What is beta testing
At Speakap, we brag for being customer-focused, and we consider customer input a great contributor to a continuously improving product.
When developing a new feature, we want to evaluate satisfaction and verify readiness. To do that, we involve customers like you in a process called 'beta testing.'
Beta testing is the final testing round before the official release of a feature and it helps us:
- Identify errors and misalignments
- Determine the real value of the feature
- Get feedback on what could be improved
- Validate hypotheses about how the feature will be used
Your role in it
Beta testing is an ongoing process that contributes to a better quality product and an improved user experience.
Participating in beta testing makes you the first user of our new features. Your feedback serves as a blueprint for further development and helps us determine what comes next.
Exciting, isn't it?
If you choose to participate in beta testing, we'll turn the feature on for 3-4 weeks (depending on the use case and your feedback, we can extend this period).
What’s in for you
Beta testing adds significant value for our users by examining effectiveness and functionality before a feature goes live.
Here are some of the benefits of beta testing:
- You create your very own live feedback channel with Speakap
- You become one of the first users of new features
- You contribute to feature development
- You’re actively influencing product quality
- You have the power to suggest and affect product changes and hypotheses
In essence, you help us enhance the quality, performance, and functionality of Speakap!
How to get started
Here’s a step-by-step guide to set-up beta testing for your network:
Step 1: Create the beta group
Create a group called #Beta within your network. We recommend that you make this group private. That way, only admins can add members upon request, plus the exercise will remain more controlled.
You'll need to create this group only once, and every member will be able to test the features in beta.
✅ Make sure that you name the group #Beta as specified above. Group names are case sensitive.
Step 2: Add members
Choose the members that will test out beta features and add them to the group. We recommend that you have at least 10 users in the group.
You can add or remove members from the #beta group at any point in time.
Step 3: Refresh or reload
When you're a member of the group, you can see the beta features by refreshing the page (on the web) or reloading the app (close and re-open on mobile).
When someone is removed from the group, they will no longer have access to the beta features.
✅ Please make sure that all the members of the group always have their apps updated to the latest version.
Step 4: Provide feedback
You can give your feedback in the feedback banner that will be embedded into the flow of the beta features. The feedback banner looks something like this:
Clicking on ‘Give feedback’ on this banner will take you to a survey where you can share your thoughts about the feature and how we can improve it. We urge you to drop a line about what you like as well. It’s very fulfilling to know that our hard work has paid off!
This is what the survey looks like:
The survey is currently available in English, Dutch, German, and Spanish, but feel free to provide feedback in any language you feel comfortable with.
We aim at keeping features in beta for a maximum of 4 weeks, but this is subject to change depending on the nature of the feature and feedback received.
🎯 You can find a list of all features in beta here.
Step 5: Wrap-up call
At the end of the 4 weeks, we'll schedule a call with you to gather final thoughts and comments for a particular feature before we end the beta testing.
Follow-up
Your feedback will be used as input to improve the platform. Our team will keep you updated during the monthly calls and inform you about when the tested features will go live.
If you have anything to add or have a question you'd like to ask, feel free to reach out to us anytime.
We're looking forward to receiving your feedback and working together to create features that will give you the best possible Speakap experience.
Features in beta