Specifically designed for outdoor, footwear and apparel companies to help track the performance and usage of prototypes and samples of clothing, footwear and hard goods, Centric Software’s Field Testing mobile app is a new and unique innovation to the market. This app works seamlessly with Centric’s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) suite or, alternatively, can be used as a stand-alone solution.

Field testing is the process of using product prototypes and samples in real world conditions to evaluate product characteristics like comfort, durability, and fit. Typically, the person using the product has the skill to push the product to the edge of it’s design parameters, and this person has the ability to describe issues and ideas that come up during the use of the product.

For companies that produce performance products like running shoes, skis, helmets or backpacks, field testing is an essential part of the innovation process. Field testing is also very common during the product development and sourcing stages in order to verify new product ideas and robustness.