Home > Applications > App Development

Computerworld -

Mary-Jane Jarvis-Haig, senior manager of business intelligence at Hudson's Bay Co. Image Credit: Andre Souroujon

Even though the more cynical among us may believe that vendors have the most to gain from beta testing, beta programs that are carefully chosen and carried out can benefit IT managers and their companies, too. "Selective participation in beta programs for strategic products makes good sense," says Mary-Jane Jarvis-Haig, senior manager of business intelligence at Toronto-based retailer Hudson's Bay Co.
The more you know about the ins and outs of beta testing, the better you'll be at choosing the programs that make the most sense for your company. Here's a primer on what it's all about.
Opportunity for Influence
Hudson's Bay participates in beta programs with the vendors of its point-of-sale application, systems software and enterprise data warehouse. The retailer's enterprise data warehouse vendor is Teradata , which is a division of Dayton, Ohio-based NCR Corp. Hudson's Bay didn't jump into beta testing. "[We] started using Teradata in 1998, but we've participated in four or five beta programs with NCR only in the last few years," says Jarvis-Haig. The impetus to participate comes from project managers who know the applications best and see the value in shaping new features. "They make the case to senior IT management," she says.
Project managers point to a number of benefits. "We get our requirements addressed and can influence the vendor," Jarvis-Haig explains. "A new feature may need some changes to work as we think it should. As a beta user, we get to say [that]. We also evaluate performance in a test environment before deciding to put code into production. We like to be on the cutting edge. It helps keep the technical staff motivated."
But there's more to beta testing than getting to play with the new toys first. "Early access to critical new functions shouldn't be the only reason to be a beta tester," says Michael Fine, author of Beta Testing for Better Software (Wiley, 2002). "Building the relationship with the vendor, especially for enterprise-level products, is another incentive."
Randy Lea agrees. "Success for the beta participant is to see realized features and growth in the [vendor] partnership," says Lea, vice president of products and services at Teradata.
And there may be a financial benefit as well. "Successful beta participation leads to a lower cost of implementation," says Kathy Lang, CIO at Marquette University in Milwaukee. That's because fast turnaround on issues uncovered, as well as support-team and end-user readiness, contribute to a smoother production installation when