Alpha And Beta Testing Ensure Software Is Ready For MarketDuring the stages of software development, many different software testing is completed. Software testing begins from the time the development of the software begins. Alpha and Beta testing are both parts of the software development stage, but each one plays a different part in the testing. They are both considered as part of acceptance testing, but in some ways, they might not be considered as testing. When a product such as software is in the alpha stage, not all of the features are yet part of the software, but it's ready to begin the beginning of the testing stage. The word alpha comes from the Greek alphabet, the first letter, because it is the first step towards making the software ready. The product meets the software requirements, even though it is not yet complete. The software engineers do the start of the development of the software, but then when it gets to the software testers it is in the alpha stage. When the software is to the alpha stage, it is considered 35% complete. In an effort to speed things along, many companies are hiring outside customers or technicians to help with the software when it is in the alpha testing phase. This allows for more in-depth usability testing. The beginning of the alpha testing is using white box testing to test the software, followed by gray box or black box testing. When the software is moved to the black box testing, it is known as the alpha release. Black box testing is from the exterior viewpoint of the software where as white box is from the interior point of view. Another way to describe alpha testing is that the operation of the software is tested by users or customers at the site of the developers. It is also used for software that is labeled as off-the-shelf software. When the software is in the beta phase, it means the first version of the software is being released outside of the company that developed the software for the purpose of being black or gray box tested by the public, so to speak. This is known as beta release and takes place when the software is 60% to 70% complete. When the software is at this stage, it usually has all its features, but there may be some issues or bugs present that can only be made visible by consumers using it. You will often hear of different software that is released and will be labeled as "beta version 1.0" etc. The consumers that use these beta products and test them are considered beta testers and are usually customers of the company that developed the software and are receiving the software free or at a reduced price in exchange for testing it. The beta software gives the company the opportunity to see how good the software actually is and if it is marketable, and if not, how close to marketable it is. |