I've read a lot of advice for figuring out when you're ready to ship. A related question on which I haven't heard much discussion, is when are you ready to beta test?
Should you wait until the product is nearly ready to ship, and task your testers with stress-testing and looking for little things that you missed? Or, should you distribute betas as soon as they are usable, to get feedback on feature designs while it is still early enough to make big changes? My fears are, beta too soon, and you'll have a drawn out beta period in which testers lose interest and wander away. Beta too late, and you might wind up redesigning features because you didn't get feedback early enough. My fears may be unfounded and I suppose it doesn't have to be all or nothing (small group for early betas, more people for late betas). What have you learned in your experience? -- Ben
