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Organization-Based Data Sharing

Askalot supports configurable data sharing within organizations through the sharing mode setting. This guide explains how the sharing mode affects resource visibility and collaboration, including QML files, respondents, and AI-indexed research documents.

Organization Sharing Mode

Each organization has an is_private setting that controls how QML files and Respondents are shared among users within that organization.

Non-Private Organizations (Default)

When is_private=False (the default), users have isolated access to their own resources:

How it works:

  • QML files are only visible to their creator
  • Respondents are only visible to their creator
  • AI-indexed documents are scoped to the active project
  • Users manage their own resource pools independently
  • Projects provide additional organizational structure

Default resources: Each user automatically receives a personal default project and a default sampling strategy (with standard gender and age factors) when they join. The default project can be renamed but not deleted. The default strategy is read-only, providing a consistent demographic baseline for pool generation.

Best for: Organizations with multiple independent research teams, environments requiring stricter data separation within the organization.

Private Organizations

When is_private=True, users within the organization trust each other and share resources:

How it works:

  • QML files are visible to all users in the organization
  • Respondents are visible to all users in the organization
  • AI-indexed documents are shared organization-wide
  • Any user can use shared QML files in their questionnaires
  • Any user can assign shared respondents to their campaigns
  • Projects still control access to questionnaires and campaigns

Best for: Teams working collaboratively, small organizations, research groups where data sharing is expected.

Working in Private Organizations

QML Files

All QML files created by organization members are shared:

  • Navigate to Armiger to access the code editor
  • See all QML files created by any organization member
  • Edit and improve questionnaires collaboratively
  • Reference shared QML files when creating new questionnaires

Respondents

Respondents are a shared resource:

  1. Navigate to Respondents in Targetor
  2. See all respondents in the organization
  3. Any respondent can be assigned to any campaign
  4. Import respondents and they become available to all team members

Campaigns

When creating or editing a campaign:

  • Select from all available questionnaires (via shared QML files)
  • Assign any respondent from the shared pool
  • Track progress across the organization

Working in Non-Private Organizations

QML Files

QML files are isolated per user:

  1. Navigate to Armiger to access the code editor
  2. See only QML files you created
  3. Other users' QML files are not visible
  4. To share a questionnaire, the administrator must change the sharing mode

Respondents

Respondents are isolated per user:

  1. Navigate to Respondents in Targetor
  2. See only respondents you created
  3. Import respondents to your personal pool
  4. Campaigns can only use your own respondents

Project Ownership (Both Modes)

Regardless of sharing mode, project-based access control applies to:

  • Projects: Only visible to users listed as owners
  • Questionnaires: Visible if you own the parent project
  • Campaigns: Visible if you own the parent project

The sharing mode affects QML files, Respondents, and AI-indexed documents. Projects, questionnaires, and campaigns are always controlled by project ownership.

Administrator Access

Users with administrator privileges can see all content regardless of sharing mode. This enables platform-wide management and support.

AI-Indexed Documents

When using AI-Assisted Questionnaire Generation, uploaded research documents are indexed for semantic search (via pgvector). These indexed documents follow the same isolation rules as other resources:

Org Type Document Visibility
Private (is_private=True) All indexed documents shared org-wide — any user can search across all indexed materials
Non-private (is_private=False) Indexed documents scoped to the active project — only users working on the same project can search those materials

How It Works

The AI panel in Armiger includes a project selector that determines which project documents are indexed into:

  • When starting a new AI session, the user's default project is automatically selected
  • Documents uploaded or referenced during the session are indexed under the selected project
  • Switching projects starts a fresh conversation with access to only that project's indexed documents
  • The Research Agent's MCP tools (document search, summary, listing) respect the project boundary

Why This Matters

In non-private organizations with multiple research teams, project-scoped isolation prevents accidental data leakage:

  • A researcher working on "Customer Satisfaction 2026" cannot search documents indexed by another team working on "Employee Engagement Q1"
  • Each team's research materials remain confidential to their project
  • This protection applies to both the Research Agent (Phase 1) and the Designer Agent (Phase 2) of the AI workflow

In private organizations, the collaborative trust model applies — all indexed documents are visible to all users, enabling teams to build on each other's research materials.

Practical Examples

Non-Private Organization: University Department

A university department with 10 independent researchers:

User Can See Can Use
Prof. Alice Alice's QML files, respondents, and indexed documents Alice's resources only
Dr. Bob Bob's QML files, respondents, and indexed documents Bob's resources only
Dr. Carol Carol's QML files, respondents, and indexed documents Carol's resources only

Each researcher works independently. Alice's survey respondents cannot be accidentally used by Bob. When Alice uses the AI panel to index research papers, those documents are only visible within Alice's project — Bob's Research Agent cannot search them. Universities are non-private by default because researchers typically run independent studies with separate data.

Private Organization: Market Research Firm

A market research firm with a collaborative team:

User Can See Can Use
Team Lead All QML files, all respondents, all indexed documents Any QML file, any respondent, search all indexed materials
Analyst A All QML files, all respondents, all indexed documents Any QML file, any respondent, search all indexed materials
Analyst B All QML files, all respondents, all indexed documents Any QML file, any respondent, search all indexed materials

Everyone collaborates on shared resources. The team lead can build on Analyst A's questionnaire design. Analyst B can survey respondents that the team lead imported. When using the AI panel, any team member can search across documents that others indexed during their AI sessions. Research firms and other paying customers are private by default because team members work closely together on shared client projects.

Best Practices

For Private Organizations

  • Establish naming conventions - Prefix QML files with project codes for easy identification
  • Document ownership - Add comments to QML files indicating the responsible researcher
  • Coordinate respondent imports - Avoid duplicate respondent records
  • Use external IDs consistently - Link respondents to your CRM or panel provider

For Non-Private Organizations

  • Request sharing mode changes - Contact your administrator if you need to share resources
  • Use project collaboration - Add team members as project owners to share questionnaires and campaigns
  • Document respondent sources - Use the source_system field to track origin

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know which sharing mode my organization uses?

Contact your Askalot administrator. If you can see QML files, respondents, and indexed documents created by other users, your organization is in private mode.

Can I share just one QML file with another user?

In non-private organizations, add the other user as a project owner. They will then have access to questionnaires in that project. To share QML files directly, the administrator must enable private mode.

Can we switch between sharing modes?

Yes, the sharing mode can be changed by an administrator. Changing modes affects visibility immediately - it does not move or copy data.

What happens to existing resources when switching modes?

  • Switching to non-private: Users only see resources they created. Shared resources become visible only to their original creators. AI-indexed documents become project-scoped.
  • Switching to private: All resources become visible to all organization members. AI-indexed documents from all projects become searchable by everyone.

Next Steps