Concept testing is vital for making effective decisions that will improve a given organization’s performance and competitiveness. However, concept testing is often reduced down to marketing a finished product and getting “an initial reaction from customers before committing substantial funds to the product” (Cianfrone, 2019, p. 3). This marketing-oriented concept testing typically uses focus groups and interviews to establish the potential demand for a hypothetical product. Yet apart from these methods, concept testing may employ a wide range of other methods. Specifically, these can include experimentation, computer simulations, and prototyping (Schumacher & Schlapp, 2020). The latter methods can be particularly useful in testing solutions that are not finished products in themselves but, rather, a way to improve the production of an existing product.
An example of prototyping as a method of concept testing would be the floor system designed for the EST-HiLo research and innovation unit run by the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology. The solution tested was the shallow concrete floor of 20 mm with no reinforcing metal bars. Prototype testing confirmed that that such structure allows “internal compressive stresses rather than exclusively flexural stresses,” which suit concrete’s material properties better (Liew et al., 2017, p. 323). Moreover, prototyping confirmed that the proposed system corresponds to the necessary requirements while providing savings in weight and material (Liew et al., 2017). Using focus groups would be an ineffectual approach in this case because focus groups would not necessarily be competent enough to judge the engineering faults or merits of the concept. On the other hand, prototype testing was the optimal solution because it allowed evaluating the concept under real-life conditions corresponding to its intended use.
References
Cianfrone, G. (2019). Concept testing: the role of concept formulation for new product success [Master’s Thesis, Copenhagen Business School]. CBS Research Portal.
Liew, A., López López, D., Van Mele, T., & Block, P. (2017). Design, fabrication and testing of a prototype, thin-vaulted, unreinforced concrete floor. Engineering Structures, 127, 323-335.
Schumacher, G., & Schlapp, J. (2020). Delegated concept testing in new product development [Ahead-of-print]. Web.