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Introduction
With the rise of academic and professional exams over recent years, it’s apparent that one of the most time consuming aspects is navigating through exam workflows and different tools.
Manually managing these processes such as, enrolling candidates into an exam or transferring results to another system proves to be cumbersome, particularly at scale. This can result in a highly inefficient process, requiring hours each week for staff to manually manage and coordinate exams.
Enter Zapier – a secret weapon for streamlining exam delivery processes. Zapier is a widely used tool that can automate processes and effortlessly connect all your different tools. Say goodbye to tedious manual tasks and hello to a smoother, more streamlined exam experience!
What is Zapier?
Zapier is an online software for automating common workflows and processes, whilst also enabling you to effortlessly link two or more tools. You can automate repetitive tasks seamlessly, all without the need for coding or depending on developers to create integrations.
How does it work?
Zapier works by building ‘Zaps’ with triggers and actions. To date, over 22 million Zaps have been created, aiding organisations in streamlining their tasks and enhancing productivity [1].
Triggers and actions can be customised to fit your specific needs, allowing you to create workflows that automate a wide range of tasks, from account generation and exam enrolment, to exporting data and sending results back to an existing system.
You can create a Zap in minutes by:
- Starting with a trigger: A trigger is what starts your automation, say you wanted to enrol a user into an exam when they purchase the exam on you’re eCommerce store, the trigger would be ‘exam purchased’.
- Adding an action: An action is what your automation does when it's triggered, for the example above, the action would be to enrol the user into the exam on your online exam system.
And thats it - it really is that simple! You can set up a Zap in minutes and then Zapier will take care of the rest [2].
Common automated workflows when delivering online exams
Connecting to an online store
One of the most popular uses of Zapier with an online assessment platform is connecting your e-Commerce store to the platform. You can create tiered packages, for example, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, on your e-Commerce site, each offering different levels of access to your content.
Imagine no longer having to manually check sales records every day and add purchasers to online exams. Not only is this tedious for you, but it also means customers have to wait for access to their purchased content until you have the time to update everything.
Here's where Zapier comes in to save the day - by automating this process, you can ensure that customers get instant access to their content as soon as they make a purchase, all while removing your manual workload. Here’s how you can set up the Zap:
- Trigger: New purchase in Shopify (or any other online store supported on Zapier)
- Action: Add purchaser to a relevant user group and auto-assign the relevant exams
With this Zap in place, every time a purchaser buys your content, they immediately gain access to their relevant exams. This automation allows you to scale your business effortlessly across the globe, helping you to make money while you sleep or whilst you’re enjoying a holiday! Wherever you are, you can relax knowing Zapier is taking care of everything!
Enrolling candidates into an exam
One of the more time-consuming tasks involved in delivering exams is enrolling candidates, especially when dealing with large numbers of users and varying enrolment times based on specific events. Automating this process can be a game-changer, integrating seamlessly with various tools such as CRMs, LMSs, VLEs, and databases. Here’s how the Zap works:
- Trigger: User field updated in a CRM or User completes course in a LMS
- Action: Enrol the user into the exam
This automation not only saves valuable time but also ensures that candidates are enrolled in their exams promptly and efficiently. This means no more waiting for manual enrolment and allows you more time to focus on other important tasks.
It also prevents the risk of human error, ensuring that candidates are enrolled into the correct exam every time.
Sending exam results back to your system
Exporting exam results and importing them into different tools, such as your CRM, LMS, database or BI tool, can be a monotonous and time-consuming task, especially when test takers complete exams at different times. This means your data won’t always be up to date, which can cause internal logistical issues. Additionally, there is a risk of human error when manually reviewing data in a CSV or inputting data into a system.
Fortunately, automation can easily solve these issues: A Zap can easily fix that:
- Trigger: User completes an exam
- Action: Send results back to your system
If you’re looking to maintain a centralised source of truth, no problem! You can effortlessly send user's exam results back to your system in an automated manner, ensuring seamless organisation of all your data, that is always accurate, with no human errors and always up-to-date!
Recommending content based on a candidates’ exam performance
One of the major benefits of an online testing platform is the ability to gain valuable insights into user performance, which can significantly enhance their learning journey. However, manually reviewing these insights and recommending personalised content based on this data can be time-consuming. That's where Zapier comes in:
- Trigger: User completes an exam
- Action: If the user scores less than 50%, send an email recommending specific content
This allows you to effortlessly offer tailored content, such as a course on your LMS or certain content for them to purchase on your eCommerce store, to help candidates improve based on their exam performance.
It also removes the need for tutors or educators to manually review each candidates’ results, and manually selecting relevant content to email them. Overall, this will save your team a tonne of time, and your end users will receive instant recommendations to help improve their knowledge.
Creating personalised learning paths based on user performance
It can be frustrating for test takers to have to wait for their next online course or exam to be assigned to them. For admins, having to manually determine specific learning paths for each individual, especially when dealing with multiple courses and exams, can be a daunting task. Imagine manually adding users to each one! Thankfully, there's a simple solution with Zapier:
- Trigger: User completes an exam
- Action: If the user scores between 70-80%, then add the user to the first learning pathway user group
This automated process allows you to guide users through tailored learning journeys, advancing them through specific content based on their individual performance using filters. Users gain instant access to their next course or exam, ensuring they are always on the right track without any delays.
Providing custom next steps when a user completes an exam
Candidates can quickly lose motivation when left waiting for their next steps after completing an exam. This also puts pressure on you to provide timely guidance.
As Zapier integrates with thousands of popular tools, you can connect your exam workflow with your favourite accreditation tools (such as Credly or Accredible), communication tools (such as Gmail), and more!
Here’s the Zap to streamline your processes:
- Trigger: User completes an exam
- Action: If the user achieves “Pass” grade, assign a custom badge or certificate
By setting up this simple automation, you ensure that candidates receive immediate instructions on what to do next, maintaining their momentum and engagement. Meanwhile, you can relax, knowing that users have access to their next steps without needing to wait for you. This not only keeps your participants motivated but also frees up your time for other important tasks.
Deliver custom alerts/notifications
Without the ability to automatically send custom notifications to admins, managing online exams at scale can become chaotic and inefficient. Admins might miss critical updates about candidate enrolments or exam completions, leading to delays with internal processes and response times. A Zap can easily help you set up these custom alerts:
- Trigger: User completes or enrols into an exam
- Action: Send a custom message to admins via email
By automating notifications to be sent via email or Slack, admins can stay informed in real-time, quickly address issues, and ensure a smooth, organised exam process. These messages can be fully customised to include essential data, such as a candidate score an grades. This automation enhances communication and improves overall exam process efficiency.
Zapier and Synap
You can use Zapier in combination with Synap's custom triggers and actions to automate your exam workflow, accomplishing more with half the work.
Synap has integrated Zapier into the platform to make it even easier, you don't even have to leave your portal to begin automating your online exam workflows!
Learn how Synap leverages Zapier to streamline the online exam process
Discover how Synap’s automations simplify online exam delivery with a tailored demo and enjoy a 14-day free trial—get started today!
References
- Gunnoo N. (2024) ****Zapier 2022 Revenue, Key Facts and Statistics, https://parseur.com/blog/zapier-stats
- Zapier, Make your work flow with Zapier: https://zapier.com/workflows