Use the Conjoint Analysis Design Tool to import a completed choice-based conjoint design created in Sawtooth, another design system, or an existing programming matrix. Importing preserves the supplied concepts and task assignments; it does not regenerate or rebalance them.
Choose the right JSON file
The planner accepts two different JSON formats:
| Format | Purpose | What happens after import |
|---|---|---|
| Planner setup | Saves work created in the MX8 Labs planner | Restores editable inputs that can be regenerated |
| Completed design | Brings in concepts and task sets created elsewhere | Validates, preserves, scores, and exports the supplied design |
A completed design must have kind set to mx8.completed-conjoint-design and schemaVersion set to 1.
Convert an existing design
- Download the conversion prompt.
- Give the prompt and the authoritative source design to an AI assistant capable of reading the source format.
- Ask it to return the completed-design JSON only.
- Compare the result with the example JSON, or validate it against the JSON Schema.
- Import the JSON into the Conjoint Analysis Design Tool.
The conversion prompt tells the assistant to preserve respondent-facing labels, concept definitions, task-set order, task order, and concept order. It also prohibits optimization, deduplication, or invention of missing constraints.
Required structure
| Property | Meaning |
|---|---|
study | Study name, question wording, choice option, assignment, and ordering settings when known |
attributes | Ordered attribute definitions and their levels |
concepts | Every unique profile, with one level ID for every attribute |
taskSets | Respondent versions containing ordered tasks and concept references |
metadata, prohibitions, and unmappedItems are optional. Include prohibitions only when the source provides the complete constraint set. Put unsupported source instructions in unmappedItems rather than guessing how to execute them.
What validation checks
The planner checks the JSON structure and then checks relationships that a schema alone cannot fully explain:
- IDs are unique and use the supported character set
- Every concept supplies exactly one known level for every attribute
- Every task refers to known concepts
- Tasks contain at least two concepts and do not repeat a concept
- Task-set shape is consistent enough to program and score
- Optional prohibitions refer to known attributes and levels
Errors block import. Warnings remain visible for review, including instructions recorded in unmappedItems.
What the planner does after import
The planner calculates design efficiency relative to the best design it finds with the same task count, alternatives per task, and model. It then produces the normal programming export while preserving the supplied task assignments.
Regeneration is disabled when the imported file does not contain enough information to reconstruct the original design constraints safely. That is intentional: an imported design should never be silently replaced by a different one.