What is a beta testing?
A Beta test is a testing done for a piece of computer product prior to commercial release in the market. Beta testing can be considered the last stage of testing, and normally can involve sending the product to beta test sites outside the company for real-world exposure. Normally, a free trial version of the product is allowed to be downloaded over the Internet. Beta test versions of software are distributed to a wide range of users to get the software tested in different combination of hardware and associated software.
What is in for a fresher or freelancer?
So what should we do as a fresher or a freelance software tester? Beta testing provides a platform for us to test some real world software. There are many companies which release beta version of their software before they ship it to the market for commercial selling.
By signing up as a beta tester and downloading a test version of the software, you can get a first hand preview of the software. It is an exciting experience to get the software free of cost before the world gets to see the product. If you can find few bugs or write some reviews (positive or negative) about the beta version of the software, most of the companies give a free licensed version of the product when they release in the market.
Benefits of beta testing to a fresher?
Also as a fresher, you can show this experience of testing a beta product. You can list down what all defects or bugs you have submitted to the company. There are few companies which I know who pay for finding bugs in there products. Your resume will shine if you can prove that you earned few dollars by finding bugs for this and that company.
uTest.com
Sign Up with uTest.com and get paid for finding bugs. I am sure there are lots of other companies which pay for pointing out their defects.
Beta products from Microsoft
Microsoft also provides wide range of Beta software for testing. Sign up with them and start testing a free beta product today.
Here are some tips for running a Beta Test
- Take back up of your PC before you install a Beta version software. You never know when the software crashes.
- Read the terms and conditions carefully. Find out which bugs have already been reported. You don't want to waste time finding bugs which someone has already reported.
- Get the specification or requirement document first. How do you test a product if you don't know what it is supposed to do?
- Create a network of Beta Testers. This will help you get informed of latest happenings around the world.
***Happy Testing***
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