Contextual testing of interactive product simulations for new generation products

Information appliances such as mobile phones, mp3 players and digital set top boxes are becoming ever more pervasive as the available computing power for devices increases. For information appliances that are breaking new ground and entering a market that is new or where the customer is little understood, it is important that customer requirements are gathered to help define the product requirements. Contextual testing using prototypes forms an important part of this process. However, information appliance design presents problems for generating interactive product simulations that are representative of the final device at the early stages of development. An interdependence of bespoke hardware and software is restrictive of iterative development as it is difficult to bring both aspects together until late in the design process. This can restrict product testing to late on in the design process where large investments of time, personal and financial capital have already been made. This paper presents a literature review of the challenges and available solutions to generating and testing interactive product simulations of new generation products in the early stages of the design process. It also proposes avenues for further research in this area of design.