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We're in the process of migrating to Vanilla and this is very similar to how we're talking about setting it up. We'll use categories for each beta feature users are testing with a custom permission for each category. Each feature has a different set of users who are beta testing, so we'll manage those user permissions separately for each category. Typically when we launch one of these we keep it "hidden" for a while for a select group and then make it public later on. We also add all users in a couple batches when we first launch, so managing the permissions isn't too complicated. Then when the beta feature goes GA we will make the category public for a while before archiving it and moving anything relevant into the general community.

Hello! I'd love some advice from others in the SaaS industry.

Have any of you created a discussion category in your community for internal product teams to facilitate beta testing with community members?

Here is my current thought process:

1. Create a discussion category.
2. Add a role that can access that category.
3. Give product managers the necessary permissions to manage discussions within it.

Does this seem like the right approach? I'm wondering if there's a way to decrease the amount of manual administrative work for me, as this seems like it could involve a lot of one-off role assignments.

I'm also considering the potential need for more privacy. The way I'm currently thinking about it, the discussion category would be open to all members participating in various beta tests, with discussions on various features (x, y, and z) all visible to that group. However, some product managers might prefer more private discussions for specific features.

Any suggestions on how to improve this process would be greatly appreciated!

@borme
I'll try to make this short. At my previous company using Vanilla, we did all our product beta testing using Categories. We were testing physical products and software. We had one main Beta category that all users could see and find out about new beta testing opportunities and announcements. We had multiple sub-categories that were role restricted for our tests that were in progress. This worked out great for us and was easy to manage. We would then archive the category after the test was over and delete the roles for that particular beta to keep things clean. Just my 2 cents.

Brett

Very helpful explanation. Thank you!

Hey @borme — love this topic!

Curious about one factor - does the group of beta testers change with the feature they are testing (i..e, are there x number of beta testing groups per year?) or is it just 1 subset of beta testers that are testing various features?

Depending, the category might be the best approach (and one that I've seen many folks use), but our Groups feature might make more sense here (and a feature that's about to get an overhaul as well!)

Great article Colleen. Kudos. I love how you painted the complete picture, including examples of the kinds of prompts you used. For example "Only adjust the character’s position, nothing else.”  Also it's good reminder about the value of Staging.