Informed consent for prototype vs. live testing

Testing prototypes versus live products requires different consent approaches because the stakes and impacts vary significantly. When participants test prototypes, they need to understand they're interacting with an incomplete simulation where buttons might not work and data won't be saved. Without this clarity, participants may feel frustrated or confused when features don't respond as expected, affecting the quality of feedback you receive.

Live product testing carries higher risks because participant actions can have real consequences. If someone is testing a payment feature, posting content publicly, or managing actual account settings, they must know upfront whether these actions will execute for real or stay contained in a sandbox environment. So, testing with real account data requires explicit disclosure about what information participants will access and whether their test activities could affect other users or trigger actual notifications.

Clear consent about the test environment helps participants provide honest, contextually appropriate feedback while protecting them from unintended consequences.