Beta Testers

Confused about where to start?  Let’s break it down.

What to test, and how.

Beta Testing Mission

The purposes for beta testing of this site:

1. Get user feedback on usability
2. Find errors
3. Ensure that required functions are included
4. Optimize how things are done

Usability:

We want to hear if something is hard to use, or does not function as intended.  Using the Issue/Request Feedback form, you can help us with your feedback.  You can use this form to also request features that do not exist (or maybe you have just not found yet!).  If you want to leave some general feedback on the site of on the project you can use the General Feedback Form.

Find Errors

If there are features that do not work, or do not work as intended, please let us know.  If this is specific to a feature on the Feature Test List, it is preferred to use the Feature Test Result Form.  Otherwise you can use the Issue/Request Feedback Form.

Ensure Inclusion of Required Functions

We have tried to think through the process of setting up schedules and all that it entails.  We might have missed something.  If you feel that to be the case, let us know what you think would be the best way to do it.  We welcome your thoughts.  We will use this input to either adapt an existing functionality in the site or create a new one that addresses the gap identified.

Optimize How Things are Done

We want to make the job of setting up schedules as easy as possible.  Optimization of the number of clicks, scrolls, page changes, and data entry is important to achieve this.  While there may be reasons some extra clicks are necessary, we want to hear your thoughts of where things could be streamlined as well as any ideas you might have on how this could be done better.

Some Relevant Details in Approach to Beta Testing

Notifications

We are trying together to make sure things work.  Receiving notifications for a given function are one way to verify the test of that function.  For example, when creating a new Service Appointment and submitting it, a pastor will get a notification of the service request.  Seeing that this notification got sent and that the information contained it is correct is an important verification and is needed to ensure that testing is complete.

There are 5 Test User accounts set up for pastors, DGMDs, SGMDs (Section Global Missions Directors), and missionaries.  These are intended to help capture the notifications by forwarding them to the development team.  If you would like to test a function like this, we can do one of two things:

1. Forward the email notification to you.  The best way to do this is to put your email address in the “Description” field of the service.  Otherwise we may not know to whom to send the email.
2. Let us know you want to do testing, and we can set you up to be included in the mail forwarding for that user.  For example, we could add your email to “Test Pastor4” and whenever notifications come to that pastor, you will receive a copy of that notification.  Note that you would also get notifications incurred by other users sending them that pastor account.

When you receive the notifications you know the function is working.

You can also simply use the users (for example, and preferably) in your district to do testing. This would mean that these pastors would receive the notifications.  They currently look like (Jan 2024):

… so that they know that this is for testing.  Of course, as you might already appreciate, this may be OK to do once or twice, but doing it 10x per day might be a little annoying.  Therefore, for frequent testing of a function, the above methods of forwarding the notifications would be better.

For missionaries, the same idea applies.  It may be less critical, as there will usually be less missionaries involved in the overall scheme of things than pastors.  Therefore, macro schedules can be set up with Test User missionary users in most cases.

There will be a time when beta testing is in full-swing and a majority of the issues are resolved, where these notification emails can actually be used for promotional purposes, just to let people know what is going on.

Ideas or comments?  Please leave them below in the comments section.