INDUSTRY INSIGHTS YOUR PEERS ARE READING
Throughout the month, we’ve been looking at best practices for writing surveys — from avoiding psychological biases to tips for keeping your data squeaky clean. This week, we decided to ask our Customer Validation Managed Testing Services Team to weigh in. MORE
On November 12, the Walt Disney Company launched their long-awaited video streaming platform, Disney+ …surprising no one. Disney is, after all, just one name on a long list of media production outlets to jump into the stream of on-demand media. MORE
In a perfect world, all the data you collect from your surveys would be 100% unbiased. But I don’t have to tell you that’s not the world we live in. In reality, bias is common in research. MORE
Technology is developed to serve people, but those people – customers – haven’t always had their own seat at the product development table. That’s what makes the work of people like Dona Sarkar so compelling. MORE
What’s the secret to obtaining high-quality user feedback? Whether you’re gathering input for a usability test, a focus group, Customer Validation , or another form of user research, finding and recruiting quality participants makes a world of difference to the quality of your feedback. MORE
We may associate the idea of beta testing with Google, Microsoft, video games, and other tech with roots in the late 20th century, but IBM cemented “beta” as far back as the 1950s. The Director of Betabound, Brad Day, wrote about the history of beta. MORE
What are beta program metrics exactly? Which ones are important? Why do I need them? These are the types of questions that suddenly pop into the minds of product and program managers when an executive team comes looking for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). MORE
It’s back — and this time, it’s exclusively online! We’re excited to announce the Virtual Customer Validation Conference , happening on April 7 – 9, 2020. MORE
When it comes to soliciting pre-release customer feedback, most teams focus on one thing: bugs. Understandably so – a buggy product in a competitive marketplace is kryptonite to a successful launch. MORE
Software testing teams often find themselves sacrificing quality for speed when it comes to getting updates out on time. Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve explored how professionals are using customer testing to scale their resources and manpower within continuous delivery. MORE
If you’ve attended a QA or testing conference recently, it seems as though manual testing is a dying discipline. Due in part to the speed of development, test automation, and artificial intelligence, a greater proportion of test management is now influenced or even controlled by developers. MORE
In product development, timing is everything. The type of customer-driven product questions you ask, when you ask them, and the kind of customer feedback you use to answer them all influence the insights you pull in and how they’ll ultimately serve you. MORE
Back in the day, there were fewer formalized types of customer feedback. Product managers would wait weeks or even months for feedback to trickle in once the product was on the market. But in today’s complex, heavily software-focused landscape, it’s unrealistic to wait so long. MORE
Beta testing is much more than a box to check off on a list. While some companies only think of it as a last-ditch effort to tie up loose ends before launch, others are tapping user research to play a more fundamental role in the product development process. MORE
Last month, Coding Sans shared the insights of almost 700 tech survey respondents in their 2019 State of Software Development report. The wonderful nuggets of information in the report shed light on the challenges involved with modern software development. MORE
You know that classic movie scene where a new kid walks into a classroom and everyone turns to stare? That kid is Google, and the classroom is the gaming industry. MORE
Our latest case study looks at how the Centercode Platform helped Tableau Software, the world-class data analytics company, increase their beta team’s productivity by 100%. Tableau enables people to easily visualize, analyze, and make sense of data across disparate sources. MORE
When a mobile app is sluggish, unresponsive, or difficult to use, one of two things is likely to happen. One, it gets buried on a screen full of other apps and forgotten about. Or two, long press and uninstall. MORE
If the Customer Validation platform is the skeleton, Betabound is the beating heart of Centercode. Every day, members of our 200,000+ tester network are putting their time and energy towards helping our customers build spectacular products. MORE
In this second post of our two-part interview with Dona Sarkar, leader of the Windows Insider program , she unpacks several community management tips for beta program executives, product managers, and other people responsible for Customer Validation. MORE
Like your UX, support, QA, and product teams, a marketing team spends a lot of time trying to think like customers. We’re obsessed with discovering what attracts them, what engages them, and how to speak their language. MORE
Imagine this: you have two groups of 100 testers. You give them the same product. You ask them to report back on their findings. Would their answers be the same? Well, that depends on who the testers in those two groups are. It also depends on what you ask them. MORE
Seeing the risks and rewards of emerging technology unfold is part of what makes the tech industry so exciting to follow. And since CES 2019, one of the biggest nail biters is the race to get the folding smartphone into the hands of consumers. MORE
Whether it comes early in the development lifecycle, right before launch, or between releases, customer feedback is vital to understanding what your target market wants and expects. Any time you talk directly with your market, it reveals incredible insights. MORE
Here you are, running another Customer Validation (CV) survey. Your survey is packed full of questions that will yield meaningful product insights, like “ What issues are you encountering? ” and “ What do you like most about the product? MORE
Apps are both readily accessible and everywhere. Go into a grocery store, a mall, a transit station, and you’ll see apps for everything from shopping to parking to public transportation. MORE
Imagine building a birdhouse out of a 100 lb block of wood with only a set of instructions and a handsaw. Too easy? How about this one: imagine running a community of 1,000 active testers when your only beta testing tools are Excel and Outlook. MORE
Centercode has been running beta tests for over 18 years. That’s why we can say this on good authority: beta testing isn’t easy. For one, there is no “one size fits all” formula that works for every product, every company, or every customer. MORE
Whether it’s the rise of AI, CI/CD, or DevOps, the lines between testing and development are blurring. But as testing methodologies evolve and bleed into development, professional testers are questioning how this evolution will affect their role in product development. MORE
The spread of talent within the Customer Validation industry makes for brilliant conversations. These gatherings are rare, but each one offers incredible insights into both the state of Beta Testing and the professionals leading the charge. MORE
When it comes to making decisions about your product, data is your best ammunition. Between analytics, surveys, support tickets, and customer testing, there are plenty of opportunities for your product management team to collect information about your customers’ experiences. MORE
Experiencing technology firsthand is central to our mission here at Centercode. That’s why when our CEO Luke brought the Oculus Quest all-in-one VR system into the office, we did what any dedicated tech enthusiasts would do: we took turns playing Beat Saber. Was it entirely in the name of research? MORE
Test strategy is critical to the success of any testing effort – but where do you start? How does your strategy conform to different development methodologies? What should you tackle in-house, and what should you outsource? How you involve real users in beta testing? MORE
It’s clear that continuous delivery and Agile are the way of the future for software development. The problem is that while dev teams have managed to keep up with the demand so far, software testing teams are struggling to maintain output quality. MORE
Centercode
NOVEMBER 14, 2019
On November 12, the Walt Disney Company launched their long-awaited video streaming platform, Disney+ …surprising no one. Disney is, after all, just one name on a long list of media production outlets to jump into the stream of on-demand media.
Centercode
AUGUST 8, 2019
Technology is developed to serve people, but those people – customers – haven’t always had their own seat at the product development table. That’s what makes the work of people like Dona Sarkar so compelling.
Centercode
OCTOBER 1, 2019
Like your UX, support, QA, and product teams, a marketing team spends a lot of time trying to think like customers. We’re obsessed with discovering what attracts them, what engages them, and how to speak their language.
Centercode
JULY 17, 2019
Our latest case study looks at how the Centercode Platform helped Tableau Software, the world-class data analytics company, increase their beta team’s productivity by 100%. Tableau enables people to easily visualize, analyze, and make sense of data across disparate sources.
Speaker: Tanya Koshy, VP of Product, UserTesting
Experimentation isn't something you do once you have designs or once you’ve built the product; it's important to validate early and often to better understand your customer, their needs, and the market opportunity. Join Tanya Koshy, VP of Product at UserTesting, as she explores how, by using customer feedback at every stage of the product development process, you can better and more quickly iterate on your product ideas. Ultimately, this rapid experimentation during development will enable you to deliver customer value faster.
Centercode
NOVEMBER 5, 2019
Here you are, running another Customer Validation (CV) survey. Your survey is packed full of questions that will yield meaningful product insights, like “ What issues are you encountering? ” and “ What do you like most about the product?
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Centercode
JUNE 11, 2019
If the Customer Validation platform is the skeleton, Betabound is the beating heart of Centercode. Every day, members of our 200,000+ tester network are putting their time and energy towards helping our customers build spectacular products.
Centercode
OCTOBER 8, 2019
In a perfect world, all the data you collect from your surveys would be 100% unbiased. But I don’t have to tell you that’s not the world we live in. In reality, bias is common in research.
Centercode
OCTOBER 22, 2019
Throughout the month, we’ve been looking at best practices for writing surveys — from avoiding psychological biases to tips for keeping your data squeaky clean. This week, we decided to ask our Customer Validation Managed Testing Services Team to weigh in.
Centercode
JULY 2, 2019
What’s the secret to obtaining high-quality user feedback? Whether you’re gathering input for a usability test, a focus group, Customer Validation , or another form of user research, finding and recruiting quality participants makes a world of difference to the quality of your feedback.
Advertiser: GoodData
For software vendors looking to grow their customer base and increase revenue in a crowded marketplace, successfully and seamlessly integrating analytics into a SaaS product is critical. Learn how to monetize and productize data with embedded analytics.
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Centercode
MARCH 27, 2019
You know that classic movie scene where a new kid walks into a classroom and everyone turns to stare? That kid is Google, and the classroom is the gaming industry.
Centercode
JUNE 4, 2019
Experiencing technology firsthand is central to our mission here at Centercode. That’s why when our CEO Luke brought the Oculus Quest all-in-one VR system into the office, we did what any dedicated tech enthusiasts would do: we took turns playing Beat Saber. Was it entirely in the name of research?
Centercode
APRIL 2, 2019
Test strategy is critical to the success of any testing effort – but where do you start? How does your strategy conform to different development methodologies? What should you tackle in-house, and what should you outsource? How you involve real users in beta testing?
Centercode
MARCH 20, 2019
When a mobile app is sluggish, unresponsive, or difficult to use, one of two things is likely to happen. One, it gets buried on a screen full of other apps and forgotten about. Or two, long press and uninstall.
Speaker: Holly Hester-Reilly, Founder and Product Management Coach, H2R Product Science
Too many product teams don't know what to test, which leads to poorly designed experiments and unclear results. How can a product manager be certain they’re making effective decisions when it comes to experimentation? Join Holly Hester-Reilly, Founder and Product Management Coach at H2R Product Science, as she walks us through the entire experimentation process, from deciding what to test to sharing the results with stakeholders, to illustrate what strong testing practices look like and how they can be implemented in every organization.
Centercode
SEPTEMBER 24, 2019
When it comes to making decisions about your product, data is your best ammunition. Between analytics, surveys, support tickets, and customer testing, there are plenty of opportunities for your product management team to collect information about your customers’ experiences.
Centercode
AUGUST 27, 2019
If you’ve attended a QA or testing conference recently, it seems as though manual testing is a dying discipline. Due in part to the speed of development, test automation, and artificial intelligence, a greater proportion of test management is now influenced or even controlled by developers.
Centercode
MAY 29, 2019
Software testing teams often find themselves sacrificing quality for speed when it comes to getting updates out on time. Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve explored how professionals are using customer testing to scale their resources and manpower within continuous delivery.
Centercode
SEPTEMBER 17, 2019
In product development, timing is everything. The type of customer-driven product questions you ask, when you ask them, and the kind of customer feedback you use to answer them all influence the insights you pull in and how they’ll ultimately serve you.
Speaker: Nick Noreña, Innovation Coach and Advisor, Kromatic
Experimenting as a way to explore new products, services, and business models can help eliminate the guesswork involved in building something your customers actually value. That said, it's often quite tricky to take your vision and figure out the first experiment to run. How do you get started? How can you ensure your experiments are well-designed? Join Nick Noreña, educator, entrepreneur, and currently an Innovation Coach at Kromatic, as he walks us through how we can figure out the right experiments to run for any product or service, and in organizations of all sizes.
Centercode
MARCH 12, 2019
Imagine this: you have two groups of 100 testers. You give them the same product. You ask them to report back on their findings. Would their answers be the same? Well, that depends on who the testers in those two groups are. It also depends on what you ask them.
Centercode
APRIL 9, 2019
We may associate the idea of beta testing with Google, Microsoft, video games, and other tech with roots in the late 20th century, but IBM cemented “beta” as far back as the 1950s. The Director of Betabound, Brad Day, wrote about the history of beta.
Centercode
MAY 21, 2019
It’s clear that continuous delivery and Agile are the way of the future for software development. The problem is that while dev teams have managed to keep up with the demand so far, software testing teams are struggling to maintain output quality.
Centercode
APRIL 30, 2019
Beta testing is much more than a box to check off on a list. While some companies only think of it as a last-ditch effort to tie up loose ends before launch, others are tapping user research to play a more fundamental role in the product development process.
Speaker: Franziska Beeler, Head of Cloud Academy, and Tendayi Viki, Associate Partner, Strategyzer
When testing new business and product ideas, choosing the right experiment is just the beginning. After we have chosen our experiment, it’s important that we spend some time designing it well. Join Tendayi Viki, corporate innovation expert and associate partner at Strategyzer, and Franziska Beeler, Head of Cloud Academy at Strategyzer, as they walk us through the three key elements that help you design stronger experiments and come away with the evidence you need to advance your idea.
Centercode
MAY 14, 2019
Seeing the risks and rewards of emerging technology unfold is part of what makes the tech industry so exciting to follow. And since CES 2019, one of the biggest nail biters is the race to get the folding smartphone into the hands of consumers.
Centercode
SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
Back in the day, there were fewer formalized types of customer feedback. Product managers would wait weeks or even months for feedback to trickle in once the product was on the market. But in today’s complex, heavily software-focused landscape, it’s unrealistic to wait so long.
Centercode
AUGUST 15, 2019
In this second post of our two-part interview with Dona Sarkar, leader of the Windows Insider program , she unpacks several community management tips for beta program executives, product managers, and other people responsible for Customer Validation.
Centercode
MARCH 5, 2019
Apps are both readily accessible and everywhere. Go into a grocery store, a mall, a transit station, and you’ll see apps for everything from shopping to parking to public transportation.
Speaker: Tim Herbig, Product Management Coach and Consultant
Product teams tend to get ahead of themselves by rushing from idea straight to building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). How can a product manager slow their team down and prevent them from wasting valuable resources? Join Tim Herbig, Product Management Coach and Consultant, as he introduces a new way of understanding MVPs and explores how you can approach validation without wasting the resources of your development team.
Centercode
APRIL 16, 2019
What are beta program metrics exactly? Which ones are important? Why do I need them? These are the types of questions that suddenly pop into the minds of product and program managers when an executive team comes looking for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Centercode
JUNE 18, 2019
Whether it comes early in the development lifecycle, right before launch, or between releases, customer feedback is vital to understanding what your target market wants and expects. Any time you talk directly with your market, it reveals incredible insights.
Centercode
APRIL 11, 2019
Whether it’s the rise of AI, CI/CD, or DevOps, the lines between testing and development are blurring. But as testing methodologies evolve and bleed into development, professional testers are questioning how this evolution will affect their role in product development.
Centercode
FEBRUARY 20, 2019
Centercode has been running beta tests for over 18 years. That’s why we can say this on good authority: beta testing isn’t easy. For one, there is no “one size fits all” formula that works for every product, every company, or every customer.
Speaker: Beekey Cheung, Software Consultant, Professor Beekums, LLC
Estimates are a contentious topic in software development. Most of our development teams hate providing estimates and many managers are starting to view them as unnecessary. As senior software leaders, how can we determine whether estimates are helpful or harmful to our teams? We are excited to be joined by Beekey Cheung, a software consultant and blogger known as Professor Beekums, who has helped many leaders and teams go from fearing estimates to using them appropriately. He'll walk us through the value of estimates, how to overcome the hesitancy many have in giving them, and how to provide better estimates.
Centercode
FEBRUARY 12, 2019
The spread of talent within the Customer Validation industry makes for brilliant conversations. These gatherings are rare, but each one offers incredible insights into both the state of Beta Testing and the professionals leading the charge.
Centercode
MAY 7, 2019
Last month, Coding Sans shared the insights of almost 700 tech survey respondents in their 2019 State of Software Development report. The wonderful nuggets of information in the report shed light on the challenges involved with modern software development.
Centercode
FEBRUARY 26, 2019
Imagine building a birdhouse out of a 100 lb block of wood with only a set of instructions and a handsaw. Too easy? How about this one: imagine running a community of 1,000 active testers when your only beta testing tools are Excel and Outlook.
Centercode
JULY 16, 2019
When it comes to soliciting pre-release customer feedback, most teams focus on one thing: bugs. Understandably so – a buggy product in a competitive marketplace is kryptonite to a successful launch.
Speaker: Steven Haines, Founder and CEO, Sequent Learning Networks
Product professionals use phrases like "voice of the customer," and "user experience" so often that it can be easy to lose sight of their actual meanings. How can we, as product professionals, learn to keep customers and users at the heart of our work? Join Steven Haines, globally recognized thought leader and author, as he guides us through a memorable journey demonstrating how you can walk a mile in their customer's shoes. He'll explore how, by developing true empathy for your users, you can ensure you're creating the features and products they actually want.
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