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I wish to carry out pre release testing of my current Android Application.
My requirements for this testing are:-
My Application must not appear in the Google Play Store or...
Only invited testers can see the Applications Play Store Page
Only invited users can participate in testing.
Testers do not have to have a gmail account.
Total number of testers < 10,000.
Testers are automatically contacted with download link.
From what I have read (Chatted) on Google sites my choice is between Alpha or Beta testing.
for Beta testing
Open beta
Use an open beta when you want any user who has the link to be able to join your beta with just one click.
One of the advantages of an open beta is that it allows you to scale to a large number of testers.
However, you can also limit the maximum number of users who can join.
Closed beta
Using email addresses – If you want to restrict which users can access your beta, you have a new option:
you can now set up a closed beta using lists of individual email addresses which you can add individually
or upload as a .csv file. These users will be able to join your beta via a one-click opt-in link.
Closed beta
with Google+ community or Google Group – This is the option that you’ve been using today, and you can continue
to use betas with Google+ communities or Google Groups. You will also be able to move to an open beta
while maintaining your existing testers.
Beta satisfies almost all of my requirements however I cannot allow my application to be searchable on the Play Store and I do not want to require my testers to have/use a gmail account so Beta testing is out.
So my only choice is Alpha.
I am still not clear on the "flavours" of Alpha testing available.
If I have to manually distribute the Alpha app link why do I upload a list of emails?
What purpose does the uploaded list of emails have?
Is the list of uploaded emails used to control access to the Alpha apk?
Can I run Alpha test groups of 1000's of testers.
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Alpha testing ensures the quality of the product before forwarding to beta testing. Beta testing also concentrates on the quality of the product but collects users input on the product and ensures that the product is ready for real time users. Alpha testing requires a testing environment or a lab.
Alpha testing is done by testers and quality analysts inside the organization whereas Beta testing is done by real users who will be actually using the software. Alpha testing takes a longer duration to complete execution while Beta testing gets completed within a few weeks.
An alpha testing group should be small and test the least stable, experimental versions of your Actions (such as within your company or team). Use beta testing with a larger group to test stable versions of your Actions that are near release. Provide a channel for testers to send you feedback.
Alpha refers to the degree to which a stock's return compares to a specified benchmark, and is thus more focused on the direct benefits of investing. Beta, on the other hand, is a measure of a stock's systematic risk or volatility.
Alpha Testing is a type of software testing performed to identify bugs before releasing the product to real users or to the public. Alpha Testing is one of the user acceptance testing. Beta Testing is performed by real users of the software application in a real environment. Beta testing is one of the type of User Acceptance Testing.
You can do that for both. To do alpha,beta testing you need to send invites to people on their google+ accounts so that they can access your app and be able to download it. The invites is usually in the form of a link directing them to your app on the play store which is only visible to them after they accept the invite
Traditional Beta testing: Product is distributed to the target market, and related data is gathered in all aspects. This data can be used for Product improvement. Public Beta Testing: Product is publicly released to the outside world via online channels and data can be gathered from anyone.
The selection of beta test groups can be done based on the company’s needs. The company can either invite a few users to test the preview version of the application or they can release it openly to give it a try by any user.
As far as I know, it is not possible to invite a user to test without a Google account (but a Google account can be created without a GMail address). Besides, alpha (internal) testing is only available for 100 people, and closed beta testing is only available for 2,000 people. Therefore, I think it is not possible to do a closed testing for 10,000 users with arbitrary email addresses.
Take a look at this Google support answer for more details.
Hope this helps, Xavi
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