Alpha Testing & Beta testing

Alpha Testing

Alpha testing is a type of acceptance testing; performed to identify all possible issues/bugs before releasing the product to everyday users or public.  The focus of this testing is to simulate real users by using blackbox and whitebox techniques. The aim is to carry out the tasks that a typical user might perform. Alpha testing is carried out in a lab environment and usually the testers are internal employees of the organization. To put it as simple as possible, this kind of testing is called alpha only because it is done early on, near the end of the development of the software, and before beta testing.

Advantages of Alpha Testing:

• Provides better view about the reliability of the software at an early stage
• Helps simulate real time user behavior and environment.
• Detect many showstopper or serious errors
• Ability to provide early detection of errors with respect to design and functionality

Disadvantages of Alpha Testing:

• In depth functionality cannot be tested as software is still under development stage Sometimes developers and testers are dissatisfied with the results of alpha testing

Beta Testing

Beta Testing of a product is performed by "real users" of the software application in a "real environment" and can be considered as a form of external User Acceptance Testing.

Beta version of the software is released to a limited number of end-users of the product to obtain feedback on the product quality. Beta testing reduces product failure risks and provides increased quality of the product through customer validation.

It is the final test before shipping a product to the customers. Direct feedback from customers is a major advantage of Beta Testing. This testing helps to tests the product in real time environment.

Advantages Beta Testing

• Reduces product failure risk via customer validation.
• Beta Testing allows a company to test post-launch infrastructure.
• Improves product quality via customer feedback
• Cost effective compared to similar data gathering methods
• Creates goodwill with customers and increases customer satisfaction

Disadvantages Beta Testing

• Test Management is an issue. As compared to other testing types which are usually executed inside a company in a controlled environment, beta testing is executed out in the real world where you seldom have control.
• Finding the right beta users and maintaining their participation could be a challenge

Alpha Testing Vs Beta Testing:

Alpha Testing	Beta Testing
Alpha testing performed by Testers  who are usually internal employees of the organization	Beta testing is performed by Clients or End Users who are not employees of the organization
Alpha Testing performed at developer's site	Beta testing is performed at client location or end user of the product
Reliability and security testing are not performed  in-depth Alpha Testing	Reliability, Security, Robustness are checked during Beta Testing
Alpha testing involves both the white box and black box techniques	Beta Testing typically uses Black box
Alpha testing requires lab environment or testing environment	Beta testing doesn't require any lab environment or testing environment. Software is made available to the public and  is said to be real time environment
Long execution cycle may be required for Alpha testing	Only few weeks of execution are required for Beta testing
Critical issues or fixes can be addressed by developers immediately in Alpha testing	Most of the issues or feedback is collected from Beta testing will be implemented in future versions of the product
Alpha testing is to ensure the quality of the product before moving to Beta testing	Beta testing also concentrates on quality of the product, but gathers users input on the product and ensures that the product is ready for real time users.