4.3 Identifying Beta Sites

The QA phase is a very busy time for Business Development. They are planning the project s announcement, and if the company is planning a closed beta, they are also finding and certifying beta site users. Business Development will work with other organizations to identify good prospective beta sites. Finding good beta sites is probably one of the most difficult tasks of the beta program. Many sites do not have the facilities or users with time to test a project properly. Most users who are interested in testing projects need the project in full-production mode, since it solves a problem they are experiencing. This can cause potential problems since the team is still working out bugs and many users have a low tolerance for errors. It is very important to impress upon users that the project is of beta quality ”that it has been tested internally, but it is highly probable the software has bugs .

If this project is a customer application and the company decides to go with a public beta, finding beta users will be easier. Support infrastructure for the beta users should be identified and created during this phase. At the least, put a legal disclaimer on your Web site that clients will need to ˜ ˜accept before accessing the application. Having clients answer a short questionnaire giving pertinent personal information, such as name , e-mail, system configuration, and demographic information, is beneficial. Ask beta users to provide their e-mail, so they can be notified when new releases are available. Other items beneficial to include with a public beta are: a bulletin board identifying known bugs and dates when the bug fixes will be available, a bulletin board where beta users can ask questions and note bugs they find, and an E-Learning class where users can learn how to use this application or feature.

Depending on the scope of the project, Business Development may need to identify individual beta sites. If so, it is necessary to interview these sites and confirm that they can and will test the project during the assigned beta period. Business Development will need to review the Beta Questionnaire with the user . For external projects, Business Development should also ask the potential beta sites if they can be used as a case study or as a reference at announcement time.

One recommendation for a successful beta is to sign up twice as many sites as the team specified, since it is likely that as many as half of the committed beta sites will not be able to test the project during the allotted time. It is wise to remember that beta sites are doing the team a favor. Treat them accordingly . If a good relationship is developed with a beta site, the next time a project is to enter beta the site usually is willing to participate.

4.3 in a Nutshell

Business Development must identify beta sites:

• Business Development works with the user community to identify potential beta sites.

• For a closed project, these sites will be interviewed to assure they meet the team s needs.

• For an open beta the team will need to qualify beta user requirements.

  Tip  

  Sign up twice as many beta sites as you think you will need.