Meet Our Team: Doug Sorensen

Building relationships with the people you work with is very important, and it’s difficult to feel like you know someone when you’ve never even seen their face. As we further our efforts to better familiarize our beta testers with the team that they work with on a daily basis, we’d like to introduce you to our Senior Beta Manager, Doug Sorensen.

Beta Managers are the people that ultimately orchestrate a beta test. They oversee tester participation, manage feedback, answer questions, and basically run the show. As our Senior Beta Manager, Doug has run beta tests for just about every product category you can think of. Chances are, you’ve corresponded with Doug on a project or two, or you’ve simply seen his name pop up from time to time. Either way, we think that getting to know a little more about the operation of our team is a great way to build a better testing community for you. Let’s talk to Doug.

How long have you been with Centercode?
It will be 12 years next month. I was around when the very first product was beta tested with the initial version of our software.

In your opinion, what is the most important characteristic in a good beta tester?
Consistency is key. I’m talking about testers that maintain steady participation throughout the entire test. People that are responsive to surveys and requests for information provide much more value than testers who occasionally log in, provide a ton of feedback, and then just complete the survey at the end of the test.

What is one thing that a beta tester can do to stand out from the rest?
Maintaining good communication about the project with the Beta Manager. If you are going to be gone for more than a day, be sure to let us know. If you are returning your test product at the end of test, contact us. If you are going to need to stop testing due to a personal or job issue, let us know right away.

If you could beta test one product, what would it be?
Tesla Model S 85D. I know it’s a real long shot, but I’m very impressed with everything about this car. Tesla is making the electronic car not only more usable, but a lot more desirable.

What’s one piece of advice you’d like to give to our Betabound community?
When applying for a test, be sure to use proper grammar and provide a detailed reason why you should be selected. You don’t need to write a book, but provide enough detail to make your application stand out.

What is one gadget that you own that you couldn’t live without?
I’d say my Samsung Tab S tablet. It gives me freedom from being tied to my computer and also covers some of my entertainment needs.

What’s your all-time favorite video game?
Ultima VII. I loved the Ultima series and the addition of the Forge of Virtue expansion really made Ultima VII the ultimate game for me.

What’s the worst movie you’ve ever seen?
I would have to go with The Avengers (the one with Uma Thurman and Sean Connery). It’s the only movie that I can recall falling asleep both times I’ve tried to watch it.

What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?
It may show my true age, but Judas Priest in the 80’s. They were my favorite band and their performance was amazing.

If you had to pick a song that would play every single time you entered a room, what song would it be?
Taylor Swift’s new single, “Shake It Off.” It’s very happy and upbeat.

What noise could you happily live the rest of your life without EVER hearing again?
Currently, crickets. I am a light sleeper, so the constant manic drone of crickets in the summertime makes sleeping difficult.

We really hope that introductions like this will help improve your experience within our Betabound community and with our services team. We believe that beta testing should be all about collaboration (whether that be with other testers or Beta Managers), and effective collaboration really only takes place with proper communication. Good relationships foster good communication, and all of this comes together to create successful beta tests. This is what makes for the awesome products that are constantly hitting the market.

Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for more interviews with the members of our team. If you missed the previous interview with our Director of Services, Mike Fine, take a look. If you haven’t worked with Mike or Doug yet, odds are that you’ll bump into them in the future.

Are there any other questions that you’d like to see our services team answer? Let us know in the comments section below!

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