What is the difference between user testing and beta testing?

 

Both User testing and beta testing play a pivotal role when it comes to ascertaining the worth of a product from a user’s standpoint. Though both have a different testing implementation approach, but, the end goal remains the same and that is to take into consideration the user feedback and then work on the feedback in a strategic and pragmatic manner. In this article, you will get to know the difference between user testing and beta testing.

What is user testing?

It is a testing method through which the functions and interface of a product, application or website are tested by real users in a real-time environment. The focus is on assessing the usability and user experience of a product or application. The user tests how interactive the application is and whether it is user-friendly or not. The various pros and cons of the product or application are provided by the user in the form of feedback.

Based on the feedback provided, the team can make the necessary adjustments and corrections to further improve the quality of the product. If users are located at different locations, then the necessary virtual set up can be done to carry out the user testing virtually.    

The significance of user testing:

Through the platform of user testing, the worth of a prototype, feature or product is judged from a user’s perspective. The user’s interaction with the product or application’s design can be reviewed properly by the team. 

There will be scenarios where the designers, developers and testers who are involved in developing the application might find the application easy to use, but, on the contrary, the users might find it difficult to use the product.

User testing helps in analyzing the specific areas of the application where users are struggling to use the product. The problems of users are identified and solved. This testing method iterates the product or application, till it achieves the desired level of user experience and usability.  

 

What is Beta testing?

It is a testing method where a product’s performance, usability and functionality are assessed by beta testers (end-users) in a real-time production environment. Beta testing is performed when the product or application is almost 80% to 95% completed and just a few days or weeks are left to release the product. It also uncovers bugs that might have been missed or were not been able to found in the previous levels of testing.

Beta testing can be conducted in an open and closed mode. In an open mode, there is no specific prerequisites and limitation on the number of users to test the product. In a closed mode, the number of users is limited and should meet certain prerequisites in order to test the product.

The significance of beta testing:

Bugs are uncovered by users, which in turn helps in enhancing the quality of the product. This testing method also makes sure that the product or application can easily perform under real workloads and the crucial aspects such as scalability, storage and speed are properly met. 

A proper hypothesis will be attained as to how users will use the new functionalities and ensure that the product is able to meet user-specific requirements.

The product marketing and positioning strategies can be ascertained through the beta testing process. The management and technical team can analyze how to bridge the gap between the product and the customer interested to use the product.

 

Difference between user testing and beta testing:

User testing	Beta testing
Users can work along with the testing and development team to carry out the testing process	Beta testers (end-users) are solely responsible to carry out the testing process
In user testing, users will be testing the product to evaluate the product’s worth in terms of usability and user experience. Usability and UX specific issues of a product are uncovered	Beta testers will carry out the testing process of an almost developed product or application to uncover bugs just before the product is released
The user story is validated and the product’s expectations with regards to the product should be met	Beta testers provide in-depth feedback about the product from a reliability, functionality, performance and usability point of view
User testing is generally performed in the final stages of the software development life cycle process. In certain scenarios, it is considered at frequent intervals through the SDLC process for obtaining continuous feedback	Beta testing is performed after alpha testing
Product owners, stakeholders, testing team, development team and end-users are involved in the testing process	Beta testers and product owners are involved in the testing process. The involvement criteria might change based on the project needs

Conclusion: If you are looking forward to implementing user testing or beta testing or both for your specific project, then do get connected with a world-class software testing services company that will provide you with a structured testing roadmap that is in line with your project specific requirements.

About the author: I am a technical content writer focused on writing technology specific articles. I strive to provide well-researched information on the leading market savvy technologies.