Designing Alpha & Beta Test Programs for New Product Development

Alpha and Beta testing are integral parts of new product development and understanding product-market fit. From my experience as the first B2B PMM hired at Honeypot.io (now acquired by XING), to leading product marketing at Sellics (now acquired by Perpeuta), up to launching new products at Instagram, I have learned that product validation is key to any pre-GTM due diligence.

Recent examples of product tests I've led, Instagram's launch of Interactive AR Ads and Instagram's new ad placement, Profile Ads and various updates on Instagram Branded Content Ads.

This article outlines the different types of product testing, their importance, and how you can integrate these programs so that product marketing is strategically involved in product development.

Please note that product testing varies across organizations and may take different approaches and have different names than those listed in this article.

ALPHA TESTS

Alpha testing ensures that the product functions as intended. It gathers impressions on the product MVP from either internal (employees) or external users (selected customers) to determine any future iterations the product may need before launching publicly (e.g., bug fixes, product confusion, or new feature recommendations).

Why alpha test?

• Stabilizes the product and reduces product development time by identifying issues at an early stage

• Enhances user experience and improves performance to attract users

• Allows product marketers to anticipate questions and materials needed for onboarding

• Gathers feedback to further develop the MVP, positioning, and GTM messaging

Cross-functional partners involved:

• Product Marketing Manager: Creates the test plan, leads execution, partners with the sales team to recruit test participants (if external test), relays the voice of the customer to the product team, and ensures feedback is considered in product development

• Sales Team Member: Recommends potential test participants and collaborates with the PMM to onboard clients into the test

• Product Manager: Consolidates product feedback from the PMM and integrates it as needed

• Engineer: Builds and iterates the MVP and allows product testers access to the new product

• UX Research (if applicable): Conducts follow-up interview sessions throughout the execution or at the end of the test

• Product Testers: Test the product and provide feedback. This group consists of either internal (company employees) or external users (loyal customers and/or customers that fit the product user profile).

BETA TESTS

Beta testing follows alpha testing and may take place before or after the launch - or may not take place at all. Unlike alpha's focus on functionality testing, beta tests hone in on how well the new product performs compared to its alternatives.

Beta testing is most relevant for products that generate results for their users. Examples include testing new ad products to gauge cost/result effectiveness and testing content creator tools to gauge engagement/views from their audience.

Why beta test?

• Allows the product team to test a hypothesis and learn ways to improve the product for better adoption

• Enables the team to understand the new product's values and effectiveness for the target audience

• Provides proof points for the marketing team to use in GTM collateral and positioning (e.g., X new product outperforms Y alternative product in Z ways)

• Enables test participants to see the new product's effectiveness compared to alternatives

Cross-functional partners involved:

• Product Marketing Manager: Collaborates with the data scientist to create the test plan; leads execution, partners with the sales team to recruit test participants; relays test feedback to the product team; synthesizes test results to determine product messaging and positioning

• Data Scientist: Ensures the test design, hypothesis, and parameters are logically sound; works with the product team to gather test data and provides conclusions of the test

• Sales Team Member: Recommends potential test participants and collaborates with the PMM to onboard clients into the test

• Product Manager: Consolidates product feedback from the PMM and integrates it as needed

• Engineer: Builds and iterates the product as needed

• Product Testers: Test the product and provide feedback. This group consists of external users (loyal customers and/or customers that fit the product user profile).

OTHER PRODUCT TESTING METHODS

There are various forms of product testing, and for some products, an elaborate alpha or beta test may not be needed.

Internal bug bashing sessions, a team-wide gathering hosted to discover a large number of bugs within a short time frame. It involves not only your engineers or quality assurance team but also marketers, testers, the UX team, designers or management. Typically it is held in a big shared room and feedback is shared live.

Why host bug bashing sessions?

• Aggregates large amount of product feedback & pin points issues in a short period of time

• Exposes the product to unplanned test environments

• Supports team culture and provides first-hand education and user empathy on the new product

Staggered roll out is another way to reactively test the new product, especially relevant for consumer digital products since B2C products are often intuitive. By gradually releasing the product 10% at a time, product teams can monitor the adoption and customer support to ensure users are not running into bugs and product confusions all at once.

If adoption is slow, it signals that more product marketing efforts are needed (in-app notifications, tool tips, etc) and if customer support requests are high, it signals that the product may need to be scaled back to improve the current version.

Why stagger a roll out?

• Smaller new features may not need a dedicated alpha or beta test

• Saves time if there aren’t enough bandwidth or resources for an alpha or beta test

• Allows the product team to test and control the market reaction before launching the new product across 100% of users

Whether you’re leading an alpha test, beta test or alternative testing methods - it’s important to roll out user-friendly products that address your customer values, needs and pain points. A well-performing new product not only allows you to stay competitive but also prevents customers from churning and optimizes the product development process.