10 Life Skills Learned from Beta Testing

As a tester with us, you’ll be given the opportunity to collaborate alongside other like-minded individuals in an interactive testing environment dissimilar to most online communities. Betabounders accepted to our Betabound Exclusives gain new life skills that are applicable to individuals of all backgrounds. Based on feedback from testers and our beta management team, we’ve created this blog post of ten important life skills learned from beta testing:

1. Appreciating new technologies

Beta testing gives you a unique opportunity to witness the behind-the-scenes making of every major tech product on the market today. Many of our testers have shared with us how taking part in a beta test gave them a newfound appreciation for the amount of work that happens before a product is publicly released. Beta testing gives you the chance to have a hand in emerging technologies, as well as gain a new level of respect for the manpower required to get a new tech product on store shelves.

2. Collaborating in a community

Our beta tests are designed to be collaborative environments. If accepted to one of our Betabound Exclusives, you’ll be expected to submit feature requests, bug reports, discussion topics, private journals, surveys and tasks. In this environment, testers are encouraged to replicate other testers’ bug reports, vote on feature request ideas, and comment on others’ discussion posts to foster a collaborative testing community. The more information a product’s developer team has, the better they can tweak their beta to be release ready. Just as conducting a beta test enables a product’s development team to fine tune their product before it’s release ready, beta testing affords you the opportunity to hone your collaborative communication skills to provide the development team with the most useful product information possible.

3. Becoming a trusted teammate

When you’re accepted to participate in a beta test, you’re joining an exclusive team. You’re a key player and your coaches are our team of beta managers. As such, you’re expected to be timely with your email correspondences, participate in discussion boards, manage your time effectively (i.e. shipping back hardware beta units, devoting enough time to exploring the beta product), and completing assigned work (such as tasks and journal entries) in a timely fashion. Beta managers have to process all of your tester feedback, so it’s key for you to be a trustworthy teammate to ensure the success of the beta test.

4. Thinking creatively

As a rockstar tester, you learn how to think outside the box. When participating in one of our beta tests, we’ll ask you to submit feature requests and suggestions the product’s development team might find helpful. These comments are intended to be realistically achieavable. However, our beta management team encourages creativity in solving problems other testers may have reported encountering with the product, or new features what might add an interesting “wow” factor to the finished product.

5. Keeping a secret

Beta testing teaches you the importance of keeping a secret. By violating your test’s NDA agreement, you could generate negative, uncontrollable buzz about the product you’re working on that could result in decreased sales for the product, or an unintended edge for that product’s competitors. Being trustworthy enough to keep a secret is a huge deal for our clients, and a responsibility that could make or break a company’s product launch.

6. Seeing things from new perspectives

Testing teaches you how to put yourself in other people’s shoes. While on a beta test, you’ll read feature requests, discussion posts, and bug reports that you may not immediately relate to. Beta testing affords you the opportunity to challenge yourself to see things from new perspectives, empathize with others’ comments, and work with other testers to brainstorm solutions the product’s development team can implement in future builds of their product.

7. Selling yourself

Think of every Betabound test application as a job application. You’re looking to get “hired” by our team on a cool new beta test, and we’re looking for “candidates” that are detail-oriented, meet each test’s unique qualifications, and come across as excited for the opportunity to work with us. As a tester, the more tests you apply for, the more opportunities you have to perfect the way you describe yourself and your experience to prove yourself as a worthy candidate. The ability to confidently and concisely present yourself is a skill honed through applying to a variety of beta tests by learning how to “sell” yourself.

8. Understanding patience

Beta testing is incredibly competitive. We understand how frustrating it can be to not get chosen for a test you were excited about because (surprise!) a million other people jumped on the application for that same test. We have some great strategies for boosting your chances of getting selected, but the best advice is to learn how to be patient and keep submitting high-quality test applications.

9. Communicating effectively

The most appreciated beta testers are those who can cut to the chase. Beta managers have to sift through hundreds of tester feedback forms, so being to-the-point can save a lot of time and increase your effectiveness as a communicator. For example, say a tester reports a show-stopping bug using extremely lengthy, fluffy language that’s hard to decipher. This confusing text means the actions leading up to that bug are muddled, and less likely to be accurately replicated by other testers — delaying the bug getting fixed. By learning how to be a direct communicator, you maintain the pace and clarity of the beta test, which is a skill individuals require in all walks of life.

10. Learning from others

Beta testing encourages lifelong learning. While participating on a beta test, you’ll have the opportunity to learn about trending tech products, develop “tech savvy” skills, and meet new people from around the world. Beta testing offers the unique opportunity to engage alongside like-minded testers in an interactive pool, and learn about emerging tech.

Anyone who’s detail-oriented and enthusiastic about sharing their honest feedback to help better a tech product can benefit from participating in one of our beta tests. If you haven’t already, join the Betabound community to ensure you receive emails promoting our exclusive testing opportunities. Also, don’t forget to share our signup page with a friend or family member who might be interested in adopting these new life skills — we’re always looking for new testers to join our community!

Want to learn more about testing with us? Check out our tester FAQ!