Standard Test: Real-time Shelf-life Time Point Testing

Standard Test: Real-time Shelf-life Time Point Testing

Overview

The focus of this workflow is real-time shelf-life time point testing using the difference style (Difference From Control) with Category intensity scale. The objective is to see whether the panel can identify a difference in a test sample from a control sample.

If you are performing acceptance testing or need to use Line Scale attributes instead of Category, you will have to alter the steps to expand the questionnaire to collect information on multiple attributes as per your shelf-life testing requirements.


Accelerated shelf-life testing workflow is also available if that method better suits your testing needs. Please refer to our main shelf-life testing page for guidelines and additional information about utilizing Compusense for shelf-life testing.


Please refer to our main shelf-life testing page for guidelines and more information about utilizing Compusense for your specific shelf-life testing needs.



Before You Begin

Real-time shelf-life time point testing should be done in separate tests for each time point. Please refer to the guidelines for details.

The assumption in this workflow is that you will have a marked control available at every time point for panelists to compare the test samples against. If you will not have control available for your testing (i.e. if you will be using acceptance testing method, or intensity scale), you will have to alter the steps to expand the questionnaire to collect information on multiple attributes as per your shelf-life testing requirements. Please contact Compusense Support for assistance as needed.

The marked control sample should not be included inside any time point tests. Panelists are not expected to collect data for the sample that is clearly marked as a control, but rather simply use it to compare other samples against it. Therefore, it should be presented to panelists as a clearly marked control, but should not be included in the test for data collection on it.

Your time point 0, however, will have to have a blind control with the sample type set to "control". Detailed instructions are outlined in this workflow. The blind control set as a "control" sample type will be used in the analysis to compare all the other time points (samples) against it. Other time point tests will have to have sample types set to something other than "control" for analysis to work properly.

If you link your samples to products, your analysis can be run from the Products library. If you do not link samples to products, your analysis can be run from the Advanced search & analysis across tests.



Use DFC Template Test For Time Point 0 Test Setup

The Difference from control (DFC) template test comes with 4 preset samples, with a Category Intensity scale as a DFC question, and a follow up Choose n question that prompts those panelists who indicated that there was difference to select from the list of choices where that difference lies. Connections were used for this dynamic prompt. Follow the steps below to use this template test.


  1. On the Dashboard, click Create a new test. Scroll down to the Difference from control test and click Use.

  2. Go through the Overview and Samples & design tabs to set those components up as necessary:
    1. Update sample sets if needed. It is better to add more than enough sample sets than not have enough.

    2. Remove the last three samples so that you have only one left. Update its name, blinding code, and other information as necessary.

      Important:       Set the Sample type for this sample to Control. This will enable the Dunnett's analysis to work properly. If you missed to do this step during the setup, you can still do it after data is collected, but before test is set to Complete.


    3. Link the sample to the corresponding product in your Products library.

      If it does not work for you to create products in the Products library, that's OK. Continue with the setup without linking the samples to products. You will still get analysis in Compusense, just through a different set of steps, as described further down in the workflow.

  3. In the Build tab:
    1. Review the Category Intensity and its Question options, and update as necessary to meet your testing needs.

    2. If you wish to ask additional or completely different follow up questions than the preset Choose n question, add them and set Connections as needed. Choose n and Choose 1 questions work well with our Products over time report.

      If you do not want to ask any follow up questions, delete the Choose n question.


    3. Update the text visible to panelists:
      1. You can update any of the preset text, such as:  Welcome screen  and Thank you screen.

      1. Update your text/instructions in the DFC question or any other follow up questions and screens that you may have added.

      1. Question and attribute names are important to be descriptive for your reporting purposes, which can also be displayed to panelists through the Question options and Attribute options if desired.

    4. Go to the Attribute options (not the Question options) of the Category question, and update the choices as needed to meet your testing objective. Update the choice descriptors and any other options you find useful while in the Attribute options screen.
       

  4. Update the Panelists and Logistics tabs as necessary, preview and run the test .


Use A Blank Test For Time Point 0 Test Setup

  1. Create a Standard test from a blank template. Go through the Overview and Samples & design tabs to set those components up as necessary:
    1. Add sample sets. It is better to add more than enough sample sets than not have enough.

    2. Add a generic sample and link it to the relevant product, or import sample with the product information included in the file, or create a sample from a product, or add a sample from the Sample list library.

      Important: Set the time point 0 sample's Sample type to Control. This will enable the Dunnett's analysis to work properly. If you missed to do this step during the setup, you can still do it after data is collected, but before test is set to Complete.


      If it does not work for you to create products in the Products library, that's OK. Continue with the setup without linking the samples to products. You will still get analysis in Compusense, just through a different set of steps, as described further down in the workflow.

    3. Update the blinding code if necessary.

  2. In the Build tab:
    1. In the Questions bar on the left, expand the Category list, and click Intensity to add the Category Intensity question into your test. If you prefer to use the Line Scale, click the Line Scale instead.

    2. Click in the "Add question name" and name it well so you know what the question is all about.

    3. Click in the "Add attribute name" to update the attribute as desired.

    4. If you wish to ask any follow up questions, add them and set Connections as needed.

    5. Update the text visible to panelists:
      1. You can update any of the preset text, such as:  Welcome screen  and Thank you screen.

      1. Add your text/instructions in the DFC question or any other follow up questions and screens that you may have added.

      1. Question and attribute names are important to be descriptive for your reporting purposes, which can also be displayed to panelists through the Question options and Attribute options if desired.

    6. Go to the Attribute options (not the Question options), and update the choices so that there are 6 of them, or however many you need to meet your testing objective. Update the choice descriptors any other options you find useful while in the Attribute options screen.
       

    7. If you wish to ask panelists any follow up questions, add those questions in and use Connections to display them based on panelists' responses on the scale question.

  3. Update the Panelists and Logistics tabs as necessary, preview and run the test .




Subsequent Time Point Test Setup

  1. When you are completely happy with the time point 0 test setup (whether you created it from a template or from a blank test), clone the test to create subsequent time point tests. Be sure to go through each tab in the new tests and update information as necessary.

  2. In the Samples & design tab, change the Sample type into something other than Control or Blind Control. Only time point 0 test should have a sample type set to Control. If you do not make this update in subsequent time point tests, your analysis might be affected.


  3. Update other details in the Samples & design tab, such as blinding codes, sample name, etc.

  4. Update the Panelists and Logistics tabs as necessary, preview and run the test .


Shelf-life Data Analysis

When done with the data collection, pause each test and double-check the following:
  1. Whether you set the Sample type for the time point 0 sample to Control.

  2. No other samples have their Sample type set to Control.

  3. The sample names in each time point test reflect the correct time point. This will be important to distinguish samples (time points) during the analysis.


Set the test to Complete, and analyze the data by following a workflow that best suits your analysis needs:
  1. Dunnett's analysis for shelf-life testing data linked to products.

  2. Dunnett's analysis for shelf-life testing data not linked to products.

  3. Products over time graphing based on action standards.





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