Questionnaire Templates Admin Frontend

Overview

The Questionnaire Templates feature in @admin-lite enables organizations to create, manage, and utilize reusable questionnaire blueprints. This significantly reduces the time and effort required to create new questionnaires while ensuring consistency across similar audits and inspections.

Templates leverage the existing questionnaire system, allowing any questionnaire to be saved as a template and any template to be used as the starting point for a new questionnaire. For core questionnaire concepts, refer to Questionnaires.

Key Features

Template Creation: Save any questionnaire as a reusable template
Template Library: Organized repository of default and custom templates
Search & Filter: Find templates quickly with advanced filtering
Version Management: Track template updates and modifications
Access Control: Organization-specific templates with visibility controls
Seamless Integration: Direct integration with questionnaire creation workflow

Architecture

Frontend Structure (@admin-lite)

app/admin/questionnaires/
├── templates/
│   └── page.tsx                          # Template list page
├── _components/
│   └── modals/
│       └── save-as-template-modal.tsx    # Save questionnaire as template
└── _lib/
    ├── template-queries.ts               # React Query configurations
    ├── template-repository.ts            # API communication
    ├── template-service.ts               # Business logic
    └── template-converter.ts             # Conversion utilities

Backend Structure (@api-questionnaires)

domains/questionnaireTemplate/
├── repository/
│   └── questionnaireTemplate.mongo.repository.ts
├── schema/
│   └── questionnaireTemplate.mongoschema.ts
└── usecase/
    └── questionnaireTemplate.usecase.ts

Template Types

1. Default Templates

Created by Nimbly administrators
Available to all organizations
Read-only for end users
Curated for common use cases

2. Custom Templates

Created by organization users
Organization-specific access
Full CRUD operations
Can be shared within the organization

User Workflows

Creating a Template

From Existing Questionnaire

Navigate to questionnaire list
Select “Save as Template” from actions menu

Configure template details:

interface TemplateConfig {
  title: string;
  description?: string;
  publish: boolean;  // Draft or Published
}

Save to template library

From Scratch

Create a new questionnaire
Configure all questions and settings
Save as template instead of publishing

Using a Template

Navigate to Create Questionnaire
```
/admin/questionnaires/create
```
Select “Create from Template”
- Opens template selection modal
- Browse or search templates
Choose Template
- View template details
- Preview questions
- Select and load
Customize
- Modify questions as needed
- Update departments and settings
- Save as new questionnaire

Managing Templates

Template List View

// Enhanced list with filtering
<TemplateList
  filters={{
    search: string,
    type: ['default', 'custom'],
    status: ['draft', 'published', 'archived']
  }}
  onTemplateSelect={(template) => {
    // Load template for editing or preview
  }}
/>

Template Actions

Edit: Modify template content (custom templates only)
Clone: Create a copy of the template
Archive: Soft delete (can be restored)
Restore: Bring back archived templates
Preview: View template structure

API Integration

Endpoints

Get Templates

// GET /api/v2/questionnairetemplates/v2
interface GetTemplatesParams {
  search?: string;
  type?: 'default' | 'custom';
  status?: 'draft' | 'published' | 'archived';
  page?: number;
  limit?: number;
  sortBy?: 'title' | 'createdAt' | 'updatedAt';
  sortOrder?: 'asc' | 'desc';
}

Create Template

// POST /api/v2/questionnairetemplates/v2/create-template
interface CreateTemplateDto {
  title: string;
  description?: string;
  publish: boolean;
  questions: Question[];
}

Update Template

// PATCH /api/v2/questionnairetemplates/v2/update-template/:templateID
interface UpdateTemplateDto {
  title?: string;
  description?: string;
  publish?: boolean;
  questions?: Question[];
}

For complete API documentation, see the backend repository @api-questionnaires/QUESTIONNAIRE_TEMPLATE_API.md.

Template Schema

Templates use the same question structure as questionnaires:

interface QuestionnaireTemplate {
  templateID: string;
  organizationID?: string;      // null for default templates
  type: 'default' | 'custom';
  title: string;
  description?: string;
  questions: Question[];        // Same as questionnaire questions
  visibility: 'organization' | 'public';
  status: 'draft' | 'published' | 'archived';
  createdBy: string;
  modifiedByName?: string;
  modifiedBy: string;
  version?: string;
  createdAt: Date;
  updatedAt: Date;
}

UI Components

Template List

Search Bar: Real-time search in title and description
Filter Panel: Type, status, and date filters
Template Cards: Visual representation with preview
Action Menu: Context actions per template

<SaveAsTemplateModal
  questionnaire={currentQuestionnaire}
  onSave={async (templateConfig) => {
    const template = await templateService.createFromQuestionnaire(
      questionnaire,
      templateConfig
    );
    toast.success('Template saved successfully');
  }}
/>

<TemplateSelectionModal
  onSelect={async (templateId) => {
    const template = await templateService.getById(templateId);
    const questionnaire = TemplateConverter.toQuestionnaire(template);
    // Load into editor
  }}
/>

Status Workflow

graph LR
    A[Draft] --> B[Published]
    B --> C[Archived]
    C --> A[Draft]
    
    style A fill:#f9f,stroke:#333
    style B fill:#9f9,stroke:#333
    style C fill:#999,stroke:#333

Status Rules

Draft: Work in progress, not visible in selection
Published: Available for use
Archived: Soft deleted, can be restored

Best Practices

Template Design

Comprehensive Coverage: Include all necessary questions
Clear Categorization: Organize questions logically
Descriptive Names: Use clear, searchable titles
Documentation: Add helpful descriptions
Version Control: Update templates carefully

Template Usage

Regular Review: Keep templates up to date
Feedback Loop: Gather user feedback for improvements
Standardization: Use templates for consistency
Customization: Allow flexibility when using templates

Performance Considerations

Optimization Strategies

// Lazy load template content
const templateDetails = useQuery({
  queryKey: ['template', templateId],
  queryFn: () => templateService.getById(templateId),
  enabled: !!templateId // Only fetch when ID is available
});
 
// Cache template list
const templates = useQuery({
  queryKey: ['templates', filters],
  queryFn: () => templateService.findAll(filters),
  staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000 // 5 minutes
});

Search Performance

Server-side search with debouncing
Indexed fields for fast queries
Pagination for large result sets

Integration Points

With Questionnaire Creation

Templates seamlessly integrate into the questionnaire creation workflow:

User starts questionnaire creation
Option to “Create from Template”
Template content loads into editor
User customizes and saves

With Bulk Operations

Export templates to Excel
Import templates from other organizations
Bulk update template properties

Security & Permissions

Access Control

// Template visibility rules
const canViewTemplate = (template: Template, user: User) => {
  return (
    template.type === 'default' ||  // All users can see default templates
    template.organizationID === user.organizationID  // Own org templates
  );
};
 
// Modification permissions
const canEditTemplate = (template: Template, user: User) => {
  return (
    template.type === 'custom' &&  // Only custom templates
    template.organizationID === user.organizationID &&  // Own org
    user.role in ['Admin', 'AccountHolder']  // Proper role
  );
};

Future Enhancements

Planned Features

Template Categories: Organize by industry or use case
Template Sharing: Share between organizations
Version History: Track all template changes
Usage Analytics: See which templates are most used
AI Suggestions: Recommend templates based on usage

Under Consideration

Template marketplace
Industry-specific template packs
Template approval workflows
Multi-language templates

Core System

Questionnaires - Main questionnaire system
Questionnaire Create Admin Frontend V2 - V2 editor
Questionnaires Backend - API documentation

Implementation

@admin-lite - Frontend implementation
@api-questionnaires - Backend API
Template API Documentation - Detailed API specs

Compass - Nimbly Documentation

Explorer