Question: What are trackers under test?

Answer: Trackers which are in their testing period are known as being in “Beta”. This concept is used generally and applied to any type of programming code in which there may or may not be bugs in the code preventing the program from functioning the way it was developed.

Question: What is a beta version?

Answer: While any program is being developed, what may sound good on paper or in theory may not always work properly in live environments. The term “Beta” is applied to any program which is being tested under normal everyday use to determine if there are any potential bugs in the code which can prevent the program from running as it was intended.

Question: What is the purpose of beta testing?

Answer: The purpose of beta testing a program or in this case a tracking program is to determine if there are any bugs in the code which can prevent the program from doing what it was designed to do. In most cases, what appears to work on paper may not always function properly in all situations and therefore must be beta tested by the end user (you) who will then report any bugs back to the developer (us) so that it can be put right.

Question: How long will I be able to use a beta version of your trackers?

Answer: Our trackers when released under the beta version will only be available for a set amount of time. The more participants in the testing process the more feedback we get and in return the quicker we can fix any bugs in the program’s code. A beta tracker will only be available until we as the developer are confident enough that the program will either work the way it is supposed to work or it will not work at all. In which case we will decide to go ahead and move the program either to a ready to be used on a full scale (Release to Web) version, or completely scrap the project.

Summary:

When we decide to make a drastic change to the source code of our current tracker system or add a new type of tracker, we first start simply with an idea. This idea accumulates into a draft of the design of the code which is commonly referred to as a “Pre Alpha” code. This code is usually full of many bugs simply because the developer is working so hard on coding that often some parts of the code may be incorrect.

From pre alpha, the code is then shared amongst the other developers in the organisation for further scrutiny as well as to find the major bugs in the code and at this point it is known as an “Alpha” release. After the major bugs have been discovered and fixed, we could continue to scrutinise it ourselves till all the bugs are found, but this can be time consuming and costly. As a result we release this tracker code under what is known as a “Beta” which basically means there are many possible small bugs in the code but we need your help to find them. This makes the entire process a quicker, easier and cheaper one.

When we decide to remove a code from beta testing, it is either because there are too many bugs, or we feel confident enough that all the potential bugs have already been discovered and the program is a “Release Candidate”.

In the event that we have determined that the code will be scrapped, the statistical data generated during the beta testing may no longer be available to you or in some cases it will be available but only in limited amounts. Either way we apologise ahead of time for any inconveniences which may arise as a result of the beta testing and we would also like to thank you in advance for any participation you offer which can help us make sure that the finished product is actually finished and ready to use.