Ryzom

I initially wanted to register to the Ryzom Open Source project to see what I could do to help. But I realize that since my free time is somewhat limited into shadering, texturing, 3ding or anything else, I thought of something else.

Since there will be possibly quite a few people working on code testing, shouldn't there be also people devoted to do Beta testings ? Having someone else test your code is a good thing as they might try things or see things you would not think of. But with that thought, I have a problem and we need to think up on how to include changes to the site and the code to allow an easier way of Beta testing (for those that only want to test codes).

Assigned Beta testers
Since there will be many different code changes that will cover several different projects, we need to discuss how to setup the Beta testers to specific project testings. I have several suggestions:
- There should be a site form to fill in to indicate what skill does the Beta tester has, what kind of tests he wants, what he is working on and if he is available.
- Project owners could then do a search on those forms to find out which Beta tester is better suited for his needs.
- Each project could have a list of current assigned Beta testers
- There should be an overall list of currently available Beta tester's positions that people can browse through

Beta testing reporting
With Beta testing comes result reporting. Beta testers need to easily report back on their assigned test to tell the project owner how it went. They need to easily report the result of their tests : successful, failed, on-hold, work-in-progress, dependency-waiting and be able to include descriptions and files.

Beta testing status
I think there should be a site change to include the status on the current Beta testing where it will be shown inside the related project and also have an overall listing of all Beta testing currently going on. All of these with a status of all the project's code being tested with a status on each.

Beta testing forum
With people doing or wanting to do Beta testings, there will be general/specific questions asked about Beta testing (not about the projects). I recommend that a forum sub-section is created for this. Included in this forum should be sections like :
- Beta testers wanted
- Beta testers offerings
- Beta testers questions

Beta testing download
We need to think of a way to allow Beta testers to only download the code being tested for their assigned projects. Beta testers do not need to re-download the whole project every time.

Beta tester distribution list for project email notifications
Project owners should have an easy way of passing on informations to his Beta testers. Having an email distribution list about his Beta testers would be a way.

These are the current ideas I have. I may come back for additional ideas. If you have any ideas or comments, please do a reply.