Beta Testing is a widely used and effective Acceptance Testing method for validating your product accuracy for end-users. It allows you to assess the quality of your product, in terms of functionality, reliability, compatibility, and usability. The end-user inputs received from the beta testing will help in improving your product quality and making it better. Read on to learn more about beta testing in detail.

About Beta Testing

Beta Testing is a customer validation methodology. It is generally used before commercially introducing a product like a mobile app or software in the marketplace. It helps to measure the customer satisfaction level, which is done by allowing the real users to try your app or software. These users get to use it for a certain period.

End users will have to provide their product experience in various aspects of apps, such as design, usability, and functionality. It helps the developers to assess their product quality. Shake is a highly effective way to report bugs in mobile apps. This automated bug reporting tool can integrate easily with all the tools your clients are using.

Benefits of a Beta Launch

Beta launch provides a wide range of advantages:

- Affordable means to evaluate the quality of the product.

- It helps you examine and test the appropriateness of the product through specific clients.

- It helps to prepare the product for the launch. The testing phase gives a lot of information to the developers like, the server load, downtime, server speed, pricing, etc. It helps in planning for the commercial launch.

Beta testers report the bugs so that the developers can work towards eliminating them. It helps to make the process bug-free, before sending it for production. It helps develop lifetime good ties with the beta testers. They may even suggest better ideas and technologies to make your app more efficient. Beta testers can also help you promote your product on social media networks.

When do you need to perform Beta Testing?

Beta Testing is generally performed after you finish the Alpha Testing (in-house) of your project. This is also the real-time testing phase before it goes live. To perform this testing, your product has to be at least 90% to 95% complete. Make sure it is in an operational state, and all of its features should be nearly functional.

Common Items That You Need To Include In Your Beta Test Plan

For the successful implementation of your beta test plan, here are a few tips that you should consider.

- Purpose of performance testing: Outline the purpose of the project. State the reason for conducting this testing, even after the implementation of rigorous internal tests.

- Scope of testing: Mention the areas that require to be tested/not tested.

- Testing Method: Mention the aspects of your app that can benefit from beta testing. They could be for functionality, User Interface, response, etc. Also, consider the method of logging errors. Logging can include videos or screenshots as proofs for documentation.

- Schedule of testing: Specify the beginning as well as the end date for testing. Define the duration per testing cycle, and the number of cycles.

- Set aside the Budget for testing.

- Gather feedback and assess them to identify the strengths and areas for improvement in your app.

- Identify the criteria for entry and successful exit.

Reasons for the failure of Beta Testing:

- No adequate plan for the execution of testing.

- Poor management of tests.

- Strict deadlines due to postponements/interruptions in earlier phases.

- Release of an unstable product.

- Too many or too few participants.

- Too long or too short testing duration.

- Ineffective management of feedbacks.

- Low Incentives.

Conclusion

Beta Testing is a methodology that enables selected users to try the product before it reaches the market. It is a best practice to analyze the product quality before its commercial launch. Performing extensive testing from the end-users using a variety of platforms will lead to successful Beta Testing. The bottom line is to achieve high-level customer satisfaction after it enters the market.