TSE ISO/IEC GUIDE 46:1999

TSE ISO/IEC GUIDE 46:1999: TSE ISO/IEC Guide 46:1999 is a guide to the general principles for comparative testing of consumer products and related services. Its focus is on how comparative tests can produce meaningful results and how those results should be presented so that they inform consumers.

Purpose of comparative testing

Comparative testing compares products or services that serve a similar purpose using common criteria, so that differences between options can be understood in context. In general technical terms, this approach highlights relative performance, characteristics, and other user-relevant qualities rather than simply checking whether one item meets an isolated requirement. Guide 46 is intended to support test programmes that help consumers choose according to their own needs.

General technical context covered by the guide

The document applies to consumer products, services, and combinations of both. In broader technical practice, comparative testing depends on impartial methods, comparable results, clear reporting, and fair treatment of the items under test. The guide therefore provides a framework for bodies and associations that run comparative testing programmes.

This record corresponds to the 1999 edition and it has since been withdrawn. Its content is centered on general principles for designing comparative testing and communicating the outcomes in a way that is useful to consumers; it is not a product-specific standard with detailed test requirements for a single category.