What Is Alpha Software?

Date First Published: 14th December 2023

Topic: Computer Systems

Subtopic: Computer Software

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty Level: 6/10

Learn about what alpha software is in this article.

Alpha software is a pre-release version of software in the early testing phase. It has enough basic functions to be used, but lacks most of the features that will be included in the final version, often includes bugs and serious usability issues, and has not been thoroughly tested by the developer. This is why alpha software is not usually provided to the public and is only tested internally. It comes before the beta phase, where the software closely resembles the final version, but comes after the early programming and design stages.

Testing

In the alpha phase, internal company testers often use white box testing to look at the source code and evaluate products. At the end of the alpha phase, they may use some form of grey or black box testing. The new features of the software program are not usually disclosed until shortly before the release date for competitive reasons.

If the developer is building a small application, they may be the only one that ever tests the alpha version. Larger programs are usually internally tested by a team of developers. In some cases, multiple teams may work together on the alpha version.

Once a working version with all the necessary features has been built, the developer may decide to implement a "feature freeze". This means that no extra features are planned for the current version of the program. This indicates that the alpha phase has come to an end and is at the beginning of the beta stage of development. After the alpha phase, the beta phase is released to a specific group of users or the public. The beta testing focuses on black box techniques rather than looking at the source code. Users run the programs and check for any bugs and glitches.

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