While objectivity and scientific precision were the guiding principles in product testing, the early ratings system was purely qualitative. In the prewar era of testing, products were placed in one of three qualitative categories: “acceptable,” “also acceptable,” and “not acceptable.” These later became “best buy,” “acceptable,” and “not acceptable.” The assessment system was explained in early issues of CR as follows: “The ratings are determined by both quality and price. If Brand A wears half as long but costs only a quarter as much as Brand B, then Brand A will get the higher rating.” “Best buy” therefore is not the highest-quality product, but the one that gives “best value (in use terms) for money.” The postwar period, however, witnessed a gradual shift from qualitative assessments toward the use of quantitative product ratings. An important change in this direction took place in the 1970s, when CR adopted “Harvey Balls,” a system of ideograms to represent product quality developed by (and named after) business consultant Harvey Poppel. CR’s lead was followed by many other publications, and Poppel’s ideograms became widespread in the 1970s. With the use of Harvey Balls product test reports started giving, in efect, quasi-quantitative assessments of qualitative characteristics. As shown in Figure 8.1, degrees of quality are signified by each symbol, with quality increasing progressively in each row as we move from right to left. Quality is denoted by the proportion of a circle that is shaded. There are diferent versions of the system—the one adopted
Product Testing and Product Regularization
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