What is the difference between a FAT and a SAT for kiosks?

A factory acceptance test (FAT) checks that the software, the map and the kiosk hardware work together before anything ships, usually at the vendor’s bench. A site acceptance test (SAT) checks each kiosk again in its final position, on the venue’s own network, with the published map. Problems such as glare, a wrong facing direction or a blocked firewall port only show up in the SAT.

How long does a kiosk SAT take?

It depends on the number of kiosks and how many checks your plan includes. Most checks are repeated at every kiosk, while the network, live operations and emergency drill checks are done once for the site. We agree the timeline with you once the kiosk register and the test plan exist.

Who should sign off a wayfinding SAT?

Facilities, IT and the vendor at minimum. Ask your accessibility lead to witness the accessibility and step-free checks, and your safety officer to run the emergency drill. Each signature should cover the checks that person actually saw.

Can we test emergency mode during the SAT?

Yes, but only as a drill planned with your safety team, so that nobody mistakes it for a real event. The test confirms that the takeover reaches every chosen screen in every venue language and that only an operator can end it. Digital guidance supplements, never replaces, your approved signage and procedures.

What happens if a kiosk fails a check?

Grade the defect, then decide. A critical defect, such as a wrong “You are here” point or a staff-only room appearing in search, holds that kiosk back until it is fixed and retested. Minor items can go live with a dated fix. Record the retest against the same check ID.

Wayfinding kiosk acceptance test (SAT) checklist

FAT, SAT and go-live: what each one proves

Kiosk projects fail acceptance for boring reasons: a screen facing a window, a port closed on the guest network, a kiosk placed on the plan facing the wrong way. None of them shows up on a vendor’s bench, so the site test is done again, kiosk by kiosk, after installation.

01

Factory test (FAT)

Where

Vendor’s bench or a staging site

Proves

The software, the map and the kiosk hardware work together before anything ships

Signed by

Vendor, witnessed by the buyer
02

Installation

Where

On site

Proves

Each kiosk is mounted, powered and on the network

Signed by

Installer and site IT
03

Site test (SAT)

Where

Each kiosk, in its final position

Proves

This kiosk works here, on this network, with the published map

Signed by

Facilities, IT and vendor
04

Go-live

Where

The whole venue

Proves

Defects are within the agreed grades and operators are trained

Signed by

The buyer’s project owner

This checklist covers the third stage, for wayfinding kiosks in general; where DigiMaps behaves in a specific way, such as the default reset time, the pass criterion says so. If you are writing the tender, attach the SAT to the contract, as our tender specification does.

Before the test day

The release under test is published, and its version is on the test plan.
A kiosk register: ID, location, floor, facing direction, zone and display profile for every kiosk.
Every kiosk is online in the fleet page with its own device token.
A destination list: the 20 places the front desk is asked for most, plus three staff-only rooms.
Network rules agreed with IT, including access to an on-premises server from the kiosk network.
Approved exit data loaded if emergency guidance is in scope, and a drill slot agreed with your safety team.
Kit: an Android phone, an iPhone, a stopwatch and a seated tester.
People: facilities, IT, the vendor’s engineer and someone who will run the system every day.

The checklist

Run every group at every kiosk unless a check says otherwise. Each check has an ID, so a fail, its fix and its retest sit on one line.

Hardware and display

ID	Check	How to test	Pass when
HW-01	Orientation and resolution match the display profile	Compare the display profile in the CMS with the panel, such as 1080 × 1920 portrait	Nothing cropped or letterboxed
HW-02	Touch is accurate to the corners	Tap the four corner controls and the smallest button on screen	Every tap lands first time
HW-03	The display software is new enough	Read the kiosk’s health details	Chromium or WebView 111+ with WebGL 2. An older engine shows a “display software too old” panel, not a blank screen
HW-04	Readable in the worst light of the day	Check at the time of strongest sun or glare	Readable from where visitors stand. Outdoor screens use the sunlight theme
HW-05	Recovers from a power cut	Switch off at the wall, then on again	Back to the attract screen with no keyboard, mouse or staff action

Position and “You are here”

The “You are here” point starts every route from a kiosk, so a mistake here is wrong on every journey.

Result	ID	Check	How to test	Pass when
	POS-01	The “You are here” point is where the kiosk stands	Stand at the kiosk and compare the marker with the floor	Right spot, right floor
	POS-02	The map faces the way the visitor faces	Open any route and switch on “Your view”	Ahead on the screen is ahead in the building

Directory and privacy

ID	Check	How to test	Pass when
DIR-01	The approved release is the one on screen	Compare the version in the kiosk’s health details with the CMS	Same version
DIR-02	Top destinations exist and are named correctly	Look up the 20 most asked-for places in every venue language	Each one found, correctly named, on the right floor
DIR-03	Opening hours are right	Open five place cards	They match the venue’s list. A day with no hours shows as unknown
DIR-04	Staff-only rooms stay private	Search for three staff-only rooms by name and number	None appears in search, the directory or as a destination

Search

ID	Check	How to test	Pass when
SRCH-01	Typos are forgiven	Type “pharmcy” or “radiolgy”	The right place comes first
SRCH-02	Everyday words work	Search “toilet”, “loo” or the local word	Restrooms are found
SRCH-03	Room numbers work in any form	Search “B-1.04” and “b104” (use a real room number)	Both find the same room
SRCH-04	The on-screen keyboard has every script you need	Open search in each venue language	A keyboard for each, such as Arabic or Devanagari

Routes

ID	Check	How to test	Pass when
RTE-01	Every key destination is reachable	Route from this kiosk to the 20 destinations in DIR-02	Every route is drawn and ends at the right door
RTE-02	Multi-floor steps are clear in every language	Route to another floor; read the steps in each language	One instruction per lift ride, naming the final floor. No Latin room codes in Arabic
RTE-03	Step-free routes avoid every step	Repeat RTE-01 with step-free on	Every route uses a lift or ramp, or says plainly that no step-free route exists
RTE-04	Times on screen are believable	Walk two routes with a stopwatch	Within the agreed tolerance. Record both times

Accessibility

ID	Check	How to test	Pass when
A11Y-01	Controls are within reach	Turn on Accessible mode. A seated tester completes a search and a route	Every control they need is in the lower half of the screen
A11Y-02	Larger text, high contrast and Calm	Turn each one on	Text visibly larger; high contrast in black and yellow; the map stops moving
A11Y-03	Spoken directions	Press Listen in each venue language, at a busy time	Read in that language, audible at the screen. With no voice installed, the button is hidden

Phone hand-off

ID	Check	How to test	Pass when
QR-01	The QR code opens on real phones	Scan with an Android phone and an iPhone, on mobile data and venue Wi-Fi	Opens in the browser, no app. A kiosk with no public address explains instead of showing a code
QR-02	The route carries over	Compare the phone with the kiosk	Same destination, start point, language and step-free choice
QR-03	Staff-only places are never handed off	In staff mode, open a staff-only room	No QR code is offered

Sessions and staff mode

ID	Check	How to test	Pass when
SES-01	The kiosk resets for the next visitor	Start a route in a second language with accessibility on, then wait out the idle time (60 s by default)	Attract screen, default language, every setting off. Holding Home for 2 s does the same at once
SES-02	Staff mode is protected	Try a wrong PIN several times, then the right one	Wrong PINs refused and locked out; the right PIN shows staff-only rooms
SES-03	No personal data is asked for	Go through every screen	No form asks for a name, phone number or e-mail

Live operations and emergency

Run LIVE-04 and LIVE-05 once for the site, during the planned drill, checking every kiosk at the same time.

ID	Check	How to test	Pass when
LIVE-01	A closure reaches the kiosk	Close a test restroom in the CMS and time it	Shown as closed and routed around without a restart. Record the time taken
LIVE-02	A visitor mid-route is re-routed	Start a route through a place, then close it	The route changes and the kiosk says why
LIVE-03	Zoned notices land in the right zone	Post a notice targeted at this kiosk’s zone	Shows here above the attract screen, cannot be dismissed, absent in other zones
LIVE-04	Emergency takeover, as a planned drill	With your safety team, start a takeover from the CMS	Message in every venue language on every chosen screen. Only an operator can end it
LIVE-05	“Show me the way out”	During the drill, press it	A route to the nearest reachable exit from approved exit data, or a plain “no route”

Network and offline

ID	Check	How to test	Pass when
NET-01	It keeps working without the network	Unplug the network cable or turn off the Wi-Fi	Search and routes keep working from the cached map
NET-02	It catches up afterwards	Reconnect	Queued statistics upload, including taps made while offline
NET-03	A new release never interrupts a visitor	Publish a small change mid-route	The release loads only once the kiosk is idle
NET-04	Only the agreed hosts are contacted	IT watches the firewall logs during the test	No traffic outside the agreed list. On an air-gapped site, nothing leaves the network

Monitoring and fleet

ID	Check	How to test	Pass when
FLT-01	The kiosk reports in	Open the fleet page in the CMS	Online, with versions and the time of the last heartbeat
FLT-02	Offline alerts arrive	Disconnect the kiosk and wait	An e-mail or webhook alert arrives. Record how long it took
FLT-03	Remote commands reach this kiosk only	Send identify, screenshot and reload	Each acts on this kiosk alone; typed text is masked in screenshots

Statistics

Result	ID	Check	How to test	Pass when
	STAT-01	Taps are recorded without personal data	Do five searches and a route, then open statistics	They appear, with no personal data
	STAT-02	Exports match your format	Export the interaction log as CSV	The columns match what the contract asks for

Recording results kiosk by kiosk

Keep one sheet for the site: a row per kiosk, a column per group. A cell is a pass only when every check in the group passed; anything else is an observation or a fail, listed with its check ID.

Site acceptance testWayvale General Hospital

Releasev9

SheetSAT-01 of 01

Kiosk	HW	POS	DIR	SRCH	RTE	A11Y	QR	SES	LIVE	NET	FLT	STAT	Result
K-01 Main entrance, G	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	Accepted
K-02 Outpatients waiting, G	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	observation	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	Accepted, 1 minor
K-03 Lift lobby, L1	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	fail	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	Held: major open
K-04 Radiology, G	pass	observation	pass	pass	fail	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	pass	Held: critical open

Open items

K-04 · RTE-03 Critical No step-free route to Day surgery on L1: lift B was not linked on L1, so the kiosk said none exists. Link added in Studio, retest booked.
K-03 · A11Y-03 Major Listen hidden in Arabic: no Arabic voice installed on this board. Vendor to install and retest.
K-02 · QR-01 Minor iPhone on venue Wi-Fi stopped at the guest-network login page; the route opened once it was accepted, and straight away on mobile data. IT to review.
K-04 · POS-02 Minor “Your view” about 10° off. Facing direction corrected in Studio.

Example sheet. Wayvale General Hospital is a fictional venue and the results are illustrative. ✓ pass, O observation, ✕ fail.

Grading defects

Agree the grades before the test, not after. Otherwise every fail becomes a negotiation.

Grade	Meaning	Examples	Can the kiosk go live?
Critical	Misleads a visitor, or exposes something private	“You are here” on the wrong floor; a key destination with no step-free route; a staff-only room in search; the emergency takeover not showing	No. Fix and retest first
Major	A feature does not work at this kiosk, but nobody is misled	Listen missing for a venue language; the QR code not opening on one phone type; no offline alert	Only with a dated fix plan agreed in writing
Minor	Cosmetic or inconvenient	A misspelt name; a slow first load; a facing direction a few degrees out	Yes, logged for the next release

What a kiosk SAT cannot prove

That printed signs agree with the screens. Walk the main routes with the signage plan.
That your fire strategy is approved. Emergency mode supplements, never replaces, your approved signage and procedures.
Phone positioning accuracy. A moving blue dot needs its own commissioned survey with measured results.
Third-party signage players. Test each player model on site.
Long-term reliability. That is the job of kiosk fleet monitoring: heartbeats, offline alerts and monthly uptime reports.