Field Testing

Competency Group: Business

Type: Marketing

Description: Field Testing, also known as Field Trials, refers to user testing of a product within the real-world conditions that will be encountered during normal use. This may involve testing in various settings, such as the home, or a hospital. Or, it may involve testing in various geographic regions, where the product may be subject to different forms of extreme weather, or even cultural differences among users.

Citation for Description: Described by authors.

Advantages: Identifies the likelihood of usability within a sample of the desired target market population. The resulting information can be used to tweak the product prior to production. 

Limitations: Can lead to faulty marketing decisions based on improperly analyzed data and can create unrealistic financial projections if information is interpreted incorrectly.

Target Audience: Marketing

Relevant to Universal Design: Yes

Stages and Steps: 6.3

Free Resource: Userfit Tools. (n.d.) Field trials. Retrieved from: http://www.idemployee.id.tue.nl/g.w.m.rauterberg/lecturenotes/UFTfieldtrial.pdf

Purchase Resource: Helm, J.W. & Holly, D. H. (2000). Conducting successful new product field trials. Retrieved from IEEE Xplore Digital Library: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/872478/