Deciphering your data: The cornerstone of data collection 

The legacy of Decipher 

Long before “no code” was cool, a small team asked a big question: “What if we could understand more about our gamers online?” The early spark was a web survey for a Mattel title, built by engineers who cut their teeth on text adventures and multi-user dungeons. That origin story matters. It set the tone for a platform engineered for power users first, then polished for everyone else. 

The earliest iterations ran as a scripting engine with a text interface that felt closer to the Oregon Trail than a modern wizard. Over time, it matured into a full UI without losing the skeleton key underneath: A text-based language, XML access, and the ability to script advanced logic. 

Decipher grew the old-fashioned way: Via word of mouth among serious researchers. The product was built by practitioners for practitioners, so efficiency beats flash. Many veterans still describe it as a platform you won’t outgrow.  

Today, Decipher is a professional-grade survey engine built for people who run complex, repeatable research at scale. It combines UI with an XML editor for power users, and it plays nicely with the rest of your stack via open APIs. Decipher powers 40,000+ studies a year and supports more than 1B surveys annually across 80+ languages. Eight out of 10 of the top MR agencies use our technology as the backbone of their research. Scale is not a tagline here; it’s in its DNA.  

Why researchers love Decipher: The secret weapon in plain sight 

Full-stack control when you need it 

The XML editor lets programmers see and shape the true skeleton of a survey, not just the skin. That unlocks Python for automation, complex logic, and serious data processing inside your build. On trackers, the payoff is real. 

One global FMCG tracker consolidated 45 markets and ~27k brand list codes into a single project. The switch cut change cycles from six months to roughly six days. In ROI terms, with 24 change events, that’s about 2,460 hours saved each year. Speed, quality, and sanity improved in one move.  

Private servers for the heavy hitters 

Hundreds of clients run private servers for security, throughput, and back-end programmability. That is how teams templatize custom question types, enforce house standards, and deliver at enterprise cadence.  

An open platform that plays nicely 

The API library is broad and battle tested. Wherever you route cleaned data to, the plumbing is there. Bonus: All data exports include native Power BI/Tableau-ready structures when you want zero-touch handoffs. However, a new layer of speed, research-focused analytics and data visualizations can be applied when using Visualizations, the perfect partner to Decipher for all your analytical and PowerPoint needs.  

Methodology depth built in 

MaxDiff is a first-class question type with built-in analysis for 8–20 attributes inside crosstabs. Conjoint has been rolled out, with reporting in Visualizations for downstream storytelling. For teams who live on trade-offs, this is a big lift off your plate.  

The bigger picture: Research HX in action 

Surveys are the heartbeat, but the body is bigger. Decipher helps you collect clean, structured data that you can feed into the Research HX workflow, so you can move from collection to comprehension without friction. That means automated PowerPoint output when you need static deliverables, live dashboards in Visualizations for stakeholders, and case management to close the loop when “insight” becomes “action.” 

Industry context: Quality is the battleground. Grit 2025 calls out persistent uncertainty around sample quality, while ESOMAR’s guidance continues to push proactive prevention, validation, and layered defenses. One of the best defenses against fraud prevention we have released recently has been our S2S (server-to-server) integration. This allows our surveys to connect directly with panel providers, eliminating the chance for survey skippers and ghost completes.

It’s so effective that the CEO of a leading panel provider said on a stage at Esomar that Forsta’s S2S innovation is one of the best prevention methods in recent years. That is why native ties to Dynata’s Qualityscore and access to tools like Research Defender matter for MR teams who prize fidelity over volume.  

Where Decipher is not the whole answer, by design 

Decipher’s crosstabs are a favorite for quick-cut analysis with strong statistical testing. For deeper work like variable creation, benchmarking, ranking and correlation at scale, using Visualizations is your best power-move. 

Features that matter 

• Word importer: Turn structured docs into live surveys in minutes. Ideal for repeated studies and rapid prototyping.  

• Sample marketplace in-platform: Source respondents up to 80% faster or bring your own sample with server-to-server connections for quality.  

• MaxDiff, automated analysis: Native item scaling for 8–20 attributes in crosstabs, plus export for extended modeling.  

• Open API: Add custom features throughout your data collection process. 

• Integration: Seamless connectivity with Visualizations for a smooth, fast collection to analytics process that gets you insights in half the time.  

• Enterprise trackers at the speed of business: Consolidating multi-market trackers into single projects, then deploying changes once, is the difference between missed moments and market moves. The six-month-to-six-day story is not a metaphor; it is a metric.  

• No-surprises packaging: Researchers get all the features included in Decipher, not a maze of add-ons. In a world of creeping line items, clarity is a competitive advantage.  

• Fit for the fraud era: Integrated quality scoring, S2S checks, and layered defenses reflect how the industry is really operating, not how we wish it worked.  

Why we are excited about the future 

Because Decipher still feels like a box of LEGO for researchers. You can click and go, or you can build a cathedral. Now it’s getting even smarter. Open Assist helps teams move from brief to build with guided setup, Word-to-survey building, and code suggestions in the XML editor. AI analysis throughout the Research HX process accelerates the “so what,” turning crosstab cuts into clear narratives, anomaly alerts, and next-best-question prompts you can act on.

Integration stays open by design: Bring your own model through APIs, keep data governed on private servers, and push outputs straight into Visualizations for same-day storytelling. In short: Decipher is constantly evolving, pairing trustworthy automation with human judgment, so insights hit harder, participants’ experiences are better, you complete clients’ requests faster, and the industry is stronger. 

Want to find out more? Visit our solution page.