{"id":9004111223052682,"date":"2007-06-19T18:40:00","date_gmt":"2007-06-19T18:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pragmaticinstitute.com\/running-a-successful-beta-program\/"},"modified":"2007-06-19T18:40:00","modified_gmt":"2007-06-19T18:40:00","slug":"running-a-successful-beta-program","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.pragmaticinstitute.com\/resources\/articles\/product\/running-a-successful-beta-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Beta Program Testing: Beginner Marketing Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

A successful beta test program accomplishes three goals.\u00a0 The first is to get greater test coverage.\u00a0 The second is to get market feedback.\u00a0 The third is to prepare your organization to support the new product. All of these goals should be considered when planning a beta program and are equally important. From the engineer\u2019s perspective the beta is a way to move the product into the hands of potential customers who will use the product in wide range of environmental conditions that could not be simulated in the lab.\u00a0 But a beta program should never be a substitute for good testing practices or usability testing.<\/p>\n

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Photo By Markus Spiske on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You still have a responsibility to provide the best testing you can and the UI should be baked.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t have to be perfect, but ship a buggy beta you may have a very difficult time finding beta customers for the next release. From the marketer\u2019s perspective the beta is a way to get customer feedback of what is liked about the product and what needs to be improved.\u00a0 It\u2019s also a way to validate market research and assumptions about positioning.\u00a0 Funny things happen when a product gets into the hands of customers.\u00a0 New uses for your product will be discovered and some things you thought were really cool (and differential) will get lukewarm response.<\/p>\n

Be prepared and be open minded. From a customer support perspective a beta is a way to interact with customers in a relatively forgiving environment to gain experience handling common issues.\u00a0 Often developers want to be the ones with direct contact with beta customers.\u00a0 The upside is direct feedback.\u00a0 The downside is once the product ships those customers will know who you are and may expect to reach you directly when they have problems.\u00a0 Using customer support as a first line of defense enables the development team to be more effective in the long run. Beta tips:<\/p>\n