Technology Research Group / Foundations
Foundations
Seven short pieces on how to judge technology honestly. We point people to these before an engagement, and anyone training with us is expected to have read them. They are written to be understood without specialist background.
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The specification gap
Stated performance and expected function in the real world don't always match up. We discuss why.
What a device discloses in use
What a device reveals about itself and its user simply by working, and why it rarely appears in the manual.
Reading a claim against reality
What does a device actually do, as opposed to what its manufacturer claims it can? Why are these sometimes different?
Conditions change everything
How environment, handling, and the presence of others reshape measured performance.
Measurement and evidence
What counts as evidence in a field evaluation, and how we keep a finding honest.
Planning for the link that fails
Every communication plan should assume its primary link will fail. What matters is what happens next.
When devices share the air
Radios, phones, and networks compete for the same airwaves. Performance in a crowd is not performance alone.