Here is what I was able to find out:
https://www.centercode.com/blog/2011/01/alpha...ta-testing
Alpha Tests
Beta Tests
Test Goals
Evaluate the quality of the product and ensure Beta readiness. These tests focus on finding bugs, and answer the question: Does the product work?
Evaluate customer satisfaction and ensure release readiness. These tests take users on a guided tour of the product to answer the question: Do customers like the product?
When they happen
After initial QA testing but before Beta Testing, in the stage of the development process when the product is 60%-80% complete (it’s stable enough for technical users, but not yet feature complete).
After Alpha Testing, in the stage of the development process when the product is 80%-90% complete (it’s stable enough for mainstream users, and mostly feature-complete).
Test length
Typically 1-2 weeks per test cycle with numerous cycles based on how many issues are discovered and how many new features are released. It’s not uncommon for the total Alpha phase to be 3-5x the length of the following Beta phase.
Usually 3-6 weeks per test cycle with only 1-2 cycles. Additional cycles are added if significant new features are introduced or if a core component is changed.
Primary stakeholders
Engineering, Quality Assurance (QA), and Product Management teams.
User Experience (UX), Quality Management, and Product Management teams.
Participants (testers)
Strangers from a variety of targeted technical environments, who can handle giving technical feedback during the test. Involving employees in this stage of testing (a.k.a. dogfooding) helps improve internal alignment and prepare your teams for live-support after launch.
Strangers (not friends and family) from your product’s target market. They’ll provide objective insights on the product experience that are relevant to the product’s success and help you better understand your true customers.
What testers should expect
A product with plenty of bugs and crashes, as well as some missing documents and features.
A near feature-complete product with some bugs, fewer crashes, and mostly complete documentation.
How feedback is addressed
Most known critical and severe issues are fixed, and some features may change or be added as a result of early feedback.
Critical or important issues are fixed, and simple user experience improvements are made before product launch. Future versions of the product are heavily influenced by the results.
What they achieve
Identification of critical issues that cannot be tested in the lab, and insurance of your Betas by addressing show-stopping bugs that would otherwise cripple those tests. They also improve internal alignment and launch-readiness of customer-facing teams.
Improvement of launch success by providing evidence-based recommendations for product improvements and a complete view of your customers’ experience with your product.
When are they over?
A product is Beta-ready when it meets design criteria, all of its primary features work, and Alpha testers are no longer finding critical or blocking issues.
A product is launch-ready when mainstream users from your target market are comfortable with the user interface, and are satisfied with their experiences with the product and its features.
What happens next?
Beta Testing!
Launch and Delta Testing!
https://www.centercode.com/blog/2011/01/alpha...ta-testing
Alpha Tests
Beta Tests
Test Goals
Evaluate the quality of the product and ensure Beta readiness. These tests focus on finding bugs, and answer the question: Does the product work?
Evaluate customer satisfaction and ensure release readiness. These tests take users on a guided tour of the product to answer the question: Do customers like the product?
When they happen
After initial QA testing but before Beta Testing, in the stage of the development process when the product is 60%-80% complete (it’s stable enough for technical users, but not yet feature complete).
After Alpha Testing, in the stage of the development process when the product is 80%-90% complete (it’s stable enough for mainstream users, and mostly feature-complete).
Test length
Typically 1-2 weeks per test cycle with numerous cycles based on how many issues are discovered and how many new features are released. It’s not uncommon for the total Alpha phase to be 3-5x the length of the following Beta phase.
Usually 3-6 weeks per test cycle with only 1-2 cycles. Additional cycles are added if significant new features are introduced or if a core component is changed.
Primary stakeholders
Engineering, Quality Assurance (QA), and Product Management teams.
User Experience (UX), Quality Management, and Product Management teams.
Participants (testers)
Strangers from a variety of targeted technical environments, who can handle giving technical feedback during the test. Involving employees in this stage of testing (a.k.a. dogfooding) helps improve internal alignment and prepare your teams for live-support after launch.
Strangers (not friends and family) from your product’s target market. They’ll provide objective insights on the product experience that are relevant to the product’s success and help you better understand your true customers.
What testers should expect
A product with plenty of bugs and crashes, as well as some missing documents and features.
A near feature-complete product with some bugs, fewer crashes, and mostly complete documentation.
How feedback is addressed
Most known critical and severe issues are fixed, and some features may change or be added as a result of early feedback.
Critical or important issues are fixed, and simple user experience improvements are made before product launch. Future versions of the product are heavily influenced by the results.
What they achieve
Identification of critical issues that cannot be tested in the lab, and insurance of your Betas by addressing show-stopping bugs that would otherwise cripple those tests. They also improve internal alignment and launch-readiness of customer-facing teams.
Improvement of launch success by providing evidence-based recommendations for product improvements and a complete view of your customers’ experience with your product.
When are they over?
A product is Beta-ready when it meets design criteria, all of its primary features work, and Alpha testers are no longer finding critical or blocking issues.
A product is launch-ready when mainstream users from your target market are comfortable with the user interface, and are satisfied with their experiences with the product and its features.
What happens next?
Beta Testing!
Launch and Delta Testing!
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