interviews were created after this date. Probably running 21.05.5. Reassigned to the interviewer on 17 May 2021
We have the 32 assignments with 64 duplicate interviews. assign_datetime is the date and time of assigning the assignment to the interviewer and create_datetime is the date and time of creating the interview.
| interview__key | assignment__id | assign_datetime | create_datetime |
|---|---|---|---|
| 99-49-86-39 | 41412 | 18 Nov 2020 4:58:53 AM | 18 Nov 2020 7:01:17 AM |
| 27-95-59-32 | 41412 | 18 Nov 2020 4:58:53 AM | 18 Nov 2020 7:00:51 AM |
| 79-41-33-22 | 25126 | 22 Jan 2021 11:06:04 AM | 24 Jan 2021 6:52:03 AM |
| 41-41-45-53 | 25126 | 22 Jan 2021 11:06:04 AM | 24 Jan 2021 7:03:03 AM |
| 78-66-28-85 | 31476 | 20 Feb 2021 7:25:17 AM | 20 Feb 2021 10:37:15 AM |
| 73-33-35-19 | 31476 | 20 Feb 2021 7:25:17 AM | 20 Feb 2021 12:03:51 PM |
| 47-42-35-87 | 28321 | 03 Mar 2021 9:03:52 AM | 08 Mar 2021 4:25:49 AM |
| 49-08-63-10 | 28321 | 03 Mar 2021 9:03:52 AM | 08 Mar 2021 4:13:41 AM |
| 48-35-53-14 | 42169 | 25 Mar 2021 11:18:42 AM | 26 Mar 2021 11:56:27 AM |
| 62-72-60-40 | 42169 | 25 Mar 2021 11:18:42 AM | 26 Mar 2021 12:02:11 PM |
| 59-52-99-51 | 47144 | 08 May 2021 3:53:39 AM | 24 May 2021 5:37:33 AM |
| 64-10-07-16 | 47144 | 08 May 2021 3:53:39 AM | 24 May 2021 5:35:20 AM |
| 11-76-78-96 | 47197 | 08 May 2021 3:53:39 AM | 22 May 2021 11:48:57 AM |
| 31-79-81-42 | 47197 | 08 May 2021 3:53:39 AM | 22 May 2021 6:52:42 AM |
| 59-12-63-29 | 46891 | 08 May 2021 3:53:44 AM | 24 May 2021 6:07:57 AM |
| 12-97-46-85 | 46891 | 08 May 2021 3:53:44 AM | 24 May 2021 6:08:47 AM |
| 48-45-15-06 | 47032 | 08 May 2021 3:53:44 AM | 22 May 2021 6:19:12 AM |
| 47-81-93-84 | 47032 | 08 May 2021 3:53:44 AM | 22 May 2021 6:20:20 AM |
| 32-28-84-11 | 45840 | 08 May 2021 3:53:55 AM | 24 May 2021 6:27:07 AM |
| 15-50-65-07 | 45840 | 08 May 2021 3:53:55 AM | 24 May 2021 12:00:44 PM |
| 34-22-19-32 | 45887 | 08 May 2021 3:53:55 AM | 24 May 2021 5:54:34 AM |
| 17-68-09-53 | 45887 | 08 May 2021 3:53:55 AM | 24 May 2021 5:53:15 AM |
| 39-89-80-43 | 45889 | 08 May 2021 3:53:55 AM | 24 May 2021 12:07:57 PM |
| 16-01-83-66 | 45889 | 08 May 2021 3:53:55 AM | 24 May 2021 12:09:54 PM |
| 75-53-03-88 | 45895 | 08 May 2021 3:53:55 AM | 22 May 2021 6:07:49 AM |
| 94-48-11-99 | 45895 | 08 May 2021 3:53:55 AM | 22 May 2021 6:10:23 AM |
| 58-59-64-07 | 45699 | 08 May 2021 3:54:00 AM | 24 May 2021 12:29:32 PM |
| 20-58-61-08 | 45699 | 08 May 2021 3:54:00 AM | 24 May 2021 12:28:37 PM |
| 64-85-42-64 | 46710 | 13 May 2021 9:48:26 AM | 19 May 2021 8:39:30 AM |
| 36-10-33-71 | 46710 | 13 May 2021 9:48:26 AM | 19 May 2021 8:38:24 AM |
| 87-19-59-20 | 46431 | 17 May 2021 4:50:32 AM | 29 May 2021 1:20:21 PM |
| 21-33-57-97 | 46431 | 17 May 2021 4:50:32 AM | 29 May 2021 12:54:38 PM |
| 46-39-72-00 | 46383 | 17 May 2021 4:50:41 AM | 31 May 2021 1:00:05 PM |
| 79-33-81-11 | 46383 | 17 May 2021 4:50:41 AM | 31 May 2021 12:58:13 PM |
| 80-25-95-37 | 46278 | 17 May 2021 4:50:57 AM | 20 May 2021 10:34:08 AM |
| 26-84-73-58 | 46278 | 17 May 2021 4:50:57 AM | 20 May 2021 10:32:46 AM |
| 45-13-94-84 | 46280 | 17 May 2021 4:50:57 AM | 19 May 2021 12:18:37 PM |
| 95-31-81-64 | 46280 | 17 May 2021 4:50:57 AM | 19 May 2021 12:21:59 PM |
| 64-93-15-53 | 46250 | 17 May 2021 4:51:02 AM | 19 May 2021 11:34:22 AM |
| 88-45-06-99 | 46250 | 17 May 2021 4:51:02 AM | 19 May 2021 11:46:00 AM |
| 11-26-41-41 | 46221 | 17 May 2021 4:51:06 AM | 30 May 2021 10:40:31 AM |
| 00-29-32-39 | 46221 | 17 May 2021 4:51:06 AM | 30 May 2021 10:28:51 AM |
| 07-33-82-00 | 46189 | 17 May 2021 4:51:07 AM | 19 May 2021 11:27:41 AM |
| 71-95-41-39 | 46189 | 17 May 2021 4:51:07 AM | 19 May 2021 11:24:39 AM |
| 65-78-46-81 | 46204 | 17 May 2021 4:51:07 AM | 26 May 2021 10:25:01 AM |
| 49-76-58-85 | 46204 | 17 May 2021 4:51:07 AM | 26 May 2021 10:56:31 AM |
| 85-86-02-63 | 46166 | 17 May 2021 4:51:11 AM | 22 May 2021 11:24:19 AM |
| 42-02-89-10 | 46166 | 17 May 2021 4:51:11 AM | 22 May 2021 11:15:05 AM |
| 82-27-81-92 | 46173 | 17 May 2021 4:51:11 AM | 19 May 2021 12:04:31 PM |
| 95-46-77-36 | 46173 | 17 May 2021 4:51:11 AM | 19 May 2021 12:10:10 PM |
| 90-85-52-79 | 46175 | 17 May 2021 4:51:11 AM | 22 May 2021 5:22:45 AM |
| 10-89-63-43 | 46175 | 17 May 2021 4:51:11 AM | 22 May 2021 5:21:03 AM |
| 27-77-02-55 | 46131 | 17 May 2021 4:51:16 AM | 07 Jun 2021 7:30:26 AM |
| 68-97-75-47 | 46131 | 17 May 2021 4:51:16 AM | 07 Jun 2021 7:21:08 AM |
| 64-37-49-06 | 46125 | 17 May 2021 4:51:21 AM | 26 May 2021 10:11:50 AM |
| 92-12-20-58 | 46125 | 17 May 2021 4:51:21 AM | 26 May 2021 10:13:29 AM |
| 70-91-72-23 | 46078 | 19 May 2021 4:17:25 AM | 20 May 2021 6:44:39 AM |
| 69-14-02-52 | 46078 | 19 May 2021 4:17:25 AM | 20 May 2021 6:43:17 AM |
| 24-31-55-46 | 46068 | 19 May 2021 4:17:30 AM | 20 May 2021 5:37:48 AM |
| 06-92-11-77 | 46068 | 19 May 2021 4:17:30 AM | 20 May 2021 5:27:54 AM |
| 15-12-58-90 | 46060 | 19 May 2021 4:17:31 AM | 19 May 2021 1:29:42 PM |
| 72-73-46-15 | 46060 | 19 May 2021 4:17:31 AM | 19 May 2021 1:27:07 PM |
| 30-78-54-97 | 46010 | 19 May 2021 4:17:36 AM | 19 May 2021 1:20:23 PM |
| 99-38-15-61 | 46010 | 19 May 2021 4:17:36 AM | 19 May 2021 1:22:37 PM |
If it is any help, here is the schedule of updating our SS server.
| Version | Date |
|---|---|
| 20.9.0 | 21 Sept 2020 |
| 20.10.4 | 1 Dec 2020 |
| 20.12.0 | 30 Dec 2020 |
| 21.1.0 | 24 Jan 2021 |
| 21.1.5 | 12 Mar 2021 |
| 21.1.6 | 18 Mar 2021 |
| 21.5.1 | 16 May 2021 |
| 21.5.2 | 22 May 2021 |
| 21.5.3 | 30 May 2021 |
| 21.5.5 | 5 Jun 2021 |
| 21.5.6 | 11 Jun 2021 |
| 21.5.7 | 14 Jun 2021 |
Is there any update on this issue? We still see duplicate interviews from the same assignment id (assignment are for 1 interview only). We are still on 21.5.7. Has 21.06 touched on this issue? I couldn’t spot a mention in the release notes.
I spotted this issue again in our current survey where two interviews were generated from an assignment that expects only 1 interview. We are on ver 22.02.6.
There are several valid scenarios that could produce this result and of cause there could be a bug.
To help us to understand better the source of the problem could please clarify:
Did you change the size? (More than one initially and reduced to one)
Were those interviews created on tablet or directly on HQ? (Was synchronization involved?)
Did you reassign this assignment? (The first interviewer synced with tablet and created interview, assignment was reassigned, the second interviewer creates on tablet the second one)
Do you use Supervisor app? (More complex scenarios)
Did you migrate assignment between different versions? (Tablet sync during migration)
How much time has passed between those interviews creation moments? (Double click at some point)
We found more instances of duplicate interviews.
Same assignment assigned to two interviewer
Rd07 shouldn’t have been allowed as the assignment was already received by tablet by the previous interviewer.Another scenario were we observed duplicates was when interviews were received by the tablet but the interviewer accessed the web interface and opened an interview to have a look at them. This created two interviews. Possible solution may be to not permit creation of interviews on web-interface once assignments have been synced to the tablets.
@ashwinikalantri , case 1 described in your message is exactly the scenario described in the Excessive interviews article:
This has always been the case for many years, and there are some recommendations there. But I agree the assignments page may have benefitted from the same safety mechanism as implemented in Interviews reassignment:
Your case 2 is probably missing some details. There is a safety lock which prevents the interviewers to edit the same interview on the tablet and on the web:
Yes, this is exactly our scenario. The checkbox suggested by you will definitely help mitigate this issue, but Humans are stupid 
!! The Excessive Interviews article talks about Recommendations. These are not fool proof and we may and do skip steps. I would love to see the system enforce the expected behaviour - Collected interviews are never more than Expected.
This could be done is a few ways:
This forces the first interviewer to release the assignment before the second interviewer can get it.
Regarding the scenario 2, following are the timestamps:
18182 (along with 499 other assignments) created on 9 Jun 2022 at 16:31 and assigned to the supervisor.13 Jun 2022 at 15:2813 Jun 2022 at 15:29Assignment 18182) to look at the pre-loaded data. (This should not be permitted as the assignments were already in the tablet.)75-40-63-66) for Assignment No 18182 was created in the web-interface on 13 Jun 2022 at 17:04 and has the status Interviewer Assigned.88-59-46-15) again on his tablet on 14 Jun 2022 at 09:19.Again, most users are not technology savvy or understand the functioning of the SuSo platform. They only perform selected tasks. Training them is not always feasible. They would screw up even after training. Putting these checks in the system saves monitoring and training resources. It also gives me more confidence that nothing unexpected is happening that I should be worried about.