Consumer Beta Tests

Global leaders in On-Demand Beta Test Management Software and Managed Beta Solutions

About Beta Testing

Introduction

Product Developers

Beta Testers

Introduction to Consumer Beta Tests

Consumer beta tests are either hardware or software beta tests aimed at individual end users in a non-professional environment. Common examples of consumer betas would include digital cameras, gaming consoles, and personal finance management software.

Unique Consumer Beta Test Attributes

Novice Users - Consumer tests often focus on target markets which are not necessarily computer or Internet savvy, and may not even understand what a Beta test is.
Large Participant Pool - Due to the mass market target of these products, Consumer betas are often much larger than many other types of betas.
Focus on Geography - Consumers in different regions often react very differently to products. Consumer betas often attempt to capture these impressions and judge the experiences of a widely dispersed pool of individuals.
Diverse Environments - Consumer products are generally utilized in a wide variety of environments. Consumer betas often target as many variations of environments as possible.

Consumer Beta Challenges

International Recruitment - Without the right resources it's extremely challenging to build a diverse enough pool of participants to cover the various regions a product may be released into.
Participant Selection - A poor selection of consumer participants may result in limited participation or entirely invalid feedback which can actually be damaging to the success of the product. Selecting participants requires experience and understanding of the demographics.
Non-Savvy Participants - Consumers often lack technical skills. This attribute may even be essential to the success of the beta. This factor often reduces participation due to the frustration of the participants.
Participant Direction - Consumer participants are often left to test any and all aspects of a product freely, without any specific direction toward the goals of the project. This often leads to diverse but shallow results.
Product Stability - Consumer participants are much more prone to become frustrated and give up on a beta product which does not meet their expectations, which is unfortunately contrary to the concept of beta testing.
Limited Activities - Consumer product betas cannot require users to perform some of the more challenging tasks (such as flashing a ROM) that other product betas may allow for. This reduces the amount of activities which may be accomplished in a consumer beta.
Wide Visibility - Consumer beta tests usually involve many different organizations within a company. It can be overwhelming ensuring that each team gets the data they need. From documentation issues to software install troubles, there are often many teams involved.

How Centercode Connect™ Software Can Help (Learn More »)

Community Building - Connect allows you to build a diverse international community of highly profiled customers interested in providing feedback on your products. Our tools reduce recruitment time on individual projects by ensuring a ready pool of candidates is always available.
Project Profiles - Connect's Project Profiles allow you to establish clear goals for your projects, as well as track the progress of them as they are executed.
Participation Management - Connect offers a clear view of the participation of all users, along with tools to automatically notify them when they are not participating to your expectations.
Assume User - Connect allows you to easily assume the identity of any user in the system, allowing you to complete surveys, report feedback, and perform any other action as if you were them. Using this feature means your users don't even have to use a computer to participate, as they can simply call.
Personal Portal - Connect offers every user a personal portal tailored for their access rights, always displaying exactly what they need. This improves participation by providing a clear interface that only displays relevant features and information.

How Centercode Managed Betas and Services Can Help (Learn More »)

Expert Recruiting - We're experts at recruiting the right participants for any project. We maintain a growing international pool of potential test candidates, all of which have been heavily profiled for consumer related information including general demographics and details about a wide variety of products which they already own. In addition, when appropriate we also recruit outside our pool.
Simplified Participation - Our betas are all managed using Connect, our industry leading Beta Test Management system. This tool is designed to be extremely easy to use, eliminating the learning curve associated with similar portals. This tool is tried and tested by thousands of consumer beta participants.
Project Goals - Our betas are managed with a strict set of well defined objectives that keep participants focused and engaged at all times. This factor increases participation performance across the entire project.
Beta Readiness - Our beta team pre-trials every product we test in an effort to both learn the product as well as understand the state of stability, and how this will affect the project and participants. If we believe that it would be detrimental for you to enter the beta phase given the current state of your product, we'll tell you.
Enhanced Visibility - Our software is designed so that various teams from your organization can participate in the beta testing process. This includes participating in forums, viewing feedback and survey results, as well as and viewing or even building reports.