Beta testing

Beta Testing is also known as field testing. It takes place at customer’s site. It sends the system/software to users who install it and use it under real-world working conditions.

  • A beta test is the second phase of software testing in which a sampling of the intended audience tries the product out. (Beta is the second letter of the Greek alphabet.) Originally, the term alpha testing meant the first phase of testing in a software development process. The first phase includes unit testing, component testing, and system testing. Beta testing can be considered “pre-release testing.
  • The goal of beta testing is to place your application in the hands of real users outside of your own engineering team to discover any flaws or issues from the user’s perspective that you would not want to have in your final, released version of the application. Example: Microsoft and many other organizations release beta versions of their products to be tested by users.