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Cheat Sheet on Beta Testing
Many software includes crib sheets in their documentation which list the key points or the commands which help the user to simplify the task effortlessly.
Hence, we will provide you with the key points which can be useful in beta testing. Before proceeding with the beta test for your software you need to keep several things in your mind.
- Firstly start off with the alpha test with your connections and friends or maybe family. After completing the alpha test, then have a private beta launch to get as many of the beta testers onboard. Start gathering the beta testers and make preparations for the beta test. Gather two-three developers or QA to handle the other aspects of the software. Do a proper planning before starting the beta test as it will make it easier for you to approach your goal.
- Beta testing will take a minimum of 9-10 weeks to complete the process and gather enough data which is useful. Remember, if it is taking less than this expected time, the result wouldn’t give you the depth of the insights for your software. It may contain several inaccurate reports which can cause you a problem. You need significant information about your software, so if your beta testers take less time it meant the proper testing of your software has not been executed.
- Create a better website landing page which can make it easier for the beta tester to sign up for your application beta testing procedure. Explain all the app features and functions of the software in the sign-up Beta testers which you’re going to select for the beta program must be aware of the application and how it works. Thus try to make your landing page which has more information about your software. Try to give in all the basic details which beta testers might need.
- While creating a sign-up form for your beta testers make sure that you make them register and sign an agreement in which they have to send you bugs reports and feedback regularly. It will make them mentally prepared to send you feedback and significant reports. This will help in maintaining a proper balance for your feedback incident and will make it easier for you to keep track of every report.
Also Read : 12 Things Your Competitors Can Teach You about Beta Testing
- It is mandatory to ensure that a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) must be signed by the beta testers. It is very much important that your information or results should not be leaked. It will protect your results and will give you a way to sustainable privacy. The NDA should specify the time period in which the information about the software or your company is not to be shared publically. This act should be undertaken while performing a beta test for your software. The agreement is not meant to be violated on legal terms. This will ensure the perfect security for your information.
- You need to make sure that you gather around 200-300 beta testers. If you gather more numbers of beta testers it will be more useful. It will make sure that your software is going through every different aspect and real-life working condition. Every beta testers will be testing software in different ways. Hence, it will help you to get different feedbacks and work on them. Your software would undergo every platforms and condition which will certainly help in getting more feedbacks and improvements to your software.
- The beta testing time period is initially the monitoring stage. If you’re aiming to new build the software, you have to make sure that you take minimums of two weeks to new build the software. This will give the beta testers enough time to try the software and provide you with the significant feedback. If you introduce new build in a short period of time, this might confuse the beta testers and the monitoring for the software would become typical. Try defining a certain time period in which you introduce new build software to the beta testers.
- Use of various feedback tools which can help you to take feedback from the beta testers more efficiently. Use in-app feedback medium through which beta testers can easily provide you the feedback and bug report. Using in-app feedback medium would be more helpful and simpler instead of sending the bug reports and feedback via email or manual reports. Using feedback medium has shown over 500% more user feedback. Making use of feedback would be more effective and frequent, thus the modification in the software will also be frequent.
- During beta testing try and avoid the introduction of a new feature in your software. This will become hard for the beta testers and might have to restart the testing process from the beginning because of any unplanned side effects. This will take more time and the process will become longer. Beta testers need proper time to try it and give you significant feedback.
- Always encourage your beta testers with incentives and rewards. To make them more efficient you can give away discounts or your paid app for free. Make them happy by offering them their favorite restaurants’ free voucher or a free pizza at their favorite’s place. You can also offer them free t-shirts or mugs, especially when your software is a gaming application. This will make their involvement in the beta testing more interesting and rewarding.
- Also, you need to make sure that the beta testers you’ve gathered are responding regularly. If you have a beta tester who is not responding, contact them and remind them at once of their agreement. You should make certain criteria limit which has to meet. It’s not necessary to keep the beta testers who don’t meet the criteria set by you. Also, make sure that you ask your software back to avoid any leak in the information about the software before the initial release if you have ended the agreement with the beta tester during beta testing.
- If you’re distributing more than one build of that software. You must make sure how you’re going to differentiate between Adding a controlled number or another reference in your list to avoid the confusion. This will ensure the reports and the feedback are reproduced easily. Do not distribute more than one build if you don’t have serial number or references in your log. Minimize the risk of taking a long period of time to complete the beta test.
The above cheat sheet should give you enough insight into how to start with the beta test and what key points should be considered during beta testing of your software.