The RedJade® Design Block application allows you to generate serving blocks from designs or import serving blocks created externally. A serving block is a table of serving order rows corresponding to participants. A serving order is the ordered sequence of servings. A serving consists of one questionnaire and zero, one or multiple samples.


Serving blocks are generated from designs using powerful non-biased algorithms. RedJade uses Williams Designs wherever possible. However, positioning, grouping and chaining, preclude the general application of Williams Designs. Williams Designs are a generalization of Latin Squares. Latin Squares ensure that individual products are evenly distributed over the presentation order. Williams Designs additionally ensure that every sequence pair order of products occurs with equal frequency. The Design Block has two different modes and has different options and default values based on the test type and questionnaire type.

SEE ALSO – Create a Design, Add or Delete a Design and Participant Group or Import a Design to add a design to your test.



Design Block Page

The Design Block page allows you to arrange and group samples and questionnaires, to design your serving order for each day of an event. In addition, you can specify design options and perform actions. 


In the following diagram, the Design Actions region at the top of the page allows you to add a design, import or export a design block, rename a design block, create a new event and use assigned blinding codes or edit blinding codes. Each design has a separate tab. A design must be approved in order to launch a test. 



The middle region, the Design Area, provides a space to drag samples around in order to group servings, arrange questionnaire order into first, randomized and last and assign serving repetitions. Advanced options allow you to change the design mode, set or disable the wave size and specify the number of servings for an incomplete block. Test types and questionnaire types have a unique set of options and default values in the Design Block.


The bottom region displays the design block, giving you a visualization of the serving order. In addition to block preview, you can also view the position distribution and pair tallies. You can also edit the participant group or add a new group. 



Design Block Mode

The Design Block Mode determines which options are used to define a design. Most test types, including Acceptance Test, default to Day Planning mode. Preparation Groups mode, more applicable to Descriptive Tests, is more flexible, allowing you divide samples among multiple days. You can change the default mode for a design from the Advanced Options on the Design Block page. 


Day Planning mode allows you to define a design by specifying:

  • Days
  • Repetitions
  • Wave size
  • Incomplete block


Preparation Groups mode allows you to define a design by specifying:

  • Repetitions
  • Wave size
  • Interlace days
  • One day per group
  • Sample servings per day




Serving Block 


The Block Preview table depicts the Serving Block/Order with a participant number assigned to each serving order row.



The Position Distribution table shows the number of times that each serving is in each position. Even distribution is a goal of Latin Squares.

 

Also shown are: 

  • First Position Max-Min Difference
  • Highest Tally
  • Lowest Tally




The Pair Tallies table shows a serving versus the following serving. Equal frequency of sequence pair order is a goal of Williams Designs.