How to Beta Test like Google
Google understands one particular principle very well: if you want to build a great product, you need input from the people who will be using it.
In writing for FastCompany on how Google tests products, the tech giant’s director of UX Lucas Pettinati says,
Getting the right amount of feedback matters, since product teams are often racing at breakneck speed and trying to hit a moving target. Not all feedback is actionable, either; the last thing you want to do is try to please everyone. But on the flip side, when you do identify a problem, do enough users care about it to make it a top priority fix?
Google tackles its product testing in three phases: preliminary user research, “Trusted Tester” private feedback, and then a larger-scale “Early Adopter” rollout.
Reality Check
The step up from preliminary research to Trusted Testers can be jarring: that’s when the product team’s preconceptions can be challenged or even shattered. Google must then be prepared to turn on a dime to meet the real-world needs of its customers, while also ascertaining which of those needs will be most pertinent to a globally-available product.
That’s all well and good if you’re Google… but chances are you aren’t Google. The good news is that this level of insight is available to much smaller teams. Wantoo lets you make smart product decisions by listening to your testers, analyzing what they’re telling you, and then deciding which ideas you want to carry forward. Some of our early adopters are doing just that.
Designed for Simplicity
Each step of the Wantoo process is optimized for its users: either your audience or your product team.
Listen to your customers by sharing a dead-simple Wantoo Board with them, as easily as copying and pasting a URL. Your customers can add the ideas they’re passionate about, or vote for ideas that are already there.
Analyze the feedback you’re getting by seeing how popular your customers’ ideas are, and how deeply they’re discussed and developed. As Pettinati noted, not every idea is worth carrying forward.
Act on these ideas in a drag-and-drop interface, moving them into columns for future action, deeper consideration, or quiet retirement. Meanwhile, our system keeps each idea’s supporters in the loop so you aren’t up to your elbows in communication tasks.
The Right Tool
Pettinati notes, “There’s no one-size-fits all solution to user feedback when it comes to designing (and ultimately launching) great products,” and he’s totally right. Fortunately, though, there’s one tool that can scale with you: it’s minimal when you need it to be, and deeply powerful when the need arises.
Wantoo isn’t just a PM tool: whether you’re a marketer working on customer engagement and feedback, a content manager looking to increase readership, an event planner looking to rock your next conference, or a retail enterprise launching an ad campaign, you can unlock the power of intelligent feedback.
About Wantoo
Wantoo is a simple, powerful cloud-based platform that makes it easy to listen, analyze, and act on feedback from your team, your customers, or anyone else. For more information, visit wantoo.io.