Scheduling Blocks are the key executable units of a project andcontain all information necessary to execute a single observation. Assuch, each SB will be a self-consistent set of observations, includingcalibration information. The SB contains detailed information aboutthe receiver and correlator setup, integration time, telescopepointing parameters, etc., but also scheduling requirements and timeconstraints. A SB can be repeated several times to achieve the desiredsensitivity or to reach the maximum allocated time.
By providing the technical information of the observing programme bycreating Scheduling Blocks, without using a Science Goal, the user hasmore control of the actual observing process and can fine-tune thevarious and many parameters and experiment with complicated setups. Itrequires good knowledge of (sub)mm-interferometry in general and ofthe ALMA system in particular. Hence it is intended for experiencedobservers and for observatory staff for developing and testing newobserving modes.