In an effort to explain all of the in’s and out’s of the beta testing world, we previously released our free eBook: What You Need to Know About Beta Management. Now, to further that effort, we are delivering a handful of valuable resources to address all of the challenges that specific kinds of beta tests may present.

Unique Challenges of Hardware Betas

With hardware beta tests, there are unique challenges that you need to be aware of. Here are a few of them:

• Test Size Scalability - With hardware products, it's generally cost prohibitive to invite hundreds of testers to participate due to the expense of beta versions of your product and the cost to ship the products to your chosen testers. You'll need to be discerning when it comes to how many testers you select and invite to join.
• Logistics and Shipping - Do you ship "Ground" or "2-Day Air"? Should you require a signature upon delivery? What about testers sending their beta units back? These are just some of the questions you need to ask yourself when planning hardware beta tests.
• Limited Iterations - Because of manufacturing requirements, there are often fewer opportunities to make improvements to the hardware portion of the product simply because of the timing of beta. By the time the product is in a "beta" state, it's often close to. if not already, hardware "locked" and no changes can be made to it.

Thankfully the resources below can help you create a plan of action should these challenges rear their ugly heads.

Resources for Hardware Beta Tests

Check out these resources for strategies, tips, best practices, and templates to help you tackle those challenges and manage the perfect hardware beta test:

• Hardware Beta Test Planning Kit
• The Beta Shipping Manual
• 100 Tips for Better Beta Tests
• Beta Test Incentives Kit

More articles to expand your hardware beta wisdom:

• 3 Tips for Kicking Off Your Hardware Test
• 5 Tips for Closing Your Hardware Test
• Beta Testing Success in 5 Steps