@ 12:16:03 +0000 [ Wed, 19 Dec 2001], Alastair Scott [AS] wrote these words of wisdom: ... AS> A very interesting article on beta testing of commercial software:
AS> http://www.betanews.com/article.php3?sid=1007600207 A nice read. :-) AS> Lots and lots of good points there; the interviewee is as keen as I am AS> on tools which make everything visible to everyone. AS> (As you can probably guess I'm not impressed with the way RITLabs AS> does beta testing*; it's too haphazard and the _testers_ cannot AS> see how, and if, their data are being handled which, in my case, AS> is offputting. I guess that this is as a result of a lack of good *consistent* communication which is my main problem with the process. I don't see the point of releasing a beta with spanking new features which aren't intuitive, and then there's no instruction on how to use the new feature. How is it supposed to be tested then? Or is the obscurity some way of straining out who tests the feature since the more savvy will be able to 'figure it out'. :-) I hope this is being construed as constructive criticism and not whining. Communication is the main problem to me. Otherwise I don't see much scope for improvement considering the company size and resources. I do think that there are also a lot of excellent beta testers subscribed to this group who could do a lot more if given a chance and are communicated with more effectively. I don't know what's happening on private channels so I can't speak for that. As far as I'm concerned private notes should be minimised so that all can benefit from the exchanges, but I can understand a beta tester resorting to private notes when no responses are forthcoming to important queries made publicly on the list. I do also realize that the developers need time to debug and develop but there's that balance that needs to be struck with communication on the other hand. AS> Witness the IMAP closure problem, which RITLabs told me was AS> duplicatable and would be fixed yet has been hanging around for AS> three builds so far!) It's likely that they're working on a solution but haven't found it yet. But again, no communication of this. It's a case of submitting your problem and hoping it's heard and fixed. This has been working for me. We're being heard. No doubt about that.:-) They do listen and will fix serious bugs and implement important and useful enhancements ... in time. So, I hope with all of this Ritlabs and all who care to read my opinion here, realize that despite my negative slant in this message, I do have very positive views on The Bat! and its development over the years. :-) AS> * that said, very few get it anywhere near right; Exactly, and we have to accept this ... to an extent. <g> Just my $0.02 worth. -- .-.-. ( : ) ©Allie C Martin .-.\ ' /.-. List Moderator and fellow end user (_.. 'Y' .._) TB! v1.54 Beta/16a & Win2K SP2 ( /|\ ) - '-' | '-' PGPKey: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Subject=PGPPubKey1 -- _________________________________________________________ Archives : http://tbbeta.thebat.dutaint.com Moderators : mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Latest Beta: 1.54 beta/15 Wish List : http://wish.thebat.dutaint.com
