manual testing

[nageswari]

pls any body can explain me what is usability testing,alpha testing ,beta testing,smoke testing and user acceptance testing
and what is defect life cycle

[spandanachowdary]

usability:
1)user interface testing -in this we test understandability,atractiveness&navigations of the interface.

2)mannual support testing-tesing provided help manual.

useracceptance testing -collecting feedback from customers.
when we are collecting feed back from real customer(when the build is appication) that is called as Alpha testing.

collecting feed back from model customers (whenthe build is product) is Beta testing.

[notty1982]

smoke test is a collection of written tests that are performed on a system prior to being accepted for further testing. This is also known as a build verification test. The tester "touches" all areas of the application without getting too deep, looking for answers to basic questions like,
"Can I launch the test item at all?",
"Does it open to a window?", "Do the buttons on the window do things?".
Alpha Test
For custom software, the customer may be invited into the vendor's facilities for an alpha test to ensure the client's vision has been interpreted properly by the developer.
Beta Test A test of new or revised hardware or software that is performed by users at their facilities under normal operating conditions.
eg:- beta release of prdts such as winrar - beta release e.t.c
Usability
How easy something is to use. Both software and Web sites can be tested for usability. Considering how difficult applications are to use and Web sites are to navigate
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is a process to obtain confirmation by a Subject Matter Expert (SME), preferably the owner or client of the object under test, through trial or review, that the modification or addition meets mutually agreed-upon requirements.