Douglas Knight on Alpha to Beta to Production Launch, How It Happens
Software development often occurs at an astonishingly rapid pace, and the most talented development teams are able to deliver consistently exceptional software products that are free from bugs and meet every last specification as outlined at the beginning of the project. Developers and testers like Douglas Knight New Canaan, have to be incredibly precise and must have a thorough testing process to ensure a software is released with little to no defects despite the pressure of releasing software at an agile pace.
In order to maintain precision and efficiency throughout the development lifecycle, development teams operate according to specific stages (the SDLC) until reaching the point in which the software is deemed ready for production launch; called a release. Testing is fundamental to each one of these stages, which is why testing platforms have been received so well by those charged with software development and testing projects.
Alpha Stage of Development
There is actually a stage that precedes the associated processes of the alpha stage — “the pre-alpha stage” — that encompasses everything that occurs in software design and development until it is ready to be tested and subsequently refined. Once in the alpha stage, the software is tested and validated through the use of a wide variety of techniques by multiple testing teams. At this point in the process, the software is regarded as particularly unstable and often does not yet include all of the features that will be incorporated in the final version. Ultimately, the software will not progress to the beta stage until all features are added so that the software can be considered ready for “feature freeze.”
Beta Stage of Development
Beta testing during this stage typically revolves around identifying and addressing any bugs that remain within the software. The software itself will not include any additional features, but the testing process often reveals the presence of bugs ranging from mild to extremely severe. During this stage the bugs can be identified through a number of different methodologies, including a limited release of a beta version of the software. Those using the prototype can then report any issues with bugs or general usability concerns that can be corrected before the development process moves on to the next stage.
Release Candidate: Code Complete
While the software is still considered a beta version, it is deemed “code complete” when it has reached the point in which no new source code will have to be added. There is still the potential for bugs at this point, so testing will continue and source code may be altered to correct any issues identified through testing.
Production Launch: “Going Gold”
Once the software is deemed ready by the development team as well as any other relevant parties involved in the project, the software is ready to be released to the manufacturing stage, also referred to as “going gold.” Simply put, the software is considered complete and is ready to be delivered to the customer as a final version appropriate for release to consumers.
Throughout every stage of software development process, testing plays a critical role. In order to reach the stage in which the software is deemed ready for the production launch, a plethora of testing documentation, collaboration and testing has to be completed between testing and development. This requires a ‘tech stack’ of tools that all work towards the end goal of pushing software into production for launch at the highest quality, and at an agile pace. Teams using ALMs (Application Lifecycle Management Tools) such as JIRA, automation tools and a test management platform are able to accomplish this goal all the while improving team collaboration and productivity.
