What Does Beta Success Look Like?

Welcome & Introductions

Kate Fuchs | 00:00–01:07
All right, all right — I see a couple more trickling in, but we want to go ahead and get started. This will be recorded, so we’ll send it out to all registrants. We’ll go ahead and get going, and folks can catch up on the recording if they need to.

Welcome, welcome! Thank you for spending some time with us. We’ve got a really great webinar on something you might not spend a lot of time thinking about: beta success — and we’re going to make it really fun. You’re in for a treat.

Beta testing is really a silent hero in product improvement. Truly. In the registration we mentioned that 7 out of 10 companies rely on beta testing to enhance their creations — but surprisingly 57% said they lack a clear process. We hope to help demystify that process for you today.

We’re joined by two wonderful experts: Todd Blockier from the Productside — I’ll let him introduce himself in a moment — and Luke Freiler from Centercode. They’re going to guide us through a “game” of beta success (a little foreshadowing!), so we can explore how beta testing mitigates risk, sharpens attention to detail, and brings systematic clarity to your product approach.

Let’s go ahead and dive in!

Speaker Introductions

Kate Fuchs | 01:07–01:15
If we could go back one slide — I want to let Todd introduce himself, then he can pass it to Luke.

Todd Blockier | 01:15–01:34
Yeah, so I’m Todd Blockier — the French pronunciation is challenging. I’m from North Carolina. The closest person I saw in the attendee list is someone in D.C., so if someone’s closer than that to Raleigh, let me know. I’m a consultant and really excited to talk about this.

Luke Freiler | 01:34–02:05
Sure! I’m the founder and CEO of Centercode. You’ll quickly learn — we focus exclusively on this space. I started Centercode young when a product manager came to me with a need. I went looking for a solution, discovered a huge hole in the market, and built a company around helping people run effective user-based product tests. I’ll share more as we get into it.

Who We Are — Productside

Kate Fuchs | 02:05–02:44
So who is the Productside? Todd and I both come from there — I’m a Product Manager with Productside. We love partnering with product management teams to help transform them into outcome-based teams. Moving from outputs to outcomes.

We help teams shift from “delivering items on time” to “delivering meaningful impact.” Those are our core values, and we live by them. Definitely reach out if you want support in this area.

Who We Are — Centercode

Luke Freiler | 02:44–03:38
I represent Centercode — we exist to help companies bring products to market and continuously mature those products using real customer audiences… or their own employees for “dogfooding.”

We offer:

• A platform used by companies across hardware, software, consumer, and enterprise spaces
• A managed service for companies that don’t have internal resources
• A community of enthusiastic testers
• A free product-led growth option where you can literally sign up and start using our platform

Pretty much anything you need around user testing and beta programs — that’s us.

Housekeeping & Interaction

Kate Fuchs | 03:38–04:07
A few housekeeping notes:
Please ask questions — we love them. Use the chat or Q&A. We’ll answer live or in writing. This is very interactive, and we love seeing what comes through.

Also, follow us on LinkedIn — great blogs, great networking, great PM discussions.

Setting the Stage — The Beta Testing “Game”

Kate Fuchs | 04:07–04:16
All right — ready to dive in?

Todd Blockier | 04:16–05:37
Yes! Let’s get into it.

This is a picture of my son, Jack. He’s ten years old, and this face tells you everything you need to know about him. He created this board game — a Star Wars-themed game (he’s a huge Star Wars fan). He made his first board game… and then we played it as a family.

Let me show you what that looked like.

The game is simple: roll dice, move your marker, land on a spot, do what it says. Early on, it was fine — rolling, moving, landing on a +2, moving again. I always play red (because I’m Sith).

Jack loved chaining events — +3 would send you into a −1 that would send you backward again. He loved it.

Then we hit the first bend.

The First Critical Bug

Todd Blockier | 05:37–06:49
My wife lands on this symbol — it looks like an asterisk. We learn it means “everyone goes backwards.” So we all go backward… into another spot… and that spot sends us backward again… and again.

We spent 30 minutes stuck in a loop.

Finally, I escaped — past the asterisk, past the −3 — I was thrilled. And then… my wife hit it again. Which triggered the loop again. Which triggered another loop. I ended up back on −3. Everything reset. Again.

I’m Sith — so you know how I felt.

My son was frustrated. I was frustrated. We spent 40 minutes trapped near one spot. I finally had to leave for something, annoyed that I didn’t get to finish. They kept playing.

He was bummed — but it was a perfect teaching moment.

I told him:
“Jack, what you just did is called beta testing.”

You built something, tested it, discovered a critical defect — and now you fix it.

And he did. He erased the −3, moved it somewhere else, and on the next playthrough everything worked.

Agenda for Today

Todd Blockier | 06:49–07:05
So that’s our introduction. Today we’re going to talk about the “game pieces” of beta testing:

• Things that move you forward
• Things that move you backward
• Things that move everyone backward

And we’ll start with a poll.

Poll #1 — What Is Your Experience With Beta Testing?

Kate Fuchs | 07:05–08:04
Here’s our first poll: What is your experience with beta testing?
Pick the one that best fits.

Lots of responses coming in — keep them coming! If you’ve already voted, feel free to share your favorite Jedi in the chat. My kids are obsessed with the Mandalorian…

All right — slowing down.
Three… two… one…

Here are the results.

Kate Fuchs | 08:04–08:25
Most of you chose “I’ve tried it and need help” — you’re absolutely in the right place.

Todd? Luke? Any reactions?

Todd Blockier | 08:25–08:37
Not surprising. Luke?

Luke Freiler | 08:37–09:14
Yeah — when we wrote this poll, “It was recently dropped on me” was important to include. Half the companies we talk to tell us exactly that. A PM wakes up one day and someone says, “Congratulations! You own beta testing now.”

The funniest part?
That’s also how many people become product managers.

Why Beta Testing Feels “Dropped On You”

Luke Freiler | 09:14–09:55
It’s very common. Someone wakes up one day and suddenly owns beta testing. Leadership assumes it’s simple because they’ve only seen beta testing from the outside — “Let a few users try it, gather some feedback, ship the product.”

But when you actually run a beta program, you realize:

• You need structure
• You need criteria
• You need a process
• You need expectations
• You need a way to measure success

And most teams are never trained in this. That’s why Todd and I are excited to dig into the framework today.

Why Beta Matters — And Why It Fails

Todd Blockier | 09:55–10:44
Exactly. Beta is one of the most powerful tools in product management — but also one of the most misunderstood.

When I ask PMs:
“What does beta success look like?”
Most say something like:
“Uh… no major bugs?”
Or:
“We got some feedback?”

But that’s not success.
That’s not even close.

Success means:

• You validated assumptions
• You identified risks before launch
• You understood real user behavior
• You confirmed you’re solving the right problem
• You uncovered friction that internal teams never see

Beta is the bridge between what you think will happen and what will actually happen when the product is in the wild.

The “Game Board” of Beta Testing

Todd Blockier | 10:44–11:57
So let’s go back to Jack’s board game.

Beta testing has “spaces” that move you forward — and spaces that move you backward.

There are three categories:

1. Forward Spaces — Things that accelerate your progress
2. Backward Spaces — Things that slow you down
3. Everyone Moves Backward Spaces — Critical issues that force the whole team to revisit assumptions

We’re going to explore these by playing a little game today. Luke and I created scenarios pulled directly from real-world beta programs — and we’ll ask you to guess:
Does this move us forward or backward? And why?

This will help bring clarity — and hopefully some fun — to what makes a beta succeed or fail.

Five Pillars of Beta Success

Luke Freiler | 11:57–12:52
Before we get into the scenarios, let’s align on the five pillars that make a beta program successful.

Every effective beta program has:

1. A Clear Goal
   What do you need to learn? What risks are you validating?
2. A Targeted Audience
   You need the right testers, not just “any testers.”
3. A Structured Plan
   Activities. Expectations. Milestones. Without structure, tests drift into chaos.
4. Meaningful Engagement
   Testers must actually use the product and give useful feedback.
5. Actionable Insights
   Information must be captured, categorized, analyzed, and reported.

If any one of these pillars collapses, your beta becomes a “board game loop” — stuck in circles, revealing nothing meaningful.

Poll #2 — What Is the Goal of Your Beta Tests?

Kate Fuchs | 12:52–13:31
Let’s do another quick poll.

What is the primary goal of YOUR beta tests?

• Find bugs
• Validate usability
• Gather customer feedback
• Ensure readiness for launch
• I don’t know — that’s why I’m here

All right — lots of responses rolling in. Keep them coming!

We’ll give it a few more seconds…
Three… two… one…

Here are the results.

Kate Fuchs | 13:31–13:47
Most people selected “Find bugs” or “Gather customer feedback.”

Todd, Luke — thoughts?

Luke Freiler | 13:47–14:34
Totally expected. And that’s why so many beta programs underperform.

Finding bugs is part of beta, but it’s not the whole thing. If you’re only looking for bugs, you’re missing:

• Feature validation
• User behavior
• Real-world workflows
• Environmental variability
• Product-market fit signals

A purely “bug-hunting” beta program is like using 5% of the tool.

Common Misconceptions About Beta Testing

Todd Blockier | 14:34–15:22
Yes — and here are the biggest misconceptions we see:

Misconception #1: Anyone can run a beta.
Reality: It requires planning, recruiting, structure, analysis, and communication.

Misconception #2: Anyone can be a tester.
Reality: You need the right testers with the right context and motivation.

Misconception #3: Beta just means “find bugs.”
Reality: Beta is about understanding real-world use — not just defects.

Misconception #4: Beta happens at the end.
Reality: Beta is a validation phase — and validation belongs throughout development.

If you adopt a “ship and pray” mindset, beta cannot save you.

Backward Space #1 — When You Don’t Know Your Beta Goal

Todd Blockier | 15:22–16:11
Let’s get into our first “game board” moment.

Imagine this scenario:
You’re running a beta test, but no one — not you, not engineering, not leadership — can articulate a single clear goal for the beta.

What does that do?

Backward space.
Major backward space.

If you don’t know what you’re validating, then:

• You don’t know what questions to ask
• You don’t know what testers to recruit
• You don’t know what success looks like
• And you won’t know what to do with the feedback

When goals are unclear, the beta becomes noise. It feels like activity, but creates no clarity.

Forward Space #1 — Aligning on a Beta Goal

Luke Freiler | 16:11–16:51
But here’s the flip side.

When you do define a goal — even a simple one — suddenly everything gets easier.

Examples of good goals:

• Validate core workflows
• Test installation and setup
• Confirm performance across environments
• Identify deal-breaking usability issues
• Validate that users understand the value proposition

When the goal is clear, every decision in the beta becomes purposeful.

This is one of the biggest differences between “beta theater” and real beta success.

Backward Space #2 — Too Many Testers

Todd Blockier | 16:51–17:38
Here’s another backward space:

You recruit way too many testers.

More testers ≠ better results.

If 300 people sign up and only 12 engage, guess what?
You now have 288 zombies and a messy signal-to-noise ratio.

A huge pool of disengaged testers:

• Creates noise
• Dilutes feedback
• Overwhelms your team
• Makes you think the product is “fine” when no one actually used it

To be blunt:
“Large but inactive” is worse than “small but highly active.”

Forward Space #2 — The Right Testers, Not the Most Testers

Luke Freiler | 17:38–18:12
The forward space here is simple:

Recruit the right testers — not the most testers.

The right tester is someone who:

• Matches your target persona
• Has the right environment
• Actually uses the product scenario you’re validating
• Has time and motivation to participate
• Understands the tools or workflow

A small, curated group of the right testers produces dramatically more value than a giant list of random volunteers.

Backward Space #3 — No Engagement Plan

Todd Blockier | 18:12–18:59
Next scenario:

You recruit testers…
You hand them the product…
And then you wait.

You hope they magically start testing and magically send feedback.

This is the biggest backward space in beta testing.

Without an engagement plan, testers do exactly what humans do with new technology:

• Poke at it for a minute
• Get distracted
• Forget about it

A beta without structured engagement leads to low activity, scattered feedback, and zero insight.

Forward Space #3 — Guided Activities

Luke Freiler | 18:59–19:38
Forward space: guided activities.

Beta testers are like play-testers. They need prompts.

Great engagement plans include:

• Weekly missions
• Specific workflows to try
• Surveys after each milestone
• Clear steps: “Do X, tell us Y, show us Z”
• Interaction requests (“Upload a screenshot,” “Record a screen,” “Share your setup”)

Structure is not restrictive — structure unleashes insight.

Engagement is the heartbeat of a successful beta.

Backward Space #4 — Feedback With No Categorization

Todd Blockier | 19:38–20:29
Picture this:

Your beta ends.
You have 200 emails, 70 Slack messages, 18 spreadsheets, 12 DMs, and screenshots spread everywhere.

None of it is categorized.

This is a giant backward space.

Because if you can’t categorize feedback, then you can’t:

• Prioritize
• Identify themes
• Spot patterns
• Communicate insights
• Influence decisions
  Raw unstructured feedback is almost useless.

Forward Space #4 — Actionable Insights

Luke Freiler | 20:29–21:01
Forward space: turn feedback into actionable insights.

This means:

• Tagging
• Categorizing
• Grouping
• Severity ranking
• Trend detection
• Mapping feedback to goals and personas

This transforms messy conversations into real product intelligence.

Insights move products forward.
A pile of comments does not.

Backward Space #5 — Beta Happens Too Late

Todd Blockier | 21:01–21:48
Here’s one of the biggest backward spaces of all:

You run beta too late.

If beta is happening one week before your launch — that’s not a beta.
That’s a panic check.

Late beta tests can only tell you what you don’t have time to fix.

And nothing frustrates teams more than discovering a critical usability issue four days before launch.

Late beta equals late disappointment.

Forward Space #5 — Beta Begins Earlier Than You Think

Luke Freiler | 21:48–22:22
Forward space:

Start beta earlier than you think.

You can run:

• Prototype betas
• Concept validation betas
• Environment betas
• Installation betas
• Workflow betas
• UX betas
• Feature-subset betas

Beta is not a single point in time.
It’s a validation mindset that should appear throughout development.

The earlier you validate, the more freedom you have to pivot.

Everyone Moves Backward — The “Critical Loop” Problems

Todd Blockier | 22:22–23:19
Remember my son’s board game — that infinite loop where everyone kept getting forced backwards?

That’s what I call a “critical loop defect.”

These are issues that don’t just slow one person down — they pull everyone back:

• Setup blockers
• Install failures
• Login failures
• Environment incompatibility
• Critical path workflow breakage
• Anything that prevents testers from testing

When these appear in beta and you don’t resolve them immediately, the entire test collapses.

Everyone is stuck in the loop.

Forward Space — Fixing Critical Loops Early

Luke Freiler | 23:19–23:57
And the forward space — the “escape from the loop” — is:

Fix these issues immediately.

Treat critical blockers as highest priority during beta.

Because until your testers can use the product, nothing else matters.
You can’t validate value.
You can’t validate usability.
You can’t gather feedback.
You can’t measure anything.

Unblocking testers is beta progress.

What Beta Success Really Looks Like

Luke Freiler | 23:57–24:46
So let’s step back and really define it:

What does beta success actually look like?

It’s not:

• Lots of testers
• Lots of feedback
• Lots of bugs
• Lots of activity

That’s noise.

Beta success is when:

• You validated the thing you intended to validate
• Your testers were active, engaged, and able to complete the workflows
• You gathered structured, categorized, prioritized insights
• You identified the risks that matter
• You gained clarity — not chaos
• Your team is confident about release readiness
• Your decisions are grounded in real user data

Beta success is measured by confidence, not volume.

The Four Pillars of a Successful Beta

Todd Blockier | 24:46–25:32
Here’s a simple framework.

Every successful beta has four pillars:

1. A clear goal
   Everyone knows exactly what we’re validating.
2. The right testers
   Small but accurate — the right personas in the right environments.
3. Structured engagement
   Missions, tasks, surveys, prompts — not hope.
4. Actionable insights
   Categorized. Prioritized. Communicated.

If you have all four of those pillars in place, your beta will produce clarity, not confusion.

The Meta-Outcome: Organizational Alignment

Luke Freiler | 25:32–26:11
One of the hidden benefits of a great beta is this:

Alignment.

When you run a structured, goal-driven beta test:

• Product knows what matters
• Engineering sees real user behavior
• Design sees friction
• Sales gains confidence
• Support identifies risks
• Leadership understands readiness

A good beta is a communication engine disguised as a testing event.

It forces alignment — in the best way possible.

The Most Underrated Output of Beta

Todd Blockier | 26:11–26:52
And here’s something we don’t talk about enough:

Beta builds trust.

When your company sees that you:

• Found the right testers
• Captured the right data
• Communicated clear insights
• Prevented a disaster
• Improved the product in real ways

Your credibility skyrockets.

It’s one of the most powerful outcomes — the trust equity you build from running betas well.

Q&A and Live Discussion

Cameron | 26:52–27:04
All right, let’s shift into Q&A.
Please continue to drop questions in the chat or in the Q&A panel.
We’ll answer as many as we can.

Q&A — “How Long Should a Good Beta Take?”

Luke Freiler | 27:04–27:41
Great question — and the answer is:

As long as needed to validate the goal.

Some betas are one week.
Some are four weeks.
Some are multiple rounds.

If your goal is installation validation?
Three to five days is enough.

If your goal is workflow validation?
Two to three weeks.

If your goal is environmental or infrastructure validation?
Maybe a month.

Length follows purpose — not vice versa.

Q&A — “How Many Testers Do We Actually Need?”

Todd Blockier | 27:41–28:19
For most betas?

Eight to fifteen highly active testers
will outperform
one hundred unengaged testers
every single time.

If you’re validating multiple personas, then yes, increase that number — but carefully.

Recruit based on:

• Persona fit
• Environment match
• Motivation
• Availability
• Actual usage patterns

Quality beats quantity — every time.

Q&A — “What’s the Best Way to Motivate Testers?”

Luke Freiler | 28:19–29:02
Structure and clarity.

The #1 motivator is knowing exactly what to do.

Give them:

• Missions
• Tasks
• Rewards
• Milestones
• Leaderboards
• Recognition
• Follow-up questions

And most importantly…

Show them their feedback matters.

Testers engage when they feel seen and valued.

Q&A — “What If Beta Feedback Conflicts With Our Roadmap?”

Todd Blockier | 29:02–29:44
Happens all the time.

You’re validating X…
But testers are shouting about Y.

What do you do?

You categorize and contextualize:

• Is this a one-off?
• Is it a theme?
• Is it severity-high?
• Is it persona-aligned?
• Does it threaten adoption?

Beta isn’t about doing everything testers suggest.

It’s about understanding reality — then deciding intentionally.

Final Thoughts

Luke Freiler | 29:44–30:10
If you take one thing away from today, let it be this:

A beta test is not an event — it’s a strategy.

When done well, beta becomes:

• Your earliest warning system
• Your clarity engine
• Your risk reduction tool
• Your alignment machine
• Your confidence builder

Beta transforms product delivery.

Closing Remarks

Cameron | 30:10–30:45
Thank you, everyone, for joining us today.

We’ll send out the recording, the slides, and the resource links shortly.
Please follow us on LinkedIn, stay connected with our team, and reach out if you have questions.

We appreciate you all — have a wonderful rest of your day!