- Implementation. The duration of most beta programs is one to three months, although the period may be shorter. "Implementation is intense [and] of short duration," says Jarvis-Haig. This is when the real work happens. For a limited period, new software is installed on the user's development systems. Developers work with new or enhanced interfaces, or they may test the performance of benchmark transactions.

Users also perform regression testing to ensure that functions currently in use still work. Tasks here may include setup (to reproduce the production environment), running automated test cases and arranging for expert end users to operate in the beta environment. User feedback often leads to changes in the product. "We provide input to the vendor," says Jarvis-Haig. "We can influence the end result."

This ability to affect the final product is a key benefit for beta testers, says Hannah Roberts, communications coordinator at Opera North , an opera company in Leeds, England. For example, she says, "we had a say in shaping [a product's] database to better suit our needs."

Klish says that Blackbaud has added prompts, changed flows and simplified interfaces because of feedback from the Detroit Zoological Society.

Good communication between the vendor and beta testers during this time is essential. To facilitate that, each Teradata beta account has a site manager who is an experienced product engineer with links into the development organization. At Blackbaud, a "beta buddy" talks with each beta user weekly and as needed. Both vendors use the Web extensively for communication.