This article will guide you on how to create an API developers survey about API documentation quality. You can build a smart, conversational survey in seconds—Specific lets you generate one instantly.
Steps to create a survey for API developers about API documentation quality
If you want to save time, just generate a survey with Specific right now. Here’s how easy it is:
Tell what survey you want.
Done.
Honestly, you don’t even need to read further—Specific uses AI to craft a survey with expert-level knowledge and will automatically ask thoughtful follow-up questions to dig deeper for richer insights. If you want full control or to customize your survey from scratch, head over to the AI survey generator and explore different survey formats.
Why API documentation quality surveys matter
API documentation is the backbone of a developer’s experience. Skipping regular feedback loops is a surefire way to miss out on critical improvements. Here’s why running API documentation quality surveys with API developers is essential:
Developers spend about 30% of their time reading documentation—if your guides are confusing or incomplete, that’s hours wasted every week, not to mention the frustration it causes. [1]
Incomplete or outdated docs increase failure rates and force developers to spend more time troubleshooting basic issues. [2]
When you harness the actual experiences and pain points from API developers, you’re much more likely to uncover what’s unclear, which code examples work, and what documentation is genuinely helpful (or not).
If you’re not running these API developer feedback surveys, you’re ignoring key drivers of API adoption, missing chances to reduce support escalations, and losing competitive edge as your documentation lags behind what users need. Regular feedback ensures your docs are always aligned with real-world needs—boosting developer satisfaction and product success.
What makes a good survey on API documentation quality
It’s not enough to just ask questions. The best surveys for API developers about documentation quality are:
Clear and unbiased: Jargon-free language and straightforward questions invite honest feedback and reduce confusion.
Conversational in tone: Developers are more open when questions sound natural, not rigid or corporate.
Bad practices | Good practices |
|---|---|
Leading questions | Neutral wording |
The measure of a successful API documentation survey? High response rates and in-depth, actionable insights—not just checking off a checkbox. Balance both, and you’ll get feedback you can actually use.
What are good question types for an API developers survey about documentation quality?
The types of questions you choose shape both the data and the quality of the feedback. Let’s cover a few top options for collecting robust, actionable responses from API developers interested in documentation quality.
Open-ended questions give respondents space to share what’s top of mind, capture unexpected issues, and surface suggestions that structured questions might miss. They’re best early in a survey, or where you want unfiltered opinions or deep dives.
What was the most confusing part of the API documentation you recently used?
If you could change one thing about our documentation, what would it be?
Single-select multiple-choice questions offer fast, structured insights and help quantify common experiences—great for when you want to quickly compare patterns or spot trends.
How would you rate the clarity of our API code examples?
Very clear
Somewhat clear
Somewhat unclear
Very unclear
NPS (Net Promoter Score) question can help benchmark satisfaction and overall likelihood to recommend your API based on documentation experience. Want to try a perfectly-phrased AI-generated NPS? Generate a custom NPS survey for API docs here.
On a scale from 0-10, how likely are you to recommend our API to a fellow developer based on the documentation quality?
Followup questions to uncover "the why" are critical. If someone gives a low score or notes confusion, you want to know what tripped them up. That’s where followups shine—AI can instantly dig deeper on the spot, surfacing actionable specifics.
What specific sections or examples led to confusion?
Was there a particular feature or use case the documentation didn’t cover well?
If you want more inspiration or examples, check out our article on best survey questions for API developers about documentation quality, which also covers tips for wording and structure.
What is a conversational survey?
Imagine a survey that feels like a chat, not an interrogation. That’s a conversational survey—questions flow naturally, followups are tailored to the previous answer, and respondents feel understood. This is vastly different from the typical, static forms developers dread.
With traditional or manual survey creation, you laboriously craft question lists, try to anticipate every possible answer, and hope you’ve covered relevant follow-ups. AI survey generators like Specific flip the process—just describe what you want, and the AI builds the survey, structuring high-quality questions and intelligent followup logic in seconds.
Manual surveys | AI-generated surveys |
|---|---|
Time-consuming to build | Instant to launch |
Why use AI for API developer surveys? It’s simple: AI delivers richer feedback, adapts the conversation based on how developers respond, and saves you loads of time. If you want a solid AI survey example, Specific is the way to go. It nails conversational surveys, streamlining feedback for both creators and respondents, and shines especially when you want to dig into topics like API documentation quality—where the devil is often in the details. Want to dive deeper into survey creation? Here’s how to create a great survey step by step.
The power of follow-up questions
Most feedback forms fall flat because they don’t ask the “why.” Automated follow-up questions—like those in Specific—zero in on gaps, clarify confusing responses, and catch the golden details you would otherwise have to chase down. If you want to see exactly how automated AI followup questions work, check out our AI follow-up questions explainer.
API developer: “I thought the authentication guide was difficult.”
AI follow-up: “Can you share which part of the authentication guide was unclear—was it the code example, the flow diagram, or the terminology?”
How many followups to ask? Usually, 2-3 focused followups are plenty. With Specific, you can custom-tailor this and even let the conversation move on once you’ve gotten enough detail. There’s a handy setting for this—no responses get lost to survey fatigue.
This makes it a conversational survey. Every answer is an invitation to dig deeper, creating a natural back-and-forth that surfaces real insights.
AI survey response analysis: Even if you gather a mountain of unstructured text, analyzing responses is a breeze with AI. You can summarize, categorize, and surface themes without drowning in data. It’s all about working smarter, not harder.
Automated follow-up questions are a game-changer—give survey generation a try and see the difference yourself.
See this API documentation quality survey example now
Create your own survey for API developers and unlock deeper, context-rich feedback—powered by conversational AI, smart follow-ups, and instant analysis. Experience what true insight feels like.