Getting a product market-ready is a long and often complex process. Going through the design, testing and production phases as seamlessly as possible is difficult to achieve, but getting it just right is critical to reaching wider objectives.
In this article, we’ll delve into the role and importance of product testing, discussing what it is, why it’s important and how to maximise its impact.
What is product testing?
Product testing is the process of simulating and evaluating the performance of a product, feature or functionality. This can be done to analyse the potential customer experience or determine the validity of a particular design before full-scale production begins.
The process of product testing is universal across many industries and sectors, but perhaps most notable in areas such as software development and consumer tech. Testing can take place on circuit simulators for electrical design, in focus groups of potential customers and almost anywhere where feedback can be received and recorded.
Why is product testing important?
Understanding how a product reacts to real conditions and user input is significant in the overall development process. Designers can bring the most unbelievable concepts to life, but if they can’t perform as and when required or be used by their target user then they’re practically useless.
Product testing connects the design phase to the production and marketing phases, ensuring there will be results at the end of the process. Rounds of testing ensure that any weaknesses or design flaws are identified and solved before further iterations are developed. In this way, a product can go from a rough and ready prototype to a clean, finished product ready for market.
Testing prototypes and designs is also important to ensure regulatory compliance. For example, many products and materials need to undergo extensive fire safety testing to ensure they meet the relevant regulations.
How to get the most from product testing
Test in controlled and uncontrolled environments – Products evaluated in only controlled testing environments may not receive the range of inputs or conditions that they’ll encounter in the real world. Therefore, the more stress testing and variability you can put your product under, the more insight you’ll gain to make further improvements.
Know what you’re measuring – Go into testing with a clear idea of exactly what you’re testing for primarily, whether that be the user experience, design validity or performance under stress dynamics. With your key objectives in mind, you can more easily measure success and performance. But don’t disregard everything else – an area for improvement could be uncovered by anything.
Do multiple rounds – You need to complete enough testing iterations to ensure you’re solving issues and others aren’t cropping up. Once your product is market-ready, it should sail through product testing and receive good feedback from UX testers.