As has been stated already - your testing very much depends on the target market.

There are HUNDREDS of directives. They're not free - you have to BUY them (which is a personal annoyance, because if somebody makes a Law you are forced to comply with - then they should tell you and not force you to splash out $350 just to figure if it applies to you or not). Well if it doesn't, then tough, pick another one and splash out another $350. One product I designed could be classified under TWELVE different directives depending on application. That's $4000 and two days worth of reading just to figure if they apply to you! And you haven't started testing yet...

Yes, we DO test our products - we have to. I have $50K's worth of equipment sitting at my right elbow just for the purposes of compliance. But that doesn't stop me maintaining that this subject is the biggest waste of time, money and effort on the face of this planet, and that if there is any possible exemption or loophole (eg like stating that your product is for INDUSTRIAL rather than DOMESTIC usage), that you exploit it fully, because rest assured, your competitors will be doing just that.

Thank Gawd there's no directive (yet) on software... otherwise we'll all be in trouble!

So, subscribe to the Toyota principle of business:- Kanban? JIT? No, as long as nothing falls off when chewed by a three-year old - it's good to go... If I earned Akio Toyoda's salary, I wouldn't mind grovelling to congress once in a while either...