Every design must be tested before it can be launched, regardless of whether it is a product, a website, a service, or an exhibition. You have made a design based on certain insights and assume your design is desirable (people need it), feasible (technically sound), and commercially viable (proper business model). As discussed before you need specific prototypes to test these qualities.

However, you also need also specific tests for assessing the desirability, feasibility, or viability of a product. There are a plethora of distinctive test methods, all with specific aims and advantages. We will not discuss all these methods, but instead, discuss what you need to consider in order to make and mention a purposeful sample that can offer insights. As such, we will discuss the following perspectives:

• Functional testing, user testing, and market testing;
• Lab testing vs. field testing;
• Usability testing and utility testing;
• Alfa and beta testing.

Before discussing these, it is of importance that you have a testing mindset. Whatever you design: test it. Whatever you improve: test it. Whatever you change: test it. Build, test, learn. And whatever you learn from those tests you use to adapt the design. It makes no sense to run tests when you can not change anything anymore. In order to have this build, test, learn mindset in your process, it is good to develop a testing regime. This way you plan your tests in advance and decide on a frequency, like one test a week. Or make someone who is in charge of testing.