Beta test

The articles public test , beta test and crowdtesting overlap thematically. Help me to better differentiate or merge the articles (→  instructions ) . To do this, take part in the relevant redundancy discussion . Please remove this module only after the redundancy has been completely processed and do not forget to include the relevant entry on the redundancy discussion page{{ Done | 1 = ~~~~}}to mark. VÖRBY ( discussion ) 11:27, November 22, 2017 (CET)

The term beta test refers to the software test of a software product in the development stage of a beta version , which is carried out by future users (“inquirers”) under as real application situations as possible.

In the case of standard software products in particular , the software is made available to a group of people who usually use different hardware configurations before it is launched . As a rule, custom software is not subjected to a public beta test.

The software to be tested is often prepared in such a way that in the event of an error it generates a log file that can be used to provide the developers with appropriate feedback.

Beta tests can also be problematic for software manufacturers, as it is difficult to control the mostly undesired transfer of beta versions to other people (leak), which can give a larger group of potential customers a wrong impression of the software. Therefore, a confidentiality agreement is often concluded with the testers .

variants

→ Main article : Development stage (software)

There are various options for selecting the testers required for beta tests:

• Closed beta : The software is tested by employees of the manufacturer or a service provider specially commissioned for the test. If necessary, some users are acquired through public channels or personal acquaintance.
• Open Beta / Public Beta : Interested users can registerfor the beta testin a public tender (for example on the Internet ).
• Hybrid Beta : The test phase starts as a closed beta and ends as an open beta.

An open beta has advantages and disadvantages for developers. The software must be stable enough and provide enough new features to be accepted by users; otherwise this leads to high support costs and bad reviews. On the other hand, an open beta can spark customer interest even before the software can be fully deployed. Above all, the software is tested by many different people on different systems - which is hardly affordable by an internal test team. Not all software is equally suitable as an open beta . The less fault-tolerant the users are and the more support the test requires, the less suitable the software is for a public test.

In the software industry it has become common in recent years to release software to end customers in a public beta test phase (free of charge) in order to test stability and freedom from errors as cheaply as possible. In this context, the term banana product or 'banana principle' is often used colloquially ("matures at the customer's"): While this state is accepted to a certain extent in beta versions , defective products from the official (and mostly paid) purchase often come with this term pejoratively referred.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Definition of »beta test« | Gabler Economic Lexicon . ( gabler.de [accessed on November 27, 2017]).
2. ↑ Jennifer deWinter, Ryan M. Moeller: Computer Games and Technical Communication: Critical Methods and Applications at the Intersection , Routledge Verlag , 2016, ISBN 9781317162612 , p. 149 [1]
3. ^ Frank Kleemann: Enterprise in Web 2.0: On the strategic integration of consumer services through social media , Campus-Verlag , 2012, ISBN 9783593397726 , pp. 154–155 [2]
4. ↑ Luis Levy, Jeannie Novak: Game Development Essentials: Game QA & Testing , Verlag Cengage Learning, 2009, ISBN 9781435439474 , pp. 54–55 [3]
5. ↑ ^{a b} Anita Rosen: Title Effective IT Project Management: Using Teams to Get Projects Completed on Time and Under Budget , American Management Association , 2004, ISBN 9780814428023 , pp. 123-124 [4]