Strella docs
GuidesDeveloper
Strella docs
GuidesDeveloper
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Recruit participantsSet quotas
Recruit participants

Set quotas

Quotas cap how many participants of a given segment can complete the study. Set them per screener answer.

A quota is a rule that says "at most N participants who answered X to question Y." Once a quota fills, further matching participants are disqualified (or flagged for review, depending on your auto-disqualify settings).

How quotas work

A quota has three parts:

  • Criteria: which screener answers it tracks. Quotas reference structured screener questions: Multiple choice (single-select), Multiple choice multi-select, and Slider answers. Free-text answers aren't usable as quota criteria.
  • Quota limit: how many matching participants can complete. Once the count reaches the limit, the quota is full.
  • Quota behavior: what happens at the limit:
    • Close when full (default): new matches don't count toward the quota.
    • Allow overflow: let them through, but mark the quota over.

Multi-criteria quotas join criteria with AND by default, but you can switch any criterion to OR. Use OR to match either of two answers (e.g. "5 to 10 employees" expressed as two range criteria joined with OR).

Steps

  1. Open Recruit → Quotas

    Click + Add quota to open the quota editor.

  2. Name the quota

    Use something descriptive, like "PMs at SMB" or "Mobile-first users." Names show up in the funnel breakdown later.

  3. Pick criteria

    Pick a screener question and the answers that match. For a "PMs at SMB" quota:

    • Question: What's your role? → matches Product manager
    • AND Question: How big is your company? → matches under 200 employees

    Each criterion picks one screener question. To combine multiple, add more criteria. They're joined with AND.

  4. Set the quota limit and behavior

    Pick a Quota limit (e.g. 10) and a Quota behavior (usually Close when full).

  5. Save and watch it fill

    The Quotas tab shows each quota's progress. Click in to see which participants count toward it.

    The Quotas tab: each quota (Drivers, Public Transit Riders) with its completed count and a fill-progress bar.

Strella checks quotas automatically as new participants pass the screener. You take no manual action.

Configure what happens at the limit

Two related toggles are in Settings → Access & scheduling:

  • Auto-disqualify when quota filled: when a quota fills, further matching participants are auto-disqualified instead of sitting in Qualified awaiting review.
  • Auto-disqualify when no quota matches: participants whose screener answers don't match any active quota are auto-disqualified. Useful when your quotas define the only segments you want.

Both default to off. Turn them on if you want quotas to apply automatically.

Editing quota-referenced screener questions

Once a screener question is referenced by a quota, you can't restructure it (add/remove/rename options) without first removing the quota. The one thing you can still change is the qualify / disqualify mark on each option, because those aren't part of what the quota tracks.

If you need to edit the question, delete the quota first, edit, then recreate the quota.

Tips

  • Don't set quotas before you know your audience. Run a few interviews first to see the distribution, then add quotas if needed.

Related

Build your screener

The screener questions quotas can reference.

Control access & scheduling

The auto-disqualify toggles that drive quota behavior.

Watch the funnel

See quota fills broken out alongside conversion.

Control access & scheduling

Open and close your study. Cap participant counts, schedule a close date, and disqualify off-target answers automatically.

Approve, reject & invite

Once participants start arriving, you decide who moves forward. The Participants table is where you approve, reject, invite, and tag.

On this page

How quotas workStepsConfigure what happens at the limitEditing quota-referenced screener questionsTipsRelated