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Test · Add-on

Plan safety testing and certification, such as UKCA or CE marking and radio rules

Physical products must meet safety and conformity rules before they can be sold. Find out which rules apply early, because testing takes time and failures mean redesigns.

About 10-40 daysChanges yearlyLast reviewed 5 November 2026

Who this applies to

Skills it builds
Technical and AI fluencyDelivery and execution
PM types
Hardware or IoT
Product types
All
Starting points
All
Ways of working
All
Experience
All
Size of organisation
All

Steps, by experience

Beginner (under 1 year)

  1. List the markets you will sell in, such as Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the EU.
  2. Ask a compliance specialist which rules apply, such as electrical safety, radio and electromagnetic compatibility.
  3. Find out which tests you can self-declare and which need an approved test body.
  4. Book test slots early and put them on the roadmap.
  5. Keep the technical file: test reports, design documents and risk assessments.

Intermediate (1 to 4 years)

  1. Map the rules for each market and plan one test campaign that covers them.
  2. Run pre-compliance tests on early builds to avoid late surprises.
  3. Agree who signs the declaration of conformity.

Experienced (5+ years)

  1. Set a compliance roadmap across products and markets.
  2. Track rule changes that affect future products.
  3. Budget for re-testing when designs change.

Who can do this

Owner: Product manager

Can be delegated to

  • Policy / Legal / Compliance: Confirm which rules apply in each market
  • QA / Tester or Hardware / manufacturing engineer: Run pre-compliance tests

Reviewed by: Hardware / manufacturing engineer, Policy / Legal / Compliance

Tool examples

Confluence
Keep the technical file index on one page.
Jira
Track each certification as an item with a due date.

Definition of done

  • Rules listed for every target market
  • Test slots booked
  • Technical file started

Common pitfalls

  • Finding out about radio rules after the design is fixed
  • Skipping pre-compliance testing
  • Assuming one marking covers every market, when some places follow different rules (Northern Ireland, for example)

If you lead the team

What good looks like: Safety and certification needs are known early and built into the plan.

Ask your PM

  • Which rules apply in each market we sell in?
  • When is testing booked, and what if we fail?

Warning signs

  • Certification is planned after the design is fixed.
  • Launch dates ignore test-lab lead times.

Do these first

Sources