Product Development:

Technical Design

Our skills and resources will help identify potential bugs/problems at early stages prior to mass production. The nature and severity of any problems may determine whether they are fixed immediately before production, carried out as a running change, or determined as an acceptable commercial risk.

We specialise in providing support from a one-off task such as testing a product or managing a User Experience Field Trial, to ongoing support such as providing a virtual Technical Department (and even full After Sales Support). Indeed, we cover the complete product life cycle.

The type of testing offered is split into the following categories, which will further probe the quality of the design:

• Full functional check including providing comments on man/machine interface (MMI) protocols.

• Checking the user guide, proving both the product and the clarity and accuracy of the user guide are correct.

• Provocative testing to check out the stability of the products s/w when incorrect operations occur, or there are power fluctuations or disruptions.

• Range Testing utilising proven, objective methods for cordless products.

• Acoustic testing on smaller consumer products to check sound levels, frequency response and noise.

We also understand the implications of statutory requirements and have experience of working in conjunction with Test Houses offering statutory approvals.

Cosmetics Evaluation

HBT are able to carry out cosmetic evaluations on mouldings from first off tools to mass production samples to ensure necessary standards are met. The cosmetic evaluation typically comprises:

• Evaluating mouldings for any imperfections, tool marks and moulding defects under different lighting conditions.

• Evaluating the fit of mouldings when assembled.

• Measuring the colour of mouldings using a colour photo spectrometer and comparing against defined Pantone colours or reference plaques.

• Testing spray painted mouldings for paint adhesion, resistance to scratches and durability.

• Checking for UV stability using accelerated UV weathering equipment.

This testing can be applied to a vast range of products across various product sectors.

User Experience Field Trial Management

HBT can organise and manage all aspects of a user experience field trial and subsequently provide a detailed report covering our findings and recommendations, typically reporting the following categories:

• Aesthetics

• Functionality

• Ease of use

• Clarity of User Guide

• Problems/faults encountered.

The information from the trial can be used to make improvements or correct any faults either prior to or during production. Early visibility of potential problems and early corrective action can be crucial.

Acoustic Tests

HBT can carry out sound level, frequency response and noise investigations on smaller consumer products, and have experience of performing acoustic testing of many different types of product. E.g. telephones, radios, sounders, small vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens.

Reliability Testing

HBT can perform a number of environmental and reliability tests to verify robustness and build quality including:

• Climatic Tests - Temperature and humidity, steady state and cyclic testing

• Mechanical / Dynamic tests – Shock / Vibration (Sinusoidal and Random) / Free Fall Test (packaged & unpackaged)

This testing can be applied to many different products.