An organization’s product development team is responsible for developing products. When it comes to technology products like software, there is a need for some series of tests. Beta testing is one of them and is usually carried out by prospective product users ahead of the product’s commercial release. 

Beta testing helps validate the product for usability, functionality, and many more. In this post, we will take an in-depth look into Beta testing.

What is Beta Testing?

Beta testing is the term used to describe the second phase of testing software after development by the target audience. It is a trial phase in software development. In Beta testing, the software is made available to the intended customer target to try out and provide feedback. This feedback would then be used to effect changes in the application based on feedback from the users. Beta tests are the second phase of testing, and it is the final testing phase before the product a launched.

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Purpose Of Beta Testing

At the core of beta testing sits the need for users to try out a product to discover opportunities to improve the overall quality of the product. Usability issues and bugs need fixing. Beta testing helps you identify these issues. 

It is an opportunity to test the product in a natural production environment and provide feedback. Other objectives are;

1. Beta testing allows developers to determine the product’s performance from the end-user’s perspective. It is a product review focused on what went well and what went wrong. Beta testing gives insight into the end user’s experience with the product.

2. Beta testing allows the developer to get data about the real-world compatibility of the product with various browsers, operating systems, devices, and so on. Testing involves the use of many devices by testers. This further puts the compatibility of your product to the test. 

3. Beta testing helps the product management team evaluate the impact of an issue in the real world.

4. Beta testing lets you identify platform-specific issues. Since platforms behave differently beta testing allows you to familiarize yourself with different platforms and experience your product’s behavior.

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Types Of Beta Testing

Beta testing comes in different shapes and sizes. Let’s examine a few of them below

1. Traditional beta testing

This form of beta testing follows a pattern of distributing the product to the target audience. The target audience, in turn, conducts the test, and essential data on all aspects of the development is reported to the developer for improvement.

2. Public beta testing 

This method supports releasing a product to the general public through existing online channels to get data from the users. It also allows users to promote the product to a broader audience by sharing it with their network.

3. Technical beta testing

Sometimes, the product is released to a closed group comprising of internal beta testers like employees for their feedback and insight.

4. Focused beta

There are times the product is released to the public to get feedback on particular features of the product. These aspects are usually extremely; important to the success of the product.

5. Marketing beta testing

Marketing beta testing focuses on gaining media attention for the product. Its goal is to evaluate marketing channels. Beyond marketing channels, marketing beta testing may be used to test customers’ perceptions of the features of a product. 

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Examples Of Beta Testing

The Apple brand sometimes allows a preview of IOS features as part of its Beta program. They enable customers to use it and provide feedback, and sometimes these applications do not make it to the release phase because of discoveries during the Beta testing phase.

Another good example is Gmail by Google, which was released in 2004 and limited to a few people. Products from Google usually stay in the Beta phase for a long while, sometimes for years, before they are either released or discarded. The Gmail Beta testing phase lasted 5 years before its official release to the general public in 2009.

Beta vs. Alpha Testing

As we discuss beta testing, we must consider Alpha testing. Both of them are forms of acceptance testing in product management.

Alpha Testing: Early in the development journey of a product, a test is carried out to validate whether or not a product will perform to expectation. This kind of testing is called Alpha testing. 

Learn: How to Run an Ad Testing Survey

Alpha testing signifies a final in-house acceptance testing for the product being developed. 

The Quality Assurance team involved in the product development process carries out Alpha testing before the product is approved to be released for Beta testing. 

Usually, alpha testing is carried out by an in-house team but could involve real users, especially if a third party owns the product undergoing development. Alpha testing is to make sure the product is devoid of bugs.

Beta Testing: Beta testing, on the other hand, is a milestone that signals that the product is really for some real-world testing. The users are allowed to use the product in whichever way they want, but the focus is on getting meaningful feedback about the product’s performance.

Read: Concept Testing: Types, Methods + Examples

Beta vs. Gamma Testing

Gamma testing is the final testing a product must pass through before it is released into the market. Gamma testing comes after beta, and it involves testing for product performance, checking for security, and carrying out usability checks. 

How To Create A Beta Testing Plan

Creating a beta testing plan is imperative for successful testing. The plan should boast of a testing strategy at its core. We can look at a planning guideline for beta testing. A standard beta testing plan should follow the following steps:

• Set the goals ahead of the testing 

One of the critical success factors to consider when setting up a beta testing plan is to set goals. This should answer questions about what you intend to achieve with the testing. Once this is clear, you can determine the user flow, type of testing, and scope of the testing.

• Attracting the right mix and size of test participants

To achieve successful beta testing, attracting and recruiting the right sample population of testers, and the right mix of skills and users is vital. Sometimes, it might be challenging to determine the correct size that gives statistical significance to your test. The concept of triple constraint comes in handy. We all know that cost is a product of scope and time. 

Therefore, we can determine the number of testers by exploiting the fact that the relationship between cost, scope, and time is predictable. For instance, using this triangle of cost, scope, and time, we can determine the number of users needed. And the suitable duration of the test.

• Determine How Long Or Short The Testing Period Should Be

In your plan, you’ll need to determine the test period as inadequate, and a long period will impact the testing and budget. You may also want to decide how many days you want to keep the beta product available before the start of testing.

• Product Documentation 

The documentation should have instructions on how to use the product. It should be error-free and easily accessible to test participants.

Try For Free: Product Packaging Testing Survey Template

• Share Relevant Information With Test Participants 

Your product testing will be seamless if you share, ahead of the testing, information about some known issues with your product. This will help manage the tester’s expectations and disposition toward the development.

• Share The Results With Stakeholders

When the beta testing results are out, your stakeholders, design team, development team, QA, and other relevant stakeholders should have access to them.

• Have A Channel For Getting Feedback

Beyond the regular feedback information from test participants, there is a need for more. Test participants should have a means of sharing their thoughts on specific features of the product with the product team.

• Decide The Right Tools For Beta Testing

There are different tools to use for beta testing. Part of your plan is to determine which device or set of tools best suits your specifications. All you need is a tool that will make the job easier by simplifying the process.

How To Conduct A Beta Test

Stakeholders

Beta testing involves different stakeholders. Among them are product management, quality assurance, and user experience teams. These stakeholders work together towards a seamless outcome.

Entry criteria

• Alpha Testing has been completed
• The Beta version is ready
• The mode of release to the selected group is available
• The general publication and the issue list are ready
• Tools for bug reporting have been integrated into the application

Exit criteria

• Issues highlighted during the test have been resolved
• A summary report of details of the Beta test
• The Beta testing has been completed

Why Do Beta Tests Fail?

1. Testing A Non-Viable Product: Releasing a product made in a rush without following due process would usually result in a poorly finished product. This would usually have serious issues like crashing when the application is being used or just outright freezing of the app or your device each time the application is launched. The result is that the users would not complete the beta test.

2. The Quality Of The Testers: For beta testing to succeed, the quality of the test is a critical component. The testers must be people who have a genuine need for the product. Not using real customers genuinely interested in the development would lead to disinterest halfway through, and the beta test would fail.

3. Inability To Manage/Address Feedback Appropriately: After gathering information, the inability to manage this information properly by a lack of process or incapable hands would cause a flop in the beta test.

4. Lack Of Adequate Planning: Planning includes identifying the right testers, the tools for gathering feedback, the right amount of incentives, motivation, and how it would be delivered. These are some of the factors planning would address.

Poor planning and unrealistic timelines for execution and completion can hamper the whole process.

Advantages of Beta Testing

• It exposes unforeseen gaps or errors the production and quality assurance team missed.
• Product quality is enhanced due to feedback from customers.
• The cost is minimal compared to other forms of testing.
• Customer satisfaction is guaranteed because the products are now customized to fit customers’ expectations based on feedback data.

Limitations and Challenges of Beta Testing

• The software developers usually do not have control over the test environment where these tests occur. Sometimes, it is difficult to control the pace of the testers, and the result is long delays in the process.
• Secondly, because the test results are from various users, it is difficult to sort out the bug reports as the feedback could vary depending on the device used to carry out the test.
• It could also result in bad publicity, “as word of mouth marketing” from the testers could cause the spread of negative reviews. The recipients of these reviews would not realize that the product is still in the testing stage.

How to Get a Job as a Beta Tester

1. Join a beta program: You can sign up to be a beta tester by checking out verified sites and credible organizations like Google, Microsoft, and Apple for their beta tester program.

2. Acquire the skills needed: The requirements for beta testing vary depending on the niche. Generally, having a high school education is the minimum education requirement.

3. Owning a smart device with certain specifications is also a criterion for being a beta tester. For more technical beta testing, intending testers may be required to complete assessments testing their cognitive abilities.

Conclusion

Launching an application or software without beta testing is a recipe for failure. This could erode any brand credibility your organization might have built over the years, no matter how much effort and due process resources went into your production. Releasing products to the public without completing this phase could be a costly assumption.

Beta testing is a way to understand your product and create a level of connection with its target users.