You’ve tested your product or service in-house and now you want to beta test it to see how it performs in the real world with actual users and get their feedback.
Your team’s excited!
They’re off and running to get it going and do their part.
That's great, but…
If you want success not chaos, you need to get everyone dancing to the same tune.
You need a plan.
One that gives everyone the steps to success.
First step to a successful beta test?
Creating a well defined plan.
A Beta Test Plan can be written many different ways but should include a few essential topics that define:
What you’re going to do
How you’re going to do it
And captures approval to proceed.
Define What You’re Going To Do
Goals/Objectives
>> Define the goals or objectives you want to achieve
>> Should be specific and realistic
Why? Provides clarity, sets expectations for test outcomes.
TIP: The rest of the test plan is designed to achieve the goals/objectives therefore get them approved before writing the rest of the plan.
Give It A Try
Body Alive is an online fitness company that sells membership subscriptions. They want to beta test their new online account sign up process.
Which of the following is the most effective way to write a specific and realistic test objective for this?
A) Test the performance of signing up for our membership site with users.
B) Test new user satisfaction with the account sign up flow for our membership site.
C) Test how easy it is for users to use the new features on our membership site.
D) Test how users like signing in to our new membership site.
Quiz
Choose the correct answer below.
Define How You’re Going To Do It
TIP: Creating a plan is not a one person job, it’s a collaborative team effort.
Scope
>> Scope defines the work the beta test is going to focus on; it defines the boundaries of the project.
>> Specify both what's IN and OUT of scope, what is and is not going to be tested — A completely new product? A specific piece of a product? User flow? New feature?
>> Who're you testing it with — Existing users? New users? Power users?
Why? Keeps the project focused and contained.
Test Approach
>> Type of test being done — there are many types, e.g., functional, user acceptance, technical, etc.
>> Product version being tested — so you test using the correct version
>> Number of test cycles — duration and focus of each
>> Test data required for each cycle (if any) — e.g., you may need credit card data to test a payment system
>> Testers — who they are, how they’ll be recruited, onboarded to start the test, and incentivized to test and provide feedback
Why? Provides the team with the flow and details of how the test will work.
Risks and assumptions
>> Potential and/or known risks and possible mitigation strategies
>> Assumptions made — your test approach is based on these
Why? Be proactive, not reactive.
Give It A Try
Body Alive has identified scope creep as a potential risk because of comments the owners have made about also wanting customer feedback on new website images.
Which of the following is an effective mitigation strategy the team could take to proactively manage this risk?
A) Explain the why behind what’s in and out of scope and gain written approval before completing the entire test plan.
B) Schedule regular and recurring update meetings with the team to discuss progress.
C) Email communication updates to the project team to keep them up-to-date.
D) When a scope change is requested, explain the impact on the project and reconfirm priorities.
Quiz
Choose the correct answer below.
Define How You’re Going To Do It (Cont'd)
Feedback
>> The type of user feedback you want to collect — e.g., bugs, comments, feature requests
>> Process(es) to collect each type — e.g., testers will log bugs in an online bug tracking tool and include a screenshot image
>> Criteria for evaluating it — e.g., define bug types — critical, high, medium, low, cosmetic bugs
Why? Capturing feedback is the reason for doing the test.
Test Entry & Exit Criteria
>> The conditions that must be met to start and end a test cycle.
>> Examples:
Entry criteria — stable product release, no critical or high bugs, an approved beta test plan
Exit criteria — no open critical or high severity defects, 95% of medium defects have been closed
Why? Ensures effective execution of testing activities.
Tools
>> Tools required to run the test and collect each type of feedback, how they’ll be used and who has access to each
>> Think about:
What software will be used to communicate with participants — Email? Text? Online portal?
What software will be used to collect feedback — a Google doc? a bug tracking tool?
Why? Automates and optimizes your testing process.
Define How You’re Going To Do It (Cont'd)
Project Team
>> Identify the project owner, contributors, and roles and responsibilities of each
Why? Ensure the right people are in the right roles before you start.
Schedule
>> List key milestones with dates and responsibilities
>> Common milestones:
Meeting dates: project launch, check-ins, wrap up
Test cycle start and end dates
Recruitment period for testers
Distribution of key communications
Why? Keeps people on-track.
Budget
>> Costs to run the test
>> Think about: tools required, marketing, participant recruitment and incentives, etc.
Why? Avoid surprises. (Varies widely based on scope, complexity.)
Capture Approval To Proceed
Get stakeholder approval
>> Sign-off form that captures name, title, signature and date for each approver
Why? Get the buy-in you need to proceed with confidence.
Take Action
Start today!
Create a blank Beta Test Plan template that contains the essential topics that:
Then, when you’re ready...
Use it with your team as the basis for planning your next beta test.
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