What is Beta Testing? | Software Testing

What is Beta Testing? 

In this article, you will learn the following:

• What is Beta Testing?
• What are the features of Beta testing?
• What is the different beta version of the software?

What is Beta Testing?

It is one of the types of User Acceptance testing among the most crucial testing which took place before the release of the software. It is considered a type of field testing. It is executed at the end of the software testing life cycle process. It is considered external user acceptance testing. It is also the type of salient testing. This is executed by real-time users. It always performs after the alpha testing. In the new beta version, beta testing gives access to only a limited audience to check the functionality, accessibility, usability of the software, and more. It is the last phase of the testing which is executed at the customer’s and client’s sites. 

What are the features of Beta testing?

In beta testing, testing is performed by the real users in a real-time environment. Beta versions of the software are released to a limited number of users to get feedback on the product quality. It helps in reducing the risk of failure and provides quality of the software through customer validation. It is considered the final testing before delivering the product to the customer. It gets direct feedback from the user. It tests the product in the customer’s environment. 

Features of the beta testing:

• Beta testing is black-box testing. 
• The testing is executed by the clients, stakeholders, and end-users.
• It is performed in the absence of testers and the presence of real users.
• It is always done after the alpha testing and before releasing the product on the market. 
• It is done for testing software products like utilities, operating systems, applications, etc.

What is the different beta version of the software?

The beta version of the software is given only to a limited number of users to get feedback and suggestions on quality improvement. Therefore, we have two types of beta versions:

• Closed Beta Version: It is also known as a private beta. It is only given to the selected people and invited to those people. Those people will test the application and evaluate the features and its specifications. It is capable of delivering the software but it is not ready to be used by everyone because of the lack of documentation. 
• Open Beta Version: It is also known as a public beta. It becomes available to the public. Anyone can test the software as a tester and can provide relevant information and feedback regarding the software. It improves the quality of the final product. It helps in finding the various undetected bugs and defects.