Massive And Rapid Feedback (M.A.R.F.) is one of my favorites methods for seeing through the cloud of unknowing.

To support that method I use a web based survey tool to generate meaningful questions and push them out to my target audience. I keep the questions clean and simple and easy for the responder to make a quick win for day by using drop down menus, scales from 1 to 10, etc.

It saves me hours of phone calls and keeps what should be data collection streams from turning into re-negotiation sessions. It allows me to move fast and hit many sub-users directly when I want unfiltered responses.