It is a common fact that beta testing is one of the acceptance testing methods that is performed by a customer base. Its purpose is to give clients the opportunity to evaluate the level of satisfaction of the project.

Thus, customers check the product’s functionality, usability, quality, and compatibility with other applications. As a rule, specialists execute beta testing right after alpha testing.

During the testing and on its results, we get prior experience working with the program, send requests with its design, functionality, and interface.

These characteristics allow giving a qualitative estimate of the final product as far as during beta testing specialists check the GM version of the app with all possible functions.

There are 2 types of beta testing:

• Open: when a lot of testers take part in the process. It allows getting plenty of recommendations and feedback. Any interested person can take part in such kind of testing, and give feedback.
• Closed: only those who received an invitation can execute this testing. Usually, this is small groups.

Advantages of Beta Testing

It is worth highlighting the main advantages of this kind of testing:

1. Testers who have access to the app and its functionality can evaluate the final product;
2. Many people perform this kind of testing; they give their own personal opinion about the project and its specific peculiarities;
3. It is possible to cover a lot of platforms, browsers, and OS combinations;
4. The program facilitates the identification of defects in the app. Sometimes frequent problems with usability (which client faces and which were considered minor bugs) become major defects after beta testing. This is because customers cannot use all the product’s features easily and fully because of these bugs.

Beta Testing by Using TestFlight

If you want to get easy access to program data for beta testing, you have to use your own services. We will analyze one of the most popular applications for this kind of testing. Specialists from Apple released this product. It’s about TestFlight.

TestFlight is an official program created by Apple for iOS devices with the purpose to perform the open beta testing of these devices. This product contributes to simplify the process of collecting the code from devices that are under the test (UDID).

Also, with TestFlight one can invite customers to evaluate new programs for iOS, watchOS, and tvOS that aren’t in the AppStore.

This product works with the programs version 8.0+ because now there are a few iOS devices with older versions than this one.

A huge advantage of TestFlight is the fact that it’s free. Moreover, developers say that the main functionality will stay free.

Main Functions of TestFlight:

• Open access to the program for 1000 beta testers through their emails;
• Simultaneous testing on several devices;
• Developers can download, install, and upgrade program testing builds;
• When the beta testing is complete, the product is referred to the analysis and testing;
• It is possible to download an official program from the App Store without sending the developer a UDID code to perform testing;
• Messaging about the release of a new program build (previously there were emails);
• On this service, beta testers can write feedback to the client or developer of the program;
• One can see a number of test runs and program failures. Also, there is information about debugging.

TestFlight makes beta testing of new products an easy and clear process.

Algorithm of Testing the Beta Versions of the Application:

1. Installation of TestFlight from App Store. This process is the same as the installation of any other application on iOS devices.
2. After you get an invitation for testing through TestFlight, you have to download an official beta version of the program from App Store (the link is in the TestFlight).
3. After the installation is complete, the service can be activated from the home display. You can understand that this version is a demo due to the orange dot before the program’s name.
4. If you click on the product’s name in TestFlight, you will see info about it. Sometimes there is information from developers about the things that should be tested or new upgrades.
   On that display, it is possible to install the updated program version. If you need to compare the functional capabilities of different versions, you can go to “Previous builds” where you can find all the builds and download the necessary ones.
5. You can send data about found bugs or write the developers due to the “Send Beta Feedback” function.
6. If you don’t want to test the program anymore, you just need to click “Stop Testing” on the display in TestFlight.

The TestFlight service can be useful not only for testing of the program’s beta versions. Also, it is used to send testers the program builds.

To Sum Up

There are a lot of services for this kind of testing. However, if you need to test a program for an iOS device, then TestFlight is the best choice.

This service is official, simple and easy-to-use. It has great functionality for successful communication between clients and end-users.

With the help of TestFlight, developers can evaluate the bug priority or necessity to improve the app functionality (on the basis of testers’ feedback). All this facilitates improving the software.