As the administrator, use the checklist below for testing a template – to verify whether the model contract has been inserted in its entirety and whether the questionnaire is complete and working as intended (incorporating all variables and being capable of producing all possible variants of the model).
To facilitate the testing process: open your user profile by click on your name in top right corner of the Weagree Wizard, then click Enable test mode. This will make underlying model contracts uploaded to the Weagree Wizard available for generating comparisons (red-lined versions) after completing the questionnaire. A small wrench badge will appear next to your name when test mode is active.
For resolving any issues identified during testing, you may find it useful to refer to the troubleshooting section of this Knowledge base.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. Template
B. Questionnaire
C. Generated document
D. Template details
A. TEMPLATE
First and foremost, all basic text elements from the model contract must be accounted for. It is generally easiest to confirm this prior to creating a questionnaire that may result in the omission of certain parts of the comprehensive model contract.
Note: the Word template (dotx file) your template will be using should be correctly configured before you begin testing. For more information on configuring Word templates, click here.
Start by either creating a new contract with the template and generating a document from there, or by generating an all-options document in the Template Creation Tool (TCT). Then, compare it to the original model contract and check whether:
a. all clauses and miscellaneous elements (table of contents, parties and signature blocks) are present, in the right order;
b. all schedules and annexes are present, in the right order (these can be rearranged with the arrow buttons in the TCT);
c. all definitions are present, in the right order (if they are not all ordered alphabetically, check the definitions for initial spaces (use the HTML editor) or use hard spaces – the [º] tag – between the words of the defined term);
d. all sections are appropriately numbered and indented (e.g. no Level 2 where Level 3 or Level 2 – no numbering is required) and no manual numbering remains;
e. if applicable, captions appear where appropriate (e.g. in Level 2 clauses, but not in Level 2 – no numbering clauses);
f. all cross-references are present and correct (search for “0” (zero) and “error” to find any incorrectly formatted or broken cross-references);
g. all tables are present and rendering correctly;
h. all functional party references have been replaced with [gq.Party1], [gq.Party2], and so on as appropriate;
h. there are no typos;
i. there are no unwanted square brackets (the [ and ] characters), spaces (search for ” ” as well as for “ .” “ ,” “ ;” and “ :”) or white lines;
j. there are no tag identifiers (e.g. definition, reference, annex, edit, choice, date, country, lookup, gq, calc, datecalc, TAB, EOL, pagebreak).
The TCT’s search functionality can help you find and correct any errors. For more information, click here.
B. QUESTIONNAIRE
When the template itself is complete and free of errors or inconsistencies, it is time to examine the questionnaire. Use the template to create a contract for testing if you have not done so already. In the questionnaire, do the following:
1. Insert parties with short names that are distinct from the functional references configured in the template settings (e.g. Seller or Weagree), to confirm that party tags (e.g. [gq.Party1]) are working correctly.
2. Check whether all questions (and answer options) that appear are correctly formulated and, where applicable, whether explanatory notes and attention notices are present and correct. If for whatever reason no question was actually formulated, a default phrase will appear. In such cases you may see any of the following:
Give your value for: [name edit-tag]
Choose the correct answer regarding: [name choice-tag]
Do you wish to include a provision on: [name contract clause]
Pick the correct date for: [name date-tag]
Please select a jurisdiction: [name country-tag]
Note: questions can quickly and easily be edited using the Q&A editor on the template overview of the Administrator page. For more information, click here.
3. Fill in all questions and confirm their effects in the WYSIWYG view. Use the questionnaire to include as many clauses as possible. In the case of choice questions, go through all the answers to confirm each produces the desired effect. Where multiple answers may be selected, select all of them.
Note 1: global questions are typically used in multiple places. Click the eye next to the question repeatedly to jump to each place where the question is used. The WYSIWYG view may land on seemingly blank spots; this indicates that the question is triggered, but does not result in the insertion of any text.
Note 2: numerals may have specific formatting requirements (e.g. for the use of periods and commas, or the number of decimals or rounding).
4. Check whether all questions (and their answer options) added to the template actually appear in the questionnaire, and that they do so when appropriate. If any question has been set up to produce any follow-up questions depending on how it is answered, verify that this is working as intended.
5. Check whether any questions appear that were already addressed by any global question (typically the result of a choice tree not being linked to the corresponding global question) or which are otherwise redundant. In certain cases, it may be practical to ‘pre-answer‘ a question for the end-user.
6. Determine whether questions are logically grouped and ordered. Especially with respect to global questions, you may find that the questionnaire is somewhat disjointed: questions may be listed in an awkward order, appear on other pages than directly related questions, or generally be too spread out (e.g. when there are only one or two questions on several pages of the questionnaire). Strategic use of the ‘ask when first triggered‘ feature may improve the questionnaire’s logic and ease-of-use.
C. GENERATED DOCUMENT
To verify that the template and questionnaire are all in order, generate a document based on a completed questionnaire and compare (using the Compare button in the contract entry’s repository or the template settings, Microsoft Word’s comparison function or a side-by-side view) to either the original model contract or an all-options version. Bear in mind that certain differences may be unavoidable and Microsoft Word’s redlining can be somewhat too rigid, so carefully check whether any (detected) differences are actually relevant and require action.
Examining this generated document as closely as under section A above should not be necessary, but given the effect that the questionnaire may have had on its contents, it is strongly recommended that you at least perform checks b (schedules and annexes), c (definitions), d (numbering and indentation), f (cross-references), i (unwanted characters) and j (tags) once more. Be on the lookout for duplicate paragraphs as well.
Depending on the complexity of the questionnaire, to ensure no errors remain, you may have to generate and review multiple documents based on different permutations of key global questions.
D. TEMPLATE DETAILS
Once you have completed this initial testing and have corrected the template and questionnaire as needed, it is time to grant end-users access to the template. Typically, you will begin with a selection of (senior) end-users who will conduct their own tests to confirm that it is ready for production. When the template is ready to go, it can be made available to all other eligible end-users.
Before asking any end-users to start testing or using the template, review the template details on the Contract creation > (Contract) templates section of the Administrator page and the New contract overview panel (or page, depending on your portal’s settings). Consider the following in particular:
1. Name: is it sufficiently descriptive and differentiated, while not being overly long?
2. Category: is the template assigned to the appropriate category and is that category’s title adequate?
3. User groups: has the template been assigned to the correct user groups? When testing, it is sensible to select user groups for that purpose only (e.g. Testing and acceptance). For information on how user groups work, click here.
Note: use the dropdown on the template overview of Contract template or New contract to filter by user group.
4. Supplementary document: must users have access to a separate, downloadable document (e.g. a PDF containing instructions or an Excel file to be added as a schedule to the contract)? A download icon will appear next to the template name on New contract.
5. Guidance: is a short explanatory note warranted? This will be available via an information icon, displayed next to the template name on New contract.
