What is the difference between pilot testing and ruggedness testing?
Often used during the standard test method development, a ruggedness test is a screening procedure for investigating the effects of variations in environmental or other conditions in order to determine how control of such test conditions should be specified in the written description of the method. For example, the temperature of the laboratory or of a heating device used in the test may have an effect that cannot be ignored in some cases but may be much less important in others. In a ruggedness test, deliberate variations in temperature would be introduced to establish the allowable limits on control of temperature. A ruggedness test is done before a pilot test to determine the variables that will need to be considered in the study. Once all of the controllable variables in your test method have been considered and addressed in the standard, it is strongly recommended that a pilot test be conducted.
