Hello all, i've recently been asked to plan out a beta testing programme for a website i'm helping out with. trouble is, i'm quite green with regards to beta testing a start-up site, and really need some advice. can't seem to find anything online.... has anyone launched a site and went through beta testing before? what's the most important things to do and look out for in your opinion? what kind of feedback ought i encourage???? thanks sincerely for your advice! cheers, David
Make sure that the functions work, such as being able to place an order, etc (if it's an ecommerce site), submitting any forms that may exist, try different combinations of data entry to see if anything breaks. Also, try using all the most common browsers, enable/disable active x, popups, etc.
usasportstrainging is right. For the most part, beta exists to work out final bugs in the program. It is pretty much a dry run to make sure everything is working as it should. Some things you might want to make sure you get feedback on are: Bugs, does everything work as it should? Is everything easy to understand, follow. Overall impression of the service. Do the locations of things make since. You might want to think about offering some type of incentive to get people to test for you. That might make it easier to find people. For more info, check here.
Make sure you try various options with a particular form/function too, I've often found in the past I'll have made a mistake with a particular variable being subtly different in two different places.