See who each quota group matches, written in plain English

Quota groups decide who gets into a study, and they are built from rules: all or any, rules inside sub-rules, and groups checked from top to bottom. A few clicks in, that logic is hard to read back. When a group does not match the brief, it usually shows up during fieldwork, as the wrong people in interviews or as people landing in No match. Until now the only way to check was to trace the rules by hand.

How it works

• Build the group as before. In study setup, under Find participants, open Quotas and set the rules in the same editor: include people when all or any of the conditions are true, with rules and sub-rules on screener answers and attributes such as age.

• Read who it matches. Under each group, Conveo writes one sentence, for example "People who are over 18 years old and are either designers or engineers." The key criteria show as badges, and the words that join them, and and or, are underlined.

• Edit, and the sentence follows. A few seconds after you stop editing, the sentence updates. Use the refresh icon if you want it worded differently.

Read the whole sample before you launch

Groups are mutually exclusive: each response goes to the first group it matches, from top to bottom. With a sentence under every group, you can read the sample in order, hold it against the brief and catch an "any" that should be an "all" before the first interview runs. The same sentence is a ready line for a stakeholder or client to sign off.

Research teams asked for clearer quota logic in four situations

These come from conversations with agencies and with teams in household goods, footwear and apparel, fashion retail and consumer services. We kept them anonymous.

• Splits that came out differently than planned. Teams asked why segments filled differently from the plan and why some people landed in No match.

• Layered criteria. Age combined with life stage, or product usage combined with age, inside one group.

• Persona-based recruitment. Segments defined by several attributes at once, such as household income and life stage.

• Sign-off before fieldwork. A recruitment spec that a client or agency partner can approve before recruitment starts.

What this means for your research

You can check that every quota group says what your brief says, in a sentence anyone on the team can read, before you spend interviews on the wrong people.

One limit to know. The sentence describes your rules. Matching, quota counts and admission always follow the rules themselves, so if the sentence surprises you, change the rule.

See it in the product

A one-minute walkthrough from our product team: building a group, reading the explanation and watching it update after an edit. Read the quotas guide to set up your first quota group.