It’s time again for the global Moodle community to come together and help test the new features and improvements of the latest, soon-to-be-released version of Moodle LMS. Moodle 4.0 is a major release with a user experience overhaul, and community Quality Assurance (QA) testing is all the more essential.
What is QA testing like at Moodle?
While many aspects of Moodle LMS can be tested automatically (with a program known as Behat), nothing beats the human touch and having real people interact with our software before it is released. During QA testing, volunteer Moodle users around the world enjoy trying out new functionalities and features, confirming their awesomeness or reporting any bugs which developers can then fix before the final release.
The QA process for Moodle LMS starts 4-6 weeks before the scheduled release date, when the new version is in “beta” mode i.e. feature complete. Then, people who want to participate in testing, can choose a test from the QA testing dashboard and follow the instructions on the QA testing site.
Benefits of being a Moodle QA tester
So what is it exactly that prompts community Moodlers to get involved in QA testing of new releases? For Michelle Lomman, an Instructional designer and Moodle Educator based in Melbourne, it’s a question of helping “enhance the best LMS on the planet… Moodle has given me so much, so I wanted to be able to contribute something back. The process gave me an opportunity to explore and consider how Moodle is used.”
Al Rachels, plugins maintainer and retired Computer applications teacher in the US, first got involved years ago when he discovered the QA testing process when looking for help documentation:
“I was hooked as I realized that I was able to get “help” with all things Moodle, simply by running QA tests just for myself to learn the detailed ins-and-outs of Moodle […] I even had my students help out for some of the tests that required “student input” of one sort or another. I find that doing a QA test is the best way to really understand the “new bits and pieces” of the next Moodle version.”
Interested in helping with QA testing?
If so, please see the QA testing guide for details of how you can get involved.
The release of Moodle LMS 4.0 and an improved user experience for Moodle’s 300 million users worldwide is scheduled for April 2022. Learn about the release of Moodle 4.0, new functionality and features by subscribing to our newsletter./news/#colophon
