Implementation Beta Tests

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Introduction to Implementation Betas

Implementation, or Systems Betas are beta tests of large scale software implementations such as ERP or CRM systems. These systems may be entirely developed in-house, or purchased from a third party vendor and customized heavily for internal use. Generally these customizations involve a large amount of custom code at a very high cost. These systems are generally utilized by a number of different audiences, most of which have completely different responsibilities.

Unique Implementation Beta Traits

  • Employee Participants - Implementation Betas are very unique in that their audience is generally heavily weighted toward internal employees vs. customers (although customers frequently will represent one audience in an Implementation Beta).
  • Required Participation - Unlike most betas, companies will likely require their employees to participate in an Implementation Beta. In this way Implementation Betas share traits with QA in terms of dedicated testing efforts, but differs from QA in that these participants are not traditionally professionally trained.
  • Variety of Audiences - Many implementations involve numerous organizations throughout a company. Each organization will have their own needs and relevant feedback, generally focused on only their own responsibilities.

Implementation Beta Challenges

  • Participant Priorities - For a number of reasons, employees generally don't make the best participants for most betas. Unfortunately when it comes to Implementation Betas, this is unavoidable as they're both employee and the customer of the product.
  • Duration - While many betas commonly run for 4-6 weeks, Implementation Betas may run for 4-6 months or longer, depending on the size of the implementation. These long time frames can make it difficult to keep participants focused, especially when their responsibilities are fluctuating as the implementation progresses.

Centercode Has The Perfect Solutions for Implementation Beta Tests

How Centercode Connect™ Software Can Help

  • Private Portal - Centercode Connect can offer your implementation users a portal with updated project information, a place to submit feedback, as well as a secure forum to discuss any ongoing topics related to the implementation.
  • Feedback Workflow - Connect offers powerful custom feedback workflows, allowing you to direct incoming feedback to the appropriate people or teams automatically.
  • Participation Monitoring - Connect's participation monitoring tools allow Project Managers to easily monitor the status of all users, including logins, task completion, surveys, and all other forms of feedback.
  • Automated Reminders - Given the mixed priorities of users, Connect's automated reminders can proactively E-mail users based on their performance, automatically reminding them to login, complete surveys and tasks, etc.
  • Task Lists - Connect's Task List functionality allows Implementation Project Managers to easily assign specific tasks to groups of users to ensure testing coverage of all functionality.
  • Content Management - Connect's CMS system provides a great way to publish information to Project Users in a secure and focused environment. This information becomes searchable and available at any time.
  • Notices - Connect's Notice system allows you to easily push key information and resources to users immediately upon Login. This includes project updates, surveys, and task acceptance.
  • Reporting - Connect's Reporting system allows Project Managers to quickly build analytics covering any aspect of their Implementation Beta and it's progress. Reports may be automatically distributed to team leads, allowing them to see exactly where their team sits within the project.

How Centercode Managed Betas and Services Can Help

  • Get Going Quickly - The last thing you need during your implementation, is the implementation of a system to manage your implementation. With that in mind, our Managed Betas team can have you trained and up and running in days, focused on what matters.
  • Coaching - Our coaching services can provide best practices help and support throughout your implementation, always just a call or E-mail away.
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