Posts by Michael Fine
Holiday Beta Testing, Humbug.
Posted December 23rd, 2010 by Michael Fine in Beta Guru. View CommentsEach year around this time, right as it seems that the world of business is stepping into its short winter slumber, we inevitably receive the same call: “I’d like to get a beta test started immediately!”. Undoubtedly, they’re working on a product for release early in the New Year, it’s most likely consumer facing, and they naturally assume that given so many people have much of the holiday period off, it’s a fantastic time to begin their beta test.
We’ve just helped to create a Beta Testing sub-group to the Software Testing & Quality Assurance Group on Linked In. This is intended to be a non-biased place to discuss beta testing process and practices. We’re encouraging open communication on tools, best practices, and any questions you might have (which we’ll be there to answer regularly).
Please join up if your job involves beta programs, or if you have any interest in the process.
Why Didn’t You Run a Beta Test?
Posted October 30th, 2009 by Michael Fine in Beta Guru. View CommentsSo your company just released its latest product and to the horror of the development team, several critical bugs have slipped into the release. Your engineering team is scrambling to get the issues addressed and support is screaming as they get inundated with calls and e-mail. Everyone is busy pointing fingers, and the common thread among your product reviews, social web commentary and general customer complaints is “Did anyone beta test this thing?” And as the company faces the scrutiny of the press, the public and the customer, the one question that gets asked is “Why didn’t you run a beta test?”
Beta testing is often an overlooked, yet critical part of the quality process of any development effort. Yet, many companies opt to pass on it for a variety of reasons. Many times these reasons have a logical foundation and for the most part seem like a good decision at the time. Unfortunately, this generally ends badly.
The following are some of the “famous last words” that result in companies not running beta tests.
Over the past eight years at Centercode we’ve dealt with a tremendous variety of clients with an equally wide variety of products. There’ve been many constants in our business, but one thing that always seems to vary is the location of the beta test program. Companies place beta testing responsibilities in a variety of departments and give its ownership to people with a wide range of backgrounds.
So, where do you locate a beta test program? There are some obvious locations and some less obvious. Many organizations shuffle it around, desperate to hand it off to anyone willing to take on the challenging task. Others fight over it, demanding complete ownership to ensure they get what they want out of the test. In the end, who has the best argument?
Marketing seems to make sense. The product manager ultimately owns what is delivered to market and the feedback generated in a beta test is critical to both current and future products. Beta tests generate lots of valuable marketing data including testimonials and user feedback about product concepts. As the owner of the beta test, Marketing can use the entire process to help deliver a great product to the customer.
