If you enter missing values for Number of Whole Plots or Number of Subplots, JMP chooses values that maximize the D-efficiency of the design. The algorithm uses the values specified in the Split Plot Variance Ratio option. See Advanced Options > Split Plot Variance Ratio. The D-efficiency is given by the determinant of X’V -1X, where V -1 is the inverse of the variance matrix of the responses. For further details, see Goos (2002).

If you enter values for the Number of Whole Plots and Number of Subplots, Custom Design attempts to maximize the optimality of the resulting design. For details about split-plot designs, see Jones and Goos (2007). For details about designs with hard-to-change covariates, see Jones and Goos (2015).