Home Page: www.SensorySIMS.com
Updated:
November 2008
SIMS 2000 -
Version 6 - Sensory Information Management System
Enhancements and Updates
Listing - Readme
Notes:
·
This list is intended to inform you about many of the
enhancements and changes to SIMS 2000. This list includes most significant
software enhancements.
· Within each version of SIMS 2000, we may have released frequent ‘build dates’. You can see your exact SIMS 2000 build date on main menu screen of SIMS 2000 or under Help/About.
·
Getting
the newest release is easy, see menu option under Administration/Check for SIMS
2000 Updates.
·
Newest
update of this list is always available at:
SIMS 2000 Support Web Page
·
We are continually enhancing the SIMS 2000 sensory
system software. We invite you to call
us with your custom requirements.
Recent
Notable Enhancements:
SensoryTest.com, Internet Sensory
Testing
LIMS Batch Testing, Automated Test
Creation, Execution, Linking.
Penalty Analysis Reporting, Tables and
Excel Graphs.
Advanced Statistical Analysis
Reporting Table Generation via JMP in addition to SAS.
SIMS 2000 Attribute Type: Grouped
Intensity.
Raw Data Exporting, new columns for
questionnaire Comment questions.
Raw Data Exporting to statistical
software, Excel, SAS, SPSS, JMP, Statistica, Statgraphics, Camo.
Questionnaire
Editing, Multiple Attribute Copy and Paste.
Questionnaire
Horizontal Hedonics Attributes, and multiple question stacking.
Immediate Individual Panelist
Feedback.
Panelist Credits Tracking, Rewards
System, Manage all Credits & Debits.
Top 2 Bottom 2 Box & Top 3 Bottom
3 Box Advanced Analysis.
CrossTabs / Sub-Group Analysis
Reports.
Test Data Attribute Frequency Graphs,
Tables, Excel Export.
Panelist
Activity/Performance Reports, Speed, Excel Exports.
Avery
Label Printing, more options, better alignments, easier.
Version 6
(most recent Key Enhancements)
Questionnaires, all Attributes,
TAGing question text support, formally just Instruction boxes. (October 2008)
Quick Code Search added to Test
Definitions, Experimental Designs, and Panel Group forms. (October 2008)
Panelist Self Administration
improvements, especially larger client sites multiple groups. (October 2008)
Questionnaires, Attributes
Text, new visual Alignment options all question types. (September 2008)
Experimental Designs, Sample Descriptions
new import/export functionality.
(September 2008)
Questionnaires, enhanced All
That Apply question types, new Matrix columns layout styles, minimum and
maximums optional rules, randomizations, and margins and widths controls. (August 2008)
Test Result Status, new column
data for every panelist ‘Most Recent Response Date/Time’. (July 2008)
Administrator Deleting
Panelists from *Active and Executing* Tests is now possible. (June 2008)
Report, Quick Summary of all
Test Result Codes, new expanded searches by description & notes.(June 2008)
Questionnaires Master Notes,
new feature for Multiple Notes Editing.
(June 2008)
LIMS Batch Testing, Automated
Test Creation, Execution, Linking. (May
2008)
Sample Ranking, new support for
incomplete block experimental designs. (Mar 2008)
SIMS 2000 application
folder/directory new default of C:\Program Files\SIMS2000\ (Mar 2008)
Statistical Analysis, large
studies, speed improvements report preparation. (Feb 2008)
Large Ballots, improved speed
performance while editing questionnaire, and report statistics. (Feb 2008)
Sample Profiling, popup one
attribute for multiple samples simultaneously. (Jan 2008)
Panelist Testing, All That
Apply Attributes, new Randomization of choices order on screen. (Dec 2007)
Raw Data Export Reports, new
Option for exporting Hedonic Captions instead of the real data. (Dec 2007)
Comment Report, new options for
Response Column population, use nearest previous/next Attribute.
Ranking, new option to swap in
Sample Descriptions User Sees instead of Blinding Codes. (Dec 2007)
Windows Vista, better detection
of Versions, better multimedia video movie support in ballots. (Dec 2007)
Test Definition, Allow for
changes to Questionnaire Code, Only if No Data exists the Test. (Nov 2007)
Penalty Analysis Reporting,
Tables and Excel Graphs. (Nov 2007)
Test Definition, Allow for
changes to Questionnaire Code, Only if No Data exists the Test . (Oct 2007)
Frequency Reports, major
rewrite, better speed, more options, Excel & Word exports, etc. (Sep 2007)
Panelist Testing, new
<BEEP> tag for Instruction Boxes, such as following a Time Delay screen.
(Aug 2007)
Stats, Incomplete Block, one
sample presented, One Way Model, leading to Mean Separations. (Aug 2007)
Test Activity Polling screen,
new option for Reducing Panel Flickering. (Aug 2007)
Graphs, new options for order
of the graph elements, Attributes/Samples Move Up/Down. (Aug 2007)
Questionnaire Branching/Skip
patterns added conditional relative/absolute sample options. (July 2007)
New Result Summary Statistics
Report, includes N, Mean, Min, Max, Std.Dev., Std.Err. (June 2007)
Test Linking, new site-wide
option Bypass and Skip the Test Link pass thru message. (June 2007)
Microsoft Word 2007, report
exporting format improvements. (June
2007)
Questionnaire editing, New
easier Printing Ballots WYSIWYG. (May
2007)
MS Word 2007 report exporting
format improvements. (May 2007)
Test Polling Screen, new
ability to display Absolute Sample number without Blinding Code. (Apr 2007)
Raw Data Export, BIG Ballots,
new Column Options to select Attribute Type subsets. (Apr 2007)
SIMS 2000 Online Instructional
Training Videos, New option under Main Menu + Help. (Mar 2007)
Ranking Reports, added
Attribute Means and Graphs via Frequency Report forms. (Mar 2007)
New Comment WORD Frequency
Report (Mar 2007)
Questionnaire Editing, quick
search lookups, new Instruction Box Tags, new Branch options. (Mar 2007)
Deleting Panelists from tests,
new ability to select multiple panelists for deletion. (Mar 2007)
Report T2/B2 T3/B3 Added new
statistics option for ‘One-Way Model’, best for nC1 studies. (Feb 2007)
Most Excel Export Reports,
better use of ‘Freeze’ header rows for easier visual scrolling. (Feb 2007)
Questionnaire Editing, new Anytime Multiple Question/Instruction
Text Editing. (Jan 2007)
Questionnaire Editing, new Multiple Add/Edit import Hedonics or All
That Apply. (Jan 2007)
Panelist Custom Fields, New All
That Apply and Branching Logic, improved ease of use. (Jan 2007)
Test Definition Screens. Improved ease of use, auto selections, speed,
etc. (Dec 2006)
Questionnaires, New Instruction Box Tag for showing Sample
Descriptions in Questionnaires. (Dec 2006)
Questionnaires, New Panelist feedback for Same/Different
Test. See Forum Notes. (Dec 2006)
Stacking Multiple Horizontal
Hedonic Attribute Questions. (Oct 2006)
Click here to see
: SIMS 2000 Multiple Horizontal Hedonic Attributes
Statistical Analysis, combining
multiple tests, more flexible use of ‘Highly Similar’ Questionnaire. (Oct 2006)
New Report, Multiple Result
Means Report. (Oct 2006)
New Panelist Testing option for
Disable the Comment Popup Keypad usage In All Questionnaires. (Oct 2006)
New Statistical Analysis option
to 'Drop all Demographic questions/attributes’ from Analysis. (Sept 2006)
Windows Domain Authentication,
optional authentication for Technicians and/or Panelists. (Sept 2006)
Quick Summary of all Test
Result Codes Report, New option for Text Search Filter. (Sept 2006)
Project Status Report,
enhanced, new options, faster. (August
2006)
Test Definition Rotation Plans,
New Excel Exporting of Rotation Plan Sample Sets. (August 2006)
SensoryTest.com, Internet Sensory Testing. (July
2006)
Hide/Unhide Management, New
Buttons on key Forms, trying to get more clients using concept. (July 2006)
Polling Screen Wait Times, add
better support for Anonymous Panelists. (July 2006)
Multimedia MPG Movies in
Questionnaire, fix AutoPlay which is suddenly an issue with XP SP2. (July 2006)
Updated enhanced main menu, new
clickable hot spots on system flowchart’s 8 boxes. (June 2006)
Profile Tests with multiple
reps, added new functionality to allow continuous presentation reps. (June 2006)
Test Data Frequency Reports,
speed improvement, better stops, more progress indicators. (May 2006)
Test Definition Rotation Plans,
new option to include Block Analysis from View. (May 2006)
Multiple Test Linking, better
dynamic detection for panelists of creation of technician Test Links. (May 2006)
Graphics, fix rare error when
changing Attribute or Sample labels, only when subset of graph. (May 2006)
Test Polling screens, new
option to append Absolute Sample Number with Blinding Codes. (April 2006)
Graphics and Charts, enhanced
convenience of Y-Axis Scale options, Min, Max, Divisions. (April 2006)
Questionnaire All that Apply
questions, increased width of allowed choices and Fonts. (April 2006)
Panelist Credit Reports &
Editing, new filter options for specific Technician User IDs / Results. (March
2006)
Questionnaire Editing for Line
Scales, Reference Point Captions Global Replace. (March 2006)
Statistics, updated helpful
‘Notes’ in many stats areas, t-tests, chi-squares, discrimination, etc. (Feb
2006)
Statistics, Top 3 / Bottom 3
Box Analysis functionality added to existing T2/B2 (Dec 2005)
Questionnaires, All That Apply
Questions, when many listed, new Automatic column creation logic (Dec 2005)
Full Support for Microsoft SQL Server
2005 (Dec 2005)
Including the free, easy-to-use,
lightweight SQL 2005 Express Edition.
SIMS 2000 Version 6 Released
(Dec 2005)
Version 3.3
Statistics, Combine Tests, more
options, speed improvements (Nov 2005)
Panelist Comparison Reports,
speed improvements, especially for big studies (Nov 2005)
Test Execution Test Linking
enhanced, now allows for pre-existing Test Data in either Test (Oct 2005)
Test Sensitivity Analyzer,
added to Main Reports, Discrimination Reports (Oct 2005)
Test Execution, Panelist Discrimination
Feedback Message Screen, visual enhancements (Oct 2005)
Added JMP Advanced Analysis
Reporting to Table Generation (Sep 2005)
Sample Blinding Codes,
Randomization, added avoidance of repeated hundredth’s place (Sep 2005)
Graphics and Charts, new Chart
type, Hi-Lo-Mean. (Aug 2005)
CrossTabs/SubGroups, export to
Excel, changed Hedonic Sort order to match questionnaire display order.
Avery Labels, added ability for
technician to specify REFerence Label text other than 'REF'. (Aug 2005)
Questionnaire Editing,
automatic recall of user favorite Font for new Attributes instruction text.
(Aug 2005)
Frequency Report Tabled Format,
added optional Percentages to be included. (Aug 2005)
Frequency Report Tabled Format,
added new column for ALL samples when Attribute is seen Relative.
Panelist Comparison Report,
Attribute Columns Sample, Excel Export Formatting enhancements (Aug 2005)
Questionnaire, Line Scale
Reference Points, many Technician Editing User enhancements. (July 2005)
Questionnaire Editing, Properties,
New Full Screen Toggle functionality.
Wheel Mouse support. (July 2005)
Panelist Feedback Reports,
added new rows/cells for (N) Observations. (July 2005)
Raw Data Export, Anonymous
panelist rows now appear better alpha sort order, Anonymous[nnn] (July 2005)
Statistics, New Sensory Test
Raw Data Exporting to JMP (SAS) Statistics, along with existing software data
export support for SAS, SPSS, JMP Statgraphics, Microsoft Excel, Camo
Unscrambler, etc. (May 2005)
Statistics, SIMS 2000 Advanced
Analysis via SAS, significant speed improvement. (May 2005)
Questionnaire Editing, Affective Discrimination, improved flexibility for Discrimination
Attributes. (May 2005)
Statistics, New Anova Analysis
Top Line Table using Only Microsoft Excel Functions. (April 2005)
All Editing/Reporting Forms and Grids, better
multiple keypress instant search and find. (April 2005)
Panelist Signin, new Timer (1 minute) Checks
for Test Ended/Cancelled, then Auto Loop back to Waiting for a test to Begin. (April
2005)
Questionnaire Editing, Time Delay/Intensity, new
optional image file for display during the delay countdown. (April 2005)
Data SubSet Creation from existing Result Master Test
Data, use throughout SIMS2000 system
(April 2005)
Test Polling Screen, new option to display Panelist
Name in addition to existing Panelist Code
(April 2005)
Continuous Time Intensity, Add Raw Data Export to
Excel for Entire Data Sets (April 2005)
Discrimination Performance Reports, Speed
Improvements and Detail Reports to Excel Export
(April 2005)
Statistics, New Sensory Test
Raw Data Exporting to Statsoft Statistica, along with existing software data
export support for SAS, SPSS, Statgraphics, Microsoft Excel, CAMO Unscrambler,
etc. (March 2005)
New SIMS 2000 Attribute Type:
Grouped Intensity. Grouped Intensity
Attributes allows you to group many attributes together on the panelists
questionnaire. Many Intensity questions
can now be presented within a PC monitor screen than ever before. This was a BIG enhancement to SIMS2000. (January 2005)
Click here to see : SIMS 2000 Grouped Intensity Attributes
Test Data Result Master Screen, new button showing all
Test components for current Result’s Test Definition.
Questionnaire Editing, better movable choices for Hedonic and
Multimedia, and All That Apply. (Jan
2005)
Line Scales, better looking Add defaults, better save
favorite, new load SCS default. (Nov
2004)
Panelist Master Reports, full Excel exporting now
available, including all custom criteria.
(Nov 2004)
Panelist Master Reports, new button to quickly select
Panelists from any desired SIMS 2000 test.
(Nov 2004)
Additional Helpful Test information in various
window’s blue title bar (Oct 2004)
Graphics, new option to Average the Means for
Demographic Attributes, available from Graphics Icon/Menu, selecting Test Data
Result Codes. (Oct 2004)
Panelist Reports, new search Custom Criteria, search
strings thru Panelist Notes. (Oct 2004)
Test start parameters new option “Reset Sample # with
each Rep. Only shows when Allowing
Continuous Presentation Over Reps. (Sept 2004)
Test start parameters new option “Allow Panelists to
Perform Panelist Self-Administration, new button on Panelist Sign in Screen.
(Sept 2004)
New Frequency Report, Under
Hedonics Only, Customized Grouping Analysis With Label Options.(Sept 2004)
AnyRoom Testing, new site-wide
option, Panelist Sign in Screens, Show Only Test Descriptions on AnyRoom
Testing Selection Screen (Sept 2004)
VB Enterprise Studio 6, Service
Pack 6, Microsoft released March 2004.
(Sept 2004)
New additional 3rd last chance
Warning, Test Integrity, when deleting or modifying Test Components. New big display on this final warning. Trying to avoid accidental test data
deletion. (Sept 2004)
New Screens for Test Component
Management, Hide and Unhide Management.
(August 2004)
Panelist Reports, Custom Criteria: New ability to save and load custom
searches. (August 2004)
Graphics and Charts, New Button for Auto/Manual
Scaling Y Axis. (August 2004)
New Reports for “Most Recent
Results With Data”, new screens, more options.
(June 2004)
New Reports for “Show
Dependents” for Questionnaires, Experimental Designs, Experiment Plans, Panel
Groups, and Test Definitions. More
enhancements herein (June 2004)
Panelist Comparison
Reports, speed, Excel exporting,
enhancements. (June 2004)
Questionnaire Editing, , Multiple Attribute Copy and Paste. (May 2004)
Raw Data Exporting, new columns
for questionnaire comment questions. (May 2004).
Raw Data Exporting to
statistical software, Excel, SAS, CAMO Unscrambler, SPSS (May 2004).
Most Technician Editing Screens: Automatic Recall of ‘Last Code Touched”.
(April 2004)
Test start parameters new option “Remove Sample
Number and Count from Navigation Bar. (April 2004)
Test start parameters new option “Remove Sample
Number and Count from Navigation Bar. (April 2004)
Test start parameters, general ease of use
enhancements, better recall, hide unnecessary options.(April 2004)
Profile Testing new option “One Click Popups”,
automatic question popup when grid clicked. (April 2004)
Profile Testing new ability to include demographic
questions seen only once. (April 2004)
New IMMEDIATE INDIVIDUAL
PANELIST FEEDBACK: A
new software tool for your Panelist Training.
The Immediate Individual
Panelist Feedback Report enables panelists to see how their numeric responses
compare to other panelists completing the same sensory test. (March 2004) This was a BIG enhancement to SIMS2000.
Click here to see : SIMS 2000 Immediate Panelist Feedback
Added tolerance and auto recovery
for occasional network “Communication link failure” error. (March 2004)
New Report:
Top 10 Most Recent Results With Data.
(February 2004)
Avery Labels, more options, more
labels, better alignments, easier. (February 2004)
Questionnaire Editing, general ease of use
improvements. (Dec 2003)
Questionnaire Editing, new menu item: Go to
Questionnaire Browsing, along with
ability to then Go directly to selected attribute. (Dec 2003)
Questionnaire Editing, initial load and entry, will
now panel clicks on TOP attribute so menu items appear right away as
expected. (Dec 2003)
Questionnaire Testing, streamline presentation,
Affective Tests which are really Discrimination, all Attributes seen with
Relative Sample Order 1. (Dec 2003)
Questionnaire Design:
Discrimination Paired Comparison Non Forced Choice, add ability to use
selectable Label for 3rd 'Neither' option.
Questionnaire Design:
Hedonics, Global Replace of Hedonic Labels throughout a Questionnaire
Questionnaire Design:
Questionnaire Horizontal Hedonics Attribute support (November
2002).
Questionnaire Design:
Speed up, and improve performance for long questionnaires.
Questionnaire Design:
Speed up, and improve performance of the questionnaire master selection
grid.
Questionnaire Design: Enhancements to the scroll bar usability for
all questionnaires.
Questionnaire Design:
Line Scales, Reference Point Fonts, usability improvements.
Questionnaire Design:
Line Scales, various Color selections, and usability improvements.
Questionnaire Design:
Enhance/Fix: Hedonic Captions, very
long captions, causing Word Wrap on multiple lines, fixed. Also added more Wizard options, and now the
Wizard Return Values are High to Low.
Questionnaires Design: Editing, Hedonics, general human factor
improvements.
Questionnaires:
White Space instead of Gray under Attributes (Sept 2003).
Questionnaires:
Fix Tabled Hedonics, may show in Editing as Tabled when not opted (Sept
2003).
Questionnaires:
Discrimination, add some white spaces under the options buttons (Sept
2003).
Questionnaires:
Discrimination Test Types, new bigger default font size for Triangle
Attributes (Sept 2003).
Questionnaires:
Discrimination Test Types, remove some attribute sequence
restrictions, i.e. Instructions and
comments same page as Disc Questions (Sept 2003).
Questionnaire Summary Form, Added informative Column
for "Attribute Seen With".
(Dec 2003)
Questionnaire Summary Form, Added Export Grid to
Excel. (Dec 2003)
Experimental Designs: Fix rare instance of system error
occurring when editing certain blinding codes.
Experimental Designs: Numerous usability improvements
on 2nd tab for Editing samples and blinding codes.
Experimental Plans, New ability to Import and Export Blocks
Sample Order details directly from Excel .
Rotation Plans, Enhancement: Allow User Default for View/Print Rotation
Plans, for when using pre-defined Panel Group, allow user selection view/print
Order by Sample Sets, Panelist Name alphabetic, or Both.
Polling screen,
Enhancement: New display option: New Sample Wait Time.
Polling screen,
Enhancement: Samples displayed, increase
Max from 12 to 15.
SIMS2000, Automatic PC Shutdown, enhanced to support
for Windows 2000/XP.
Panelist Workstations - Substantial speed
performances for wireless/slow networks.
Test Definitions - Auto populate the Description if
NEW record, and Code exists in Experimental Design.
Test Results - Auto populate the Descriptions if NEW
record, and Code exists in Test Definition.
Panelist Maintenance
New PANELIST CREDITS TRACKING:
Panelist Credits Tracking is
used in SIMS2000 to Track Credits/Rewards for
Panelist Test Activity. Credit
Tracking has been designed to allow you to maintain a fully functional
TRANSACTIONS-based series of Transactions.
Panelist Rewards! This was a BIG
enhancement to SIMS2000.
Click here to see : SIMS2000 Panelist Credit Tracking
New Panelist Notes History
functionality:
Panelist Notes History is used
in SIMS2000 Panelist Maintenance, to allow an unlimited number of Notes for any
panelist, for any purpose. Any text may
be used to define Panelist Notes History.
Example use: Track Panelist
non-SIMS2000 Test historical information.
Reporting on Panelist Notes is available via Panelist Master Reports.
The use Panelist Notes History in SIMS2000 is not mandatory.
Reports and Statistical
Analysis
The New CrossTabs / Sub-Group
Analysis Reports in SIMS 2000 explore data relationships between response
observations and a selected criteria question. The Analysis Table Report
generates a SAS analysis of data for a single selected sample and each possible
value of the selected criteria question. From the SAS analysis SIMS2000
generates a Data Table comparing response observation means and p-values for
panelists grouped by each criteria question response value.
Click here to
see : SIMS 2000 CrossTabs / Sub-Group Analysis Reports
New Top 2 Box & Bottom 2
Box Advanced Analysis Reports in SIMS 2000 summarizes the extreme observations
for Hedonic Attributes. Market research studies often refer to positive and
negative rating measures using the Top 2 and Bottom 2 percentages as indicators
of consumer acceptance. Uses
advanced SAS statistical Analysis. Uses
Table Generator, MS Word. This was a BIG enhancement to SIMS 2000.
Click here to
see : SIMS 2000 Top 2 Box & Bottom 2 Box Advanced Analysis Reports
New Raw Data Exporting to
statistical software The CAMO Unscrambler, in addition to existing exporting to
Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, SAS,
and Text Files. Optional
quotation delimiters.
Click here to see : SIMS 2000 CAMO Unscrambler DataLink
Raw Data Exporting, Add
option for Date/Time of earliest Panelist data entry, on each row.
Raw Data Exporting, Add
option for Excel Export to Include Panelist Custom Criteria data (Sept 2003)
CAMO Unscrambler Export, more Row Name options, such
as Sample Description & Number.
Additional SAS Analysis Option - One-Way ANOVA
Between Sample Groups (May 2003).
Additional SIMS 2000 Report (Excel Format) -
Preference Counts for Paired Comparison
(May 2003).
New SAS Log Warning detection message
within SIMS2000 for Mean Separation procedures Warning, probably one sample
test
Table Generator, add
functionality to Sort by Attribute Name.
Table Generator, Now Allow
Table generation from Test Results Codes (in addition to existing SAS and stored
tables) .
Table Generator, Tukey’s, issue
when any Panelist did not complete all Samples, SAS Listing would not have
Means in GLM Section as expected. Fixed.
Table Generator, New Graphics
Button, automatically launch SIMS 2000 Graphics using Table on screen.
Test Data Frequency
Reports: Added "Export Table &
Graphics" to main screen (new Tab), to select from a Tests Attributes,
send Frequency Table to Export (to MS Word) and launch into SIMS 2000 Graphics. (Major Enhancement.)
Paired Comparison data results,
and reports, are now shown as data 1=Sample1, 2=Sample2 (Dec 2003)
Frequency Test Data Reports,
better labeling on certain Test Data Frequency Reports to reflect the
Attribute's status as being Seen only with certain "Relative" or
"Absolute" samples to avoid future confusion.
Continuous Time Intensity
Report Form, Added: Export Grid to Excel
(Dec 2003)
Attribute Report: Complete rewrite, more options, more speed, usability
improvements.
New Discrimination Correct/Incorrect Report.
Discrimination Panelists Report
Cards: Complete rewrite, more options,
more speed, usability improvements.
Panelist
Activity/Performance Reports, Speed, Excel Exports (Sept 2003).
Graphics and Charts
Enhance/Fix: Make the Attribute Order be that of the
Questionnaire's true Presentation Order (this was only an issue for
questionnaires where a lot of editing and movement of attributes had occurred)
Administration / Other
Added Proxy Server Support,
Check For SIMS 2000 Updates. (Dec 2003)
Better use of Colors, Buttons,
etc. throughout SIMS2000.
Editing Raw Data: Complete rewrite, more options, more speed, usability
improvements.
Speed improvements throughout
system. Speed improvements may be dramatic in some areas, especially those
client sites with lots of data.
International Support for Date formats dd/mm/yyyy.
Technician Users - Email Notification
Email Notification is an advanced SIMS2000
functionality to Automatically have an EMAIL message sent whenever a SIMS 2000
Technician User makes any MODS/ADDS/DELETES on either the Questionnaire Master
Screen or the Experimental Design Master Screen.
Hidden Key Strokes for Technician Usage:
New Hidden keystroke, CTRL-E, will abruptly END TEST (please use sparingly)
New Hidden keystroke, CTRL-U, will show list of unanswered
questions on current page.
Skip Samples, allow decrement Reps to previous Reps,
even if data in later Reps, allow decrement Samples to previous Samples, even
if data in later Samples.
Security Enhancement:
Include user’s computer name and OS Login ID for some audit logs and
messages.
Microsoft file MSVBVM60.DLL
Version checking during program start, bad version=6.00.8877. Tell User/Panelist if bad version
detected. Also show version in Help
Information.
Enhanced Administrator report View Database/Server
Options. Tells more about Server
hardware and configuration.
Administration, option to Bypass (site-wide) check
for SIMS2000 Setup central location server share (Dec 2003)
Additional Note:
Many of the newest enhancements are “behind-the-scenes”, relating to
our fine-tuning of the database speed
and efficiency.
Version 3.3
(thru Build Date August 2nd, 2001)
Panelist
Maintenance
Panelist
Custom Criteria, significant update, various program areas.
Panelist
Self Administration: Panelists can now Add themselves to the SIMS2000 System.
Panelists
can now add and update their own custom criteria.
Panelist
Screens look and feel similar to normal testing screens.
New
Windows Icon for SIMS2000 Panelist Self Administration.
New
dropdown menu item on SIMS2000 main menus: "Edit / Panelist Self
Administration"
Microsoft
Excel Exporting functionality for panelist criteria data.
New
Fields in Panelist Master Maintenance:
Panelist
Master Last Modification Date for Basic Information.
Panelist
Master Last Modification Date for Custom Criteria.
Panelist
Master Last Sensory Test Login Date.
Panelist
Master Last Self Administration Login Date.
Test
Design and Execution
Fix
Backspace key press issue where a Next Page would occur unexpectedly.
Multimedia
Image Attributes: Types: *.BMP, *.JPG, *.GIF. Other types may also work.
Multimedia
Video Attributes: Types: *.AVI, *.MPG. Other types may also work.
Multimedia
Sound Attributes: Types: *.WAV. Other types may also work.
New
Hidden keystroke, CTRL-E, will abruptly END TEST (please use sparingly)
AnyRoom
Panelist Login, Test Room selection screen: bigger fonts, better spacing.
Experimental
Plans, Rotation Plans, dramatic speed improvement for complex randomization. (
General
enhancements and fixes to Panelist Sign in Screen. Bigger fonts, easier for
Panelists.
Better
support for ‘alphanumeric’ blinding codes under experimental designs.
General
enhancements and fixes to Line Scales in Profiling Tests.
Test
Status Screen/Grid, general enhancements and optional export to Microsoft
Excel.
Experimental
Plans, Added Complete Block Balanced Randomization, can be used instead of
randomization at Test Definition.
Questionnaire
Editing, new GoTo option for quick easy technician navigation.
Reports
and Stats
Speed
enhancements to all Reports.
Raw
Data Exporting to Microsoft Excel and/or Text Files. Optional quotation
delimiters.
Added
program logic for hiding ‘Hidden’ Result Codes.
New
report: ‘Quick All Results Code Summary Report’ on most Result Code Lookup
screens.
Enhancements
and Fixes to Ranking Frequency Reporting. Also better labeling, more options.
Panelist
Master Reports, better criteria subset selection.
Selection
SAS Files and/or post analysis data, during Table Generation, improved user
interface.
SAS,
more warnings are displayed to SIMS2000 technician, if reported by SAS in
execution logs.
Enhancements
and Fixes to Comment Reporting. Also better labeling, more options.
Avery
Labels. Added Discrimination Triangle Tests use of Test Definitions, eliminates
extra label(s).
Enhancements
and Fixes to Time Continuous Reporting. Also better labeling, more options.
Sample Averages.
Microsoft
Word and Table Generation, many new options for Exporting.
New
Report: Project Status Report. Shows all projects (Test Result Codes), various
options, MS Word Export.
Active
Room Status Report, new option to Export to Microsoft Excel, many new options.
Speed
improvements for generation and display of Lookup Tables (combo boxes) for Test
Result selection. Speed improvements may be dramatic, especially those client
sites with lots of data. This Test Result selection occurs on many SIMS2000
screens, such as Reports, Stats, Execution, etc.
Graphics
and Charts
New
functionality, creation of graphs and charts directly from SIMS2000 Test
Results Codes. This is in addition to the existing functionality which only
used data after it was processed thru SAS Analysis. Therefore, graphs and
charts are now available for all SIMS2000 tests, using standard linear means,
without the need for any advanced SAS statistics.
Administration
/ Other
Resetting
Panelists, allow Forced Reset to individual panelists even if test is running.
New
Technician Hidden Keystroke, CTRL-E, will allow ending a panelist test in
progress on the panelists station.
New
easier use of Windows File Folder Browse, when appropriate, such as User
options, SAS locations, etc.
Better
support in SIMS2000 for Windows 2000 default active desktop color schemes set
via Control Panel / Display / Appearance, especially gray.
Added/Fixed
Multimedia AVI Movie support for Windows 2000, IE 5.5, and Windows Media Player
7.
SQL
Server 2000 Platform Database Support. (a.k.a. SQL Version 8.x)
Ability
to Check for SIMS2000 Updates via the web, via SIMSFTP.
All
‘Save As’ screens now support Windows Long File Names.
New
Check for SIMS2000 Updates, direct download of newest SIMS2000 release from
Internet.
Better
support for International Date formatting.
New
version of SIMS2000 Demonstration / Tutorial. New version of distribution CDROM
Front End.
>>>
End of List <<<
Version 3.2 (last
release January 2001)
Administration
/ Other
SIMS
2000 User List: Add new field for last login date. Can be seen on Edit Users
and Display Users.
Deleting
Panelists Form: Various improvements with general ease of use. Deleting
Panelists from Tests: Fix issues where Panelist’s slot would remain unavailable
to other panelists. (This issue was a common for our clients, a big improvement
here.)
User
Data Path: Allow short path names.
User
Data Path: Disallow use of spaces, full long path names are not supported.
User
Message Forms: Various improvements.
Backup:
Allow backup of ONE questionnaire. Will be handy for clients to email us their
questionnaire for assist in support or problem resolution. Backup function
continues to allow full SQL DB backups.
Additional
Note: Many of the newest enhancements are "behind-the-scenes",
relating to our fine-tuning of the database speed and efficiency.
Test
Design and Execution
Panelist
Sign in: Now allow instant Resetting of panelists at Panelist station when they
receive message stating that they are "Already signed into an active
room". (Technician-only trick)
Panelist
Sign in: Improvements to avoid message that "The Number of allowed
Panelists has been exceeded", SIMS 2000 will now do a more advanced search
for an open panelist slot.
Panelist
Sign in, Lookup: Allow key press auto lookup and selection on last name.
Panelist
Sign in, Lookup: Now only include "Active" and eligible Panelists in
Lookup Grid.
Test
Design and Execution
Test
Execution: New option to "Force Panelists to Enter Sample Code",
instead of the normal message they receive stating what their next sample code
will be, which is optional.
Test
Execution: Fix rare instance of Questionnaire Line Scales with "No
Knob" not properly allowing navigation to Next Page or Next Sample.
Test
Execution: Fix rare instance of END Button not appearing on older Windows PCs.
We
also added additional Technician-only trick keystrokes if issue remains.
Test
Execution: Fix rare instances of issues with Reference Points.
Test
Linking Forms: Various improvements with general ease of use.
Polling
Screen: Fix rare instance of disappearing sample set information.
Polling
Screen: Fix rare instance of errors when resetting panelists while viewing all
rooms.
MAPID
Table: (Technical description) Fix various issues, now global verification, and
auto resync if necessary, that panelists counts in result tables will properly
match those with MAPID records. Tests with entire panelist population.
Test
Analysis and Reports
SAS
Analysis: Add Support new SAS Release 8.x.
SAS
Analysis: Add Support for Long File Names pointing to SAS.EXE.
SAS
Analysis: Remove limitation of 140 character length of batch processing,
’submit’.
SAS
Analysis: New "Other Analysis Option" for "Incorporate Panelist
Consistency Over Reps",
change
SAS Model statement Order resulting in use of P-Values from the Samples, not
the Reps
SAS
Analysis: New ability to create Calculated Attributes, which are derived Delta
attributes from existing real and presented attributes from your
questionnaires.
SAS
Analysis: New analysis, Dunnett’s T Test, to derive source of mean scores, like
Duncan’s.
Used
for Multiple Comparison Analysis of a Difference from Control test.
Reports:
New Top/Bottom 2 Boxes Report. Summarizes the extreme observations for hedonic
attributes (Hedonic attributes only). The report also includes the
superscripts, p-values, and significance levels as reported in normal analysis
for each of the hedonic attributes.
Reports:
New Data Sub Grouping Report, also referred to as Sub-Group Analysis or CrossTab
Analysis, is used to analyze the data based on responses to a particular
question or questions.
Reports:
New Panelist Comparison Report - Attribute Columns by Sample - Excel Export
Only.
The report also displays means for each attribute
type except comments.
Reports:
Improved Data Frequency Report, for more question types.
Reports:
Improved Discrimination Paired Comparison Report. Now prints better information
on which result is Sample 1 & Sample 2
Version 3.1 (last release
October 2000)
Administration
/ Other
SIMS
2000 is now a 100% 32-bit native Windows application.
Elimination
of ODBC 16-bit requirements.
Faster
use of native 32-bit controls and Windows DLLs.
Setup:
Microsoft Internet Explorer, Version 5.0 or newer required.
Setup:
Microsoft ODBC32 MDAC, Version 2.5 (2.50.4403) or newer required.
Setup:
Added Advanced option to Install Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Setup:
Uninstall Support via Windows Control Panel
Setup:
Added Advanced option to Install Microsoft ODBC32 MDAC.
Setup:
Added Advanced option to Install Microsoft DCOM (W95 only).
Setup:
Added Advanced option to Install Microsoft Windows Media Player.
Email
Support: Email interface build in SIMS2000 to easily communicate with SCS.
Error
Reporting: Added ability to easily Email to SCS error screen reports.
FTP
Support (File Transfer Protocol). General usage, Backup SQL File FTP to SCS
Feature.
Reorganize
/ simplify Administrative options screens.
Temporary
files automatic maintenance.
Year
visual formats expanded to yyyy. SIMS2000 was already Y2K in previous versions
2.9 & 2.8
Rewrote
Shutdown Utility.
Rewrote
Print Screen Utility.
Isolated
bugs fixed.
Test
Design and Execution
Questionnaire
Design: Added Sample Profiling.
Questionnaire
Design: Ability to ‘Hide’ older and unneeded Questionnaires.
Questionnaire
Design: Increased size of lookup table/grid, header click to toggle alpha sort
order.
Experimental
Designs: Ability to ‘Hide’ older and unneeded Experimental Designs.
Experimental
Designs: Increased size of lookup table/grid, header click to toggle alpha sort
order.
Panelist
Groups: Ability to ‘Hide’ older and unneeded Panelist Groups
Panelist
Groups: Increased size of lookup table/grid, header click to toggle alpha sort
order.
Test
Definitions: Ability to ‘Hide’ older and unneeded Test Definitions.
Test
Definitions: Increased size of lookup table/grid, header click to toggle alpha
sort order.
Test
Results: Ability to ‘Hide’ older and unneeded Test Results.
Test
Results: Increased size of lookup table/grid, header click to toggle alpha sort
order.
Text
Execution: Added option to disable the sign-in screen "Lookup"
button.
Test
Analysis and Reports
Panelists
Master Report, Added Panelist Location to Select Criteria:
Panelists
Master Report, Added additional output fields for location and new phone
related fields.
Frequency
Reports: For Hedonic Question types, include ‘wording’ that was used for
choices.
Frequency
Reports: For Y/N Question types, include value descriptors Y=2 N=1.
Data
Results Reports: For Hedonic Question types, include ‘wording’ that was used
for choices.
Data
Results Reports: For Y/N Question types, include value descriptors Y=2 N=1.
Avery
Labels: Added "Save and Remember" custom printer alignment tweaking.
Graphics:
Ability to save Graphics and Charts in various file formats, Windows Bitmap
.BMP, JPEG Bitmap .JPG, or Windows Metafile .WMF.
Graphics:
Overall functional enhancements.
Panelist
Master Data
Added
new data field: Location, to specify general location of panelist, i.e., for
multi test-site clients.
Added new data field: Work phone
extension.
Added new data field: Home phone
extension.
Added new data field: Cell phone number.
Added new data field: Beeper phone number.
Database
Microsoft
SQL Server 7.0 / 6.5 Support.
Full
RDO usage (Remote Data Objects) for SQL database, drop older DAO.
Added
ability to use DSN-Less ODBC 32-bit connections.
Additional
user screens for troubleshooting SQL database connectivity issues.
Additional
Backup and Restore Functionality.
FTP
Support (File Transfer Protocol). General usage, Backup SQL File FTP to SCS
Feature.
Version 2.9 (last
release August 1999)
Test
Design and Execution
Questionnaire
Design: Long Questionnaires, (more then 80 attributes) enhancements and
performance improvements. Questionnaire Design: Fixes to issues with reference
points.
Questionnaire
Design: Additional Magnitude Question Design options.
Questionnaire
Design: Various cosmetic fixes.
Experimental
Designs: Streamlined blinding codes logic for improved ease of use.
Now
shows all blinding codes for all samples, and all reps.
Experimental
Designs: New optional Description user sees in message box at beginning of each
sample in additional to the sample number and blinding code..
Experimental
Designs: Fix for the occasional "record not found" error.
Panelist
Groups: Streamlined panelist selection logic for improved ease of use.
Panelist
Groups: Added ability to easily view available active panelists by Gender.
Enhanced
features for Copy & Paste during questionnaire/experimental design.
Master
Screen Grids now sort ascending and descending by clicking on grid headers.
Optional
Test presentation feature to bypass the sample number verification.
Optional
Test presentation feature to show previous sample values in a popup window.
Test
Execution: Additional Speed when saving between panelists screens, especially for
slower wireless handheld PC panelists stations.
Test
Execution: Fixed issues with Comment questions with certain experimental plans.
Test
Analysis and Reports
New
options for Panelist Master Listing:
Order
by Random sort, in addition to by Name and by Panelist ID Number.
Include
groupings of Email addresses, with any email system delimiter.
Analysis:
Optional Number of Decimal places for Means on SIMS 2000 Generated Tables.
Analysis:
Added option to have SIMS 2000 create a native SAS SD2 data file.
Can
be used by a Statistician in SAS for additional data manipulations.
Reports:
New "Most" Panelist Activity Reports. List your panelists who have
participated in the most tests, and who have answered the most questions.
Reports:
Panelist Comparison Reports, increased max samples per page to 10, from 8.
Reports:
Panelist Comparison Reports, increased speed performance with big tests
Reports:
Discrimination Comment Reports, enhancements/fixes.
Reports:
More Avery Label options for printing blinding codes.
MS
Word Linking, improvements and fixes with Final Tables.
Added
two types of Magnitude Estimation Analysis: Arithmetic and Geometric Analysis.
Added
more final Table information for Discrimination Beta Analysis.
Added
additional information in SAS Contrast Analysis.
SAS:
Better detection and messages for SAS License expiration.
Administration
/ Other
Notes
Buttons: More notes buttons added throughout system to assist with current
screen options and more explanations.
Polling
Screen: Increased maximum to 80 panelist stations on polling screen
simultaneously.
There
is still no logical limit to the number of actual testing stations.
Polling Screen: Discrimination Triangle Test disp