The basic purpose of any test or analysis is to learn something or to demonstrate compliance with a performance standard. Both purposes are valid and vital to successful product development initiatives. However, it is equally important to focus testing activities in areas that return the most value to the enterprise and potential consumers. Product development teams must clearly separate testing that is done for the purpose of learning from testing that is done for the purpose of demonstrating compliance. Combining purposes causes confusion and delays new product introductions.
Testing to Comply
The scope of compliance purposed testing is generally narrow. Compliance testing involves an expected and/or explicit performance standard or dimensional specification of a key design characteristic or product feature. In either case, performance standards establish the limits of acceptability. Typically, performance standards may be imposed by regulatory organizations, the customer, or by the originating enterprise. Each stakeholder needs to validate that the product meets a minimum level of acceptability.
Compliance purposed testing may be initiated by engineering, sales and marketing teams, purchasing agents, or by quality assurance officials. Typically, test results are compared to the performance standard and evaluated for conformance within a margin of measurement uncertainty.
Testing to Learn
Testing for the purpose of learning is much broader in scope. Generally, testing to learn is initiated in order to gain a deeper understanding about a given subject matter. Among many other possibilities, the subject matter may be a competitor’s product, a new material or design comparison, an end user’s behavior, a targeted market, or end use environment.
Field Studies and User Clinics
In product development, the most valuable learning occurs through direct observation and experience. As early as possible in the product development cycle, engineers and designers should initiate field studies that are carefully planed and executed. The purpose of the field study is to observe and collect physical measurements in a real or simulated environment. Only direct observation can reveal some of the more subtle, unspoken and unexpected problems. Direct observation inspires learning and increases the opportunity for true innovation. Combining direct observation, experience, and physical measurements with analysis reinforces learning and leads to deeper understanding and insight (see: Fostering Innovation).
Competitive Intelligence and Benchmarking
Testing for the purpose of learning includes competitive intelligence gathering. Competitive intelligence testing, also known as competitive benchmarking, is generally designed to lean how the competitors’ products perform. This information is then compared to the performance or marketing criteria of competing product lines. Competitive assessments can be used to exploit or close gaps in performance.
Value Added Value Engineering (VA/VE)
Testing for the purpose of learning also involves comparative testing and performance optimization. One of the most effective uses of comparative testing is in developing trade-off models. Trade-off models help engineers and marketing to make better decisions about design optimization (weighing cost, performance and risk). The best trade-off models are based on discrete failure modes.
Returning Value to Product Development
Value is added to product development when new discoveries are translated into marketing, design, and engineering criteria. Ideally, this would occur at the beginning of a new development initiative. However, learning purposed testing also occurs in response to customer feedback on existing products (through complaints, warranty or quality related issues). Product development teams need to leverage this information to make their products more marketable.
Key Points
- Separate testing for compliance from testing for learning.
- Narrowly focus the scope of testing to accelerate learning.
- Choose the best type of testing approach based on market needs.
- Return value to the enterprise and to the customer by translating learning into marketing, design, and engineering criteria.
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