Testing the prototypes: Independent testing

Before Nike Free was known to the athletic world or commercially released, Nike undertook extensive independent testing. The company used elite athletes as well as everyday runners and a few sports journalists, i.e. people who exercise and run regularly, to undertake product testing. In a six-month trial, 110 every-day runners used the shoe. One group, consisting of 30 men and 27 women, wore the Nike Free shoes for four 30- minute runs, four times a week. The control group 30 men and 23 women used their regular personal training shoes. Outside the four 30-minute runs a week, both groups continued their usual workout schedules. All participants were tested at the start of the sixmonth period on their abilities in a number of physical areas shuttle runs, lateral running short sprints, and leg strength and were tested again at the end of the six months. These tests measured qualities such as speed, development, coordination and optimal speed. Researchers found some slight improvement in the control group, registering a little more speed and a little more coordination but not enough to be statistically relevant. However, the test results from the group wearing the Nike Free shoes showed improvement in all the parameters measured, and improvements in speed, lateral movement, and coordination were significant in the 10 to 20 percent range. That is a significant improvement considering the shoes were worn only two hours a week over a six-month period. An improvement of one percent in speed could mean a metres difference in a 100-metre sprint often the difference between first and fourth place. In simple terms, Nike Free was acting not only as a running shoe, but as a training technique! Athletes in the test group using Nike Free were found to be stronger and more flexible. One of the researchers put it this way: Nike Free is a gym for your feet. Source: Review of Nike Technology by Larry Eder Summer 2004 ATF Resource Guide, Vol. 11

QUESTION THREE (a) Based on what you see in this case, comment on the independent testing undertaken by Nike for Nike Free and discuss the pros and cons of independent testing. (10 marks) (b) Using the list of product use testing decisions, make recommendations as to how Nike could have been product use tested the Nike Free shoe prior to launch. (15 marks)