
Software Development
Beta Testing Software: A Beginner’s Guide
By TechDogs Editorial Team

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Overview
While Apple does conduct outside beta testing for its product quality, it is very limited. So, how does one avoid such embarrassment? Enter Beta Testing Software – it enables businesses to conduct user testing done by real users in a real environment.
Sounds interesting? Let’s learn more about Beta Testing Software!

A production house announces a big-budget movie with a mega cast and back-to-back hit-delivering director. It's buzzing on social media, trending in the news; the actors, directors, editors all believe they have created a masterpiece. Alas! The moviegoers have zero clue what the movie is about and it ends up tanking badly in the theatres. This was an analogy for what can happen to your products without Beta Testing Software. Read on; we will explain everything.
We live in a fast-paced world. New features and products are developed quickly, released faster and taken down hyper-fast if the product is not up to the mark. Ask any software developer and they will tell you that testing is an integral part of SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle). However, traditional alpha testing is conducted by internal employees to test if the software's code is working as intended. This means that the answer to how the audience will perceive the software remains a mystery till it's released. Again, ask any developer and they will tell you; this alpha test can backfire big time.
Remember Clippy, the ill-conceived Microsoft Assistant? For the Genz readers wondering what's Clippy, allow us to tell a story. Clippy was a genius idea conceived by Microsoft to help users use Microsoft Office more efficiently. A well-intentioned animated assistant with a paperclip body and Groucho Marx eyebrow, Clippy was not loved by many. In fact, it quickly turned into a nuisance for users and was clipped out from MS Office soon after.
While we are sure Microsoft must have tested this internally probably thousands of times, a technical Beta Testing Software with external testers would have highlighted the shortcomings much earlier and saved them probably months of handwork and the stain on their reputation. So, what is this Beta Testing Software? How does it work? Why should you invest in it? This intro article will give you all the answers. So, let's read on.
What Exactly Is Beta Testing Software?
Think of Beta Testing Software as something like a movie preview for select audiences. These people are selected as testing audiences since they will provide their authentic feedback. Using this information, the movie makers can determine the factors that will make or break the movie, such as the movie's run time, successful delivery of dialogues, the acting, the plot and more. The not-so-great factors are then changed before the film is released publicly.
Beta Testing Software is similar to the ecosystem that provides the perfect virtual field test to measure the effectiveness of your product with real people in real environments. It provides you access to external testers, who test the entire module, software, or feature for you. It will send you their feedback along with the reports of bugs and feedback on what will (or will not) work with the company's target audience.
What's more is that you can test the product on several platforms, including Android, iOS, website, tablets, desktop and smartphones. In short, Beta Testing Software provides a real environment and external testers that empowers organizations to tweak their software product for the highest customer adoption. Let's check out how it works!
How Does Beta Testing Software Work?
Think of it like a dedicated program that gives you valuable inputs to improve your product/feature before it hits the market. Customers are complicated and restless. Aggregate them with a new feature or software upgrade that doesn't work and they will ditch your product like a hot potato. Beta Testing Software uses the services of professional beta-testers who test your product exactly how it will be used in real-life. In turn, you get insights including crash reporting, user feedback and metrics for your product or feature, which will allow you to learn more enhance your product.
As they say, the devil is in the details and Beta Testing Software ensures quality assurance of the product thoroughly validated by user experience from your target segment.
Apple launched a beta program for Beddit, a sleep-tracking company it acquired, letting users get early access to new app versions ahead of the general public. These users could then offer feedback to Apple by sharing data and completing surveys. This was a Beta Testing process; who better to judge your product than your customers? Apart from the free publicity, it gave them valuable insights, kind of like having your mattress and sleeping on it too! So, how important is Beta Testing Software?
Why Should You Invest In A Beta Testing Software?
Ask any developer, designer, or internal tester about why their final product failed. They will shrug their shoulders and blame it on timing. Too ahead for their consumers, perhaps? While this may be 5% true, the other 95% times, it failed because they didn't think of beta version or beta testing it prior to release and the result can be brutal. Companies invest millions in research, development and performance testing and Beta Testing Software will ensure that the efforts are in the right direction. Beta Testing Software can help you:
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Get Customer Perspective
New features or upgrades can create a massive change in user behavior. Customers can either adopt this change or get frustrated with it, demanding a rollback.
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Get Actionable Insights
The test coverage that Beta Testing Software provides is phenomenal. When you have thousands of beta testers at your disposal, the data gathered is humongous. However, this data is converted into actionable points by the software and delivered to the Quality Analysis (QA) team - a gold mine in itself.
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Conduct Comprehensive Testing
Beta Testing Software ensures comprehensive testing across devices and operating systems. This eliminates the risk of creating a bad experience for your users on any of the mediums.
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Go Beyond Lab Performance
Controlled test environments do not give the same level of performance as an actual environment. There are various factors that come into play when a customer uses the product in real-time. This can be simulated through Beta Testing Software, where the product is tested in a real environment and goes through the grind across multiple mediums and conditions to report actual use-case feedback.
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Cost Reduction
Traditional beta testing requires huge efforts in terms of time and human resources. With Beta Testing Software, thousands of hours of testing can be achieved with the correct analysis in a fraction of time and cost.
Even if it is essential, the burning question is, do you need it? Let's find out.
Is A Beta Testing Software Really Needed?
Yes! Absolutely yes, if you are a small to mid-level organization and plain yes, if you are at par with the likes of Google, Facebook and Apple as you've already got thousands of hours of QA testing data. Most organizations will not have the luxury of having a sizeable amount of their non-technical employees and customers test the products, features and upgrades for them. This is where Beta Testing Software comes in handy.
It provides hours of testing by your target segment and churns out valuable and intelligent data insights that can be used by your internal unit testing team. Trust us, nothing can take down a company as fast as a buggy or not-so user-friendly software (customers will still put up with lousy support service). While we won't list down how organizations really need Beta Testing Software (this isn't a theory examination), we will stress on this - “knowing your customers” leads to "growing your revenue."
Beta Testing Software is your weapon to achieve that.
What Are The Features To Look Out For?
While a majority of this might depend on the type of product or feature you intend to beta test, a good Beta Testing Software must have these features:
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Feedback Management
Bugs, reports, workflows, impact analysis, feedback, everything must be recorded, easy to view and analyze.
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Flexible Dashboards
Intuitive dashboards allow the flexibility of slicing and dicing the data to get the desired output. There must be clear data points on end user profiling, devices, operating systems, internet speeds, compatibility reports and more.
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Communication Management
QA teams, developers, users and external testers should be able to communicate clearly and relay their feedback in a centralized system. Visibility in communication will help teams enhance and refine their products faster.
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Seamless integrations
There are a lot of product management tools that can gain from the valuable feedback provided by Beta Testing Software. As such, organizations should be able to view the data in a single system instead of managing two or more platforms.
With so much information about the now of Beta Testing Software, wouldn't you like to learn about its future too?
The Future Of Beta Testing Software
Software is designed to serve humans and the best feedback will always come from the very people it helps. As organizations are realizing the power of beta testing, this software has gained prominence. Beta feedback should be continuous and companies are now heavily investing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) based Beta Testing Software to automate most of the menial work and provide deeper insights that will change the game. The spending on testing budgets has increased over the past few years and is likely to go even higher in coming years.
Conclusion
The best products are not the ones with the best features but ones that provide what the customers actually want. This is why Beta Testing Software empowers the business with actionable insights to improve their products - and it is pretty crucial. In the era of rapid technological disruption, Beta Testing Software will ensure a pitch-perfect product that will boost your revenue and customer satisfaction.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is Beta Testing Software?
Beta Testing Software functions as a pre-release evaluation platform where select users, akin to a movie preview audience, provide authentic feedback on a software product or feature. These external testers use the software in real-life scenarios and environments, offering insights into its functionality, usability, and potential issues. This feedback helps organizations refine their products before their public release, ensuring a higher level of customer adoption and satisfaction.
How does Beta Testing Software work?
Beta Testing Software operates as a dedicated program that engages professional beta-testers to assess software products or features in real-world settings. These testers provide valuable insights, including crash reports, user feedback, and performance metrics, enabling organizations to identify and address issues before the product launch. By simulating actual usage scenarios, Beta Testing Software ensures comprehensive quality assurance and validation, enhancing the overall user experience.
Is a Beta Testing Software really needed?
Absolutely! Beta Testing Software is invaluable for both small and large organizations alike. While larger companies may have extensive resources for internal testing, Beta Testing Software provides smaller organizations with access to diverse external testers and valuable data insights. By leveraging external testers, organizations can gather intelligence on user behavior, preferences, and pain points, enabling them to refine their products and enhance customer satisfaction. In today's competitive landscape, ensuring the quality and usability of software products is paramount, making Beta Testing Software an essential tool for organizations of all sizes.
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