Release early and release often
IDEA No 77
PERPETUAL BETA
Traditionally, when software is released it has been through a comprehensive testing process. Features (and bugs) are baked in. Perpetual beta turns this on its head. Continuous improvement and constant updates are routine.
Unlike packaged products, web-based applications can be updated seamlessly without disruption. This practice stems from the open-source movement, where anybody can improve a piece of software. Advocates of this approach suggest that, given a large enough base of beta testers, every problem can be identified and fixed. It even has its own law, known as Linus’s Law, after open-source hero Linus Torvald.
Perpetual beta was first described by Tim O’Reilly (see AJAX) in ...
Get 100 Ideas that Changed the Web now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
