The Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) “Transregio 96” focuses on the thermo-elastic behaviour of machine tools and the development of solutions, that aim at reducing thermally induced manufacturing errors. Various compensation and correction solutions were developed. To verify the efficiency of those solutions, a measuring technique involving a test work piece (TWP) and defined load cases were developed. The load cases are given in the form of NC-programs to create thermal loads on a machine tool by moving its feed axes on a pre-defined route, rotating the main spindle at pre-defined speeds or letting the machine tool rest for a pre-defined period of time. The TWP was used to capture the resulting thermally induced displacements of the tool center point (TCP). In this publication the TWP and the two load cases are described. And the test procedure itself, as well as experimental data to validate the results are presented. The described approach has the potential to be a cost effective way for measuring thermally induced errors of machine tools. It allows for a simple and time saving experimental setup and is easy to apply on, and compare the results between multiple machine tools. Furthermore, the presented method of determining thermally induced displacements of a machine tool’s TCP will be compared to other commonly used direct or indirect measurement techniques, showing its benefits, drawbacks and limitations.