What is a Product Evaluation?
Product evaluation is the process of assessing a manufactured product’s suitability and safety for use by consumers. Product evaluation is conducted for two main reasons: 1) to ensure product follows relevant standards, and 2) to identify and remove manufacturing or design defects. Guarantee product success by ensuring the safety and quality. Failure to secure products from both manufacturing and design defects can result in product recalls and lawsuits under product liability.
Evaluating with a Template
A product evaluation template is used by manufacturers after product development to provide a standard guide in examining products, therefore ensuring accurate and uniform format of data. Using a product evaluation template can help manufacturers easily assess production line and identify defects early on before market release. As an integral tool for product management, the template entails two different areas in product evaluation which is discussed below.
Evaluation for Product Success
Characteristics of a good product should be incorporated for a product to be successful.. It should be functional, reliable, safe and built in high-quality. Below are two areas of product evaluation that can help ensure the success of a product:
Manufacturing Procedures
The purpose of evaluating manufacturing procedures is to mitigate manufacturing defects. Manufacturing defects are caused by faults or errors during the production stage. Some of the most common errors are caused by the usage of poor quality materials and negligence. For example, products made with cheap materials are most likely to malfunction which then places consumers at risk.
Prevent manufacturing defects by keeping a regular inspection process on manufacturing procedures. Below are inspections/audits and tools that manufacturing companies use for better implementation of manufacturing procedures and standards:
- Manufacturing Process Audit
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
- Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)
- ISO 9001
- Kaizen
- 5s Audit
Design Specifications
In this area, product design is assessed to mitigate design defects. Design defects refer to cases where despite the functionality of the product its design causes risk to the consumer. A common design defect is those poorly designed mechanisms that contain toxic or dangerous substances. A good example of a design defect is the Takata airbags, which has been called “the largest and most complex safety recall in U.S history.”
Fortify product designs to be safe and easy to use by considering the following:
- Product user
A successful product design takes account of the intended user or range of user’s physical characteristics. For example, using a children’s toy as a product and toddlers as the intended user, the size of the product should fit the toddler’s physical characteristics, otherwise, it may pose choking hazards. - Product environment
The product should go through an environmental evaluation whereas it will be evaluated under conditions it will be used in. For example, rain boots are intended for use out of doors when its raining and so it must allow users to protect their feet from getting soaked. - Product itself
Assess if the product follows manufacturing and design standards. Is it comfortable and easy to use? Conduct product trials to see what consumers think about the product through a structured experiment or questionnaire. Provide a checklist for participants to use in product trials and for staff to assess all aspects of the product.
