Beta

My institution is developing a new tool for doing cataloging work. Which, it is what it is, but we are literally reinventing the wheel (there are reasons for this, I know, but still. Super annoying). And after years, we have finally reached the user acceptance testing, or beta testing, stage. And I've discovered a fatal flaw in the whole process: By the time there is something to user test and give feedback on, it's almost too late to fix things. (We launch in 3 weeks). 

I'm not sure how to fix this problem. There must be a way, because we had one piece of the tool that we got to use and test and we've had a year and a half to make it better. But with this piece, we sat in meetings and they talked about what it would do but until about a month ago, there was nothing to actually see. And maybe some archivists would have been able to visualize, but not me. I can't give feedback on a theoretical tool that I can't actually test out yet. And now that I can test the tool, I can find LOADS of things that need fixed or improved, but again, there's only 3 weeks before launch (and yes, it's not like we can't keep updating it afterwards, but that all relies on an attention span and budget that keep that possible. Neither of which are guaranteed).

I don't mind the testing part, and finding things that would make it better. And I do think I am doing pretty good at pinpointing when something is annoying because it is different from what I'm used to or when it's just bad or wrong. The part I don't like is that there's no guarantee that any of this will make a difference and for some things, it really matters that they get changed.

And this, friends, is why I will never be an early adopter. I want in on something after the bugs are worked out. 

I'm definitely not a bug person.