Final answer:
A sample of input or output with actual data used to test design decisions in a product development process is known as a prototype. It allows for testing and refining the design through various stages until the final product meets the desired criteria.
Step-by-step explanation:
A sample of input or output that contains actual data is called a prototype. A prototype serves as a trial working model of a design, which is built for the purpose of testing design decisions and identifying potential issues before the final product is developed. During the design phase, a prototype can be a partial or comprehensive representation of the entire system, which allows the design team to experiment, test, and refine their ideas.
For example, in the context of vehicle design, a team might start by creating a prototype of just the electrical system to verify its viability before moving on to a full-scale model of the whole vehicle. A prototype is integral for collecting data in order to test a hypothesis regarding the design's efficacy and addressing criteria laid out for the product's performance.