Some QuickBooks users had had the privilege over the years of participating in product testing of versions before their release. Intuit has offered the opportunity to participate in both product-Alpha and product-Beta testing for many years.
Through these years, there has been substantial improvement in QuickBooks products, the preparation of those products for testing and the testing processes themselves.
While product-Alpha testing was pretty well structured around specific aspects of a product and used guided testing procedures over a limited feature set, product-Beta testing was a much more adventurous use of the software geared toward using the software in as normal and practical a manner as possible.
Users had to be aware of, prepare for, and handle potential bugs in product-Alpha testing. In product-Beta testing, Intuit wanted to know how the product functioned in a typical work environment.
Many years ago, testers were, for the most part, more geeky types who enjoyed the challenge of working with buggy products. But nowadays, testers have become diverse in many industries and roles, so their testing could put the software to work in an environment where you would expect it to perform upon final release.
Another aspect of this diversity is the actual hardware environment. The more diverse the Windows software and hardware environments upon which the software can be tested, the better.
It is impractical for any software company to try to self-test the diversity of equipment upon which the product will be used, even if there are minimum hardware requirements.
For example, say everyone had the same base computer that fit the recommended minimum hardware requirement. Then, issues like a diversity of file sizes, when testing QuickBooks Desktop, could make a significant difference in the performance measures that testers experience.
The same could be said for the fact that even though Intuit specifies ‘the most common’ antivirus applications within the minimum requirements, there are still more than 300 such programs on the market, and determining which of them might or might not cause future issues is precisely why having a diverse group of testers is essential.
So it is good that the testing methods used today around technical aspects, primarily performed during product-Alpha, and focused testing on specific features and functionalities during product-Beta as well as market (or live environment) testing also performed in product-Beta have improved so significantly over the years.
Another plus is the characteristics of the feedback now solicited. At one time, testing was much more of a "do your own thing" related to the new product with a "pay special attention to this new feature or function.’"
Today, testing is much more structured. You have far less to think: “Now, what do I really need to test?”
The improved testing environment means testers are guided more efficiently through specific exercises and activities and provided with the fundamentals of what must and should be tested and how those tests should be conducted.
That form of testing helps ensure standardization so that process or workflow are not the cause, and when a problem is identified, aids in determining the standard steps leading to the erroneous result.
At the same time, testers can explore and identify what else needs to be enhanced, especially as it relates to a “new this, that, or the other.” This is especially true during later versions of product-Beta and product-Release-candidate testing.
Of course, some testers sign up for the rewards, the best of which are free products. If you do your job as a thorough tester, you often can earn a copy of the product you tested, in other cases, you might earn a gift card or some swag.
So, by now, you are probably wondering why I’m writing this article. The reality is that many testers like myself are growing old. I know several who’ve been doing this for a dozen or more years.
That means there are always traditional testers who step away from the test pool each year, which means new testers are needed—“new blood.”
Intuit’s Invitation for Beta Testers should be a call to the next generation of testers, like many of you reading this article. After all, Intuit is “looking for all kinds of testers…Online, Desktop, Windows, Mac, ProSeries, Lacerte…” and they would “love for you to sign up to help test (their) products.”
So, if you feel like you’re ready to take on the responsibility of helping Intuit build and improve its products, and you have a special affection for one of those products, like QuickBooks Online or maybe even QuickBooks Desktop, you should consider signing up.
See this official Intuit website for more information about qualifications, the testing process and requirements, and signing up to become a tester.
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