What Do You Need to Know about Alpha and Beta Testing?
Alpha and Beta testing is surrounded by many rumors and myths. In this post we tell you about the advantages and disadvantages of Alpha and Beta testing, as well as what you should not miss when performing them.
Alpha and Beta testing in the app life cycle
Alpha and Beta testing are indispensable in the ‘life cycle’ of apps. Both stages are forms of acceptance testing: their goal is to check how the product behaves when the audience interacts with it. These steps are common to all types of apps, whether it’s a mobile game or an e-wallet.
What is the app life cycle? That’s all the stages an app goes through from conception to release. Here are the main phases of the life cycle leading up to release:
Pre-Alpha: The product prototype is ready, the UI is finished, but not all features may be completed. The software is not published at this phase.
Alpha: the software is in progress and is internally tested for bugs.
Beta: the product at this phase is stable and is released to a limited Beta tester base. The goal is to get user feedback on the product and make necessary changes in the software.
Release Candidate: based on the feedback of Beta Test, the developer makes changes to the software and tests out an already fixed version. No radical changes are expected at this phase, it is just a bug check.
Release: all works, the software is released to the open access.
As you can see, the Alpha and Beta versions are central here.
What Alpha and Beta testing are used for. What to expect
Alpha testing
Alpha testing is conducted to identify possible issues and bugs before releasing the final product to the end users. As a rule, this is an internal process: Alpha testing is coordinated and organized by the testers of the company releasing the app. Sometimes, if an app is developed for a third party, real users are also involved.
There may also be Alpha campaigns of mobile game developers: they also occasionally involve end users in Alpha testing (this is due to the specifics of programming this type of app). The main goal of this stage is to identify the tasks that a typical user can perform and test them.
What are the stages of Alpha testing?
Alpha testing precedes the Beta testing phase. It is carried out when software development is almost over, when everything is pretty much ‘assembled’ for release to the outside world. Most often, testers use a white box and black box testing techniques to simulate real users.
In addition, almost every test uses the ‘Gray Box’ method. Testing with this method involves a combination of white box and black box approaches. That is, the internal structure of the program we know only partially. It is assumed, for example, access to the internal structure and algorithms of the software to write the most effective test cases, but the testing itself is carried out with the help of the black box technique, that is, from the user’s point of view.
What is Alpha testing used for?
Alpha testing monitors for bugs in the functionality and shows the software stability. Before it, the work of the software is tested discretely, piece by piece. In the Alpha stage, everything that is done is tested in the build: the success of Alpha testing shows the readiness of the app to interact with real users.
Alpha testing: advantages
- It provides an early view of the reliability of the software, helps to develop functionality and find bugs.
- You can simulate the environment and user behavior in real time.
Alpha testing: disadvantages
- The software is under development.
- A ‘lab’ environment.
Beta testing
If the Alpha testing stage is successful, then developers move on to the Beta testing — the final stage of the acceptance testing. This is a pre-release stage, allowing you to identify flaws that were not noticed during the Alpha testing. Now the app will be assessed by a limited number of specific users.
If the Alpha testing stage is successful, then developers move on to the Beta testing — the final stage of the acceptance testing. This is a pre-release stage, allowing you to identify flaws that were not noticed during the Alpha testing. Now the app will be assessed by a limited number of specific users.
What are the stages of Beta testing?
As a rule, everything is more or less clear with Alpha testing: it is performed by specially trained people who know how to organize information and return results. Beta testing is far more complicated. Let’s take a closer look.
There are several types of Beta testing.
- Traditional Beta testing: the product is distributed to the target market, and relevant data is collected in all parameters. This data can be used to improve the version of the product.
- Public Beta testing: the product is publicly released through online channels, data can be obtained from anyone. Based on the feedback, the product is improved (as in the Google example below). Another good example is Microsoft’s Windows 8 campaign before the official release of its OS: it is considered the largest of the Beta tests in the history of the market.
- Technical Beta Testing: the product is released to an internal group of a company and gathers feedback/data from the employees (NOT the testers).
- Focused Beta Testing: the product is released to the market for gathering feedback on particular features of the program.
- Post-release Beta testing: the product is released to the market and data is collected to make improvements in the future releases of the product (e.g., the next version). This type of testing is often used to test specific features.
What is Beta testing used for?
Beta testing allows developers to demonstrate the product to an audience that is not aware of how and what is supposed to operate, which means they approach development assessment in a real environment and give direct feedback. This is very important for apps and mobile games: devices often have an unstable, ‘slow’ network connection, which causes problems for the software. Beta testing allows the product version to be exposed to high loads.
Audience for Beta testing can be recruited through campaigns: many users like to personally try out a new product or feature. They will provide the most comprehensive and high quality reviews. You can join the Beta testing program on the app home page in the app store or on the website of the product.
Extra bonuses:
Beta testing is often used when you want to test a specific feature: whether it is engaging, whether it will be in demand, or how it works.
Beta testing is often used when you want to test a specific feature: whether it is engaging, whether it will be in demand, or how it works.
Beta testing: advantages
- Because the product is tested by end users, Beta testing reduces the risk of product failure.
- It allows you to improve the quality of the product based on user feedback.
- It is cost effective in comparison with similar data gathering methods.
- It builds trust and creates a loyal user base.
Beta testing: disadvantages
- It is hard to manage testing. Since it is not a “lab”, but a real environment, it is almost impossible to keep the processes under control.
- Finding a base of Beta testers and maintaining activity can be a real challenge. It depends on the specifics of the niche, etc.
What is the difference between Alpha and Beta testing?
| 1. Alpha testing is performed by internal testers of an organization. Beta testing involves end users. |
| 2. Alpha Testing is performed at the developer’s site, while Beta — at an external site (e.g., in the app store). |
| 3. Reliability and security testing are not performed during Alpha testing: the focus is on functionality. All of these and other aspects are checked during Beta. |
| 4. Alpha testing uses both the white box and black box methods, while Beta testing mainly involves the black box method. |
| 5. Alpha testing requires a testing environment, Beta testing does not. |
| 6. Alpha testing takes a long time, Beta testing only requires a few weeks of execution. |
| 7. During Alpha testing, critical issues and bugs are addressed and fixed immediately. Beta in this respect takes time: you have to collect feedback from end users and process it. |
| 8. Alpha testing is carried out to ensure the quality of the product before proceeding to Beta testing. Beta testing is the final phase before release. Beta also focuses on the quality of the product, but based on feedback from users. |
Alpha and Beta testing: myths and reality
From all of the above, it is clear that myths about Alpha and Beta testing are baseless, and most of them are debunked with the click of a mouse. To sum up:
- Myth #1: Alpha and Beta testing are done in the final stages of the testing life cycle, that is, too late to be of any use and produce real results.
Truth: Alpha and Beta testing reveals the most important issues of the app software and provides credible feedback from users. Now’s the time!
- Myth #2: Beta testing is a tricky and time-consuming process.
Truth: Beta testing requires time and experience to get the most benefit. But the user feedback is priceless.
- Myth #3: In Alpha and Beta testing, the same type of testing is carried out.
Truth: Alpha testing is conducted in a “lab” environment, while Beta testing is performed by real users who report real problems based on their own experience with the app. It’s two completely different approaches.
- Myth #4: Beta testing generates little or no useful data.
Truth: Successful Beta testing can generate tons of valuable information that is difficult to gather in a ‘lab’ environment.
Conclusion
No matter how many tests you run, as long as you don’t apply the results to the product. Sometimes many good apps are “dumped” in the Alpha stage because they require a complete redesign of the product to change them. This is not bad, but the team may lose the zeal to develop the app. Conclusion: sometimes it is better to “slow down” even with Alpha testing. Beta testing is not only a functionality check, but also a kind of “teaser” of your app: you can use it for promotion.
