I keep seeing “alpha” and “beta” used for testing stages, but in practice the line between them seems blurry and people on my team use the terms differently. I want to get the distinction straight before we formalize our release process.
From what I understand, alpha testing happens internally before the software goes out, and beta testing involves real users testing a near-final build. But where exactly does one stop and the other begin? Is it about the environment, the audience, how finished the build is, or something else?
I came across a breakdown of alpha testing vs beta testing that helped, but I’d like to hear how people apply it in real projects.
Specifically: how do you decide when a build is ready to move from alpha to beta? And do you change what you’re testing for between the two stages, or just who’s doing the testing?