#4 Let's the test begin
More than two months have passed since the start of the development of Drinklytics and I reach a good milestone.
Almost a couple of weeks ago I have been able to share a testable version of the app, and now I am so close to release publicly. I am new to Google Play Console so I had to study it a little bit.
Preparing for release on Google Play
When you release an app you have to provide information about what your app collects, the reason why, if it manages sensitive data and so on.
As Drinklytics doesn’t do anything like that, it has been quite easy to fill out these questionnaires.
After that you can customize the page of the app, providing screenshots and a description, for each app localization.
For the MVP, Drinklytics is localized in:
- English
- Italian
- Spanish
- German
- French
- Portuguese
- Russian
but more will be available soon.
After these steps I started an internal test. From the official Google Play documentation:
Create an internal testing release to quickly distribute your app to up to 100 testers for initial quality assurance checks. We recommend running an internal test before releasing your app to the closed or open tracks. If needed, you can run internal tests concurrently with closed and open tests for different versions of your app. You can start an internal test before you've finished setting up your app.
So, I collected some emails and started the test. The people involved provided me useful feedback, allowing me to release three updates with fixes and improvements.
One thing I didn't know is that, if the developer account that publishes an app is new, it must go through a closed testing period with at least 20 users for more than 14 days.
Based on the official doc:
Create a closed testing release to test pre-release versions of your app with a wider set of testers to gather more targeted feedback. Once you've tested with a smaller group of colleagues or trusted users, you can expand your test to an open release.
What is the difference between internal and closed test? This is what I found on internet:
Internal testing: The app is not visible to the general public on Google Play. The app is only available to a list of people you manually set - you add their emails, and they get an invitation.
Closed testing: Same as Internal testing (not publicly visible, has an allow-list), but you get a Google report. Google will test your app and give you feedback.
Open testing: Visible to the general public on Google Play, but with a "Pre-release" warning. People can review the app, but the reviews are only visible to you.
Production: Visible to the general public. User reviews are public.
Recruiting testers for closed testing
Right now, I’m looking for 20 early access testers for the closed testing phase.
I already have some friends and family involved, but I need a few more.
My MVP expected also the website of Drinklytics, so I built one that I would also like to use for reaching people for testing.
You can find it here https://www.drinklytics.app.
I developed it quickly and shared it on social asking for feedback.
A guy I interacted with on Mastodon got in touch with me and gave me useful tips to improve the experience in the website and being more clear and catchy.
His name is Henry Doce, he is developing an app, Spontaneity and he is building in Public too. Here you can find the first post of his journey and here the official website of his app.
If you are reading or not, thank you Henry.
I can’t wait to let the closed test begin and start receiving feedback.
If you are an Android user and you like the idea of being among the first to try Drinklytics, Join the club. I will be happy to get in touch with you!
