Beta Testing!

Thank you for your interest in MAE beta testing! Beta versions help us identify issues and gather feedback before releasing updates to all users. Your input is essential for ensuring MAE remains safe, reliable, and easy to use for families managing food allergies.

What is Beta Testing?

Beta testing allows real users to test new features and improvements before they’re released publicly. As a beta tester, you’ll receive early access to new versions and help us ensure they work correctly in real-world scenarios.

Why Your Feedback Matters

MAE handles critical medical information for families with food allergies. Your testing helps us verify that:

• Medical data remains accurate and secure
• Family information stays properly organized
• All features work reliably across different devices
• The app remains easy to use for emergency situations

Core Testing Areas

Primary Testing Objectives

1. Data Accuracy
Ensure all family medical information remains accurate and properly organized. This includes profiles, allergen lists, reaction diaries, and emergency information.

2. Feature Functionality
Test that all MAE features work reliably: ingredient scanning, FDA alerts, reaction tracking, and medical data management.

3. Data Safety and Security
Verify that family medical data is protected, correctly attributed, and safely backed up or synchronized.

Beta Testing Instructions

Getting Started

Requirements:

• Android device running Android 8.0 (API 26) or higher
• Beta version of MAE (provided via testing link)
• Existing MAE data recommended (but not required for new users)

Installation:

1. Join the beta testing program: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.makingallergieseasy.app
2. Install the beta version from Google Play Store
3. Complete initial setup or sign in with existing account
4. Familiarize yourself with current app layout and features

Premium Testing Access:
Many critical features (especially cloud sync) require Premium subscription for testing:

1. Email your Google account address to hello@makingallergieseasy.com
2. You’ll be added to the premium testers list within 24 hours
3. You will need to enable your “subscription” to test premium features – cloud sync, ad-free experience, UPC scanning. To do this, navigate in the app to:
   • Settings > About > Subscribe to Premium
   • ⚠️Choose “Test card, always approves” as your payment option otherwise your card will get charged!⚠️
     • This gives access to cloud sync, ad-free experience, and other premium features needed for comprehensive testing with special testing behavior:
       • Price is shown as normal.
       • Billing cycles are shortened – YOU WILL GET AN EMAIL ALERT, you are NOT being charged!
         • Monthly = renews every 5 minutes
         • Annual = renews every 30 minutes
   • You can cancel, upgrade, or downgrade subscriptions just like a normal user but on a shorter cycle
4. Once you are finished testing and have sent us your feedback, we will send you a code for 90 days of premium access!

Testing Scenarios

Test 1: Profile and Allergen Management

What to test:
Family profiles and allergen information work correctly.

Steps:

1. Create or review existing family profiles
2. Add/update allergen lists for each family member
3. Test additional ingredients to avoid and safe ingredients lists
4. Add or update epi pen information and emergency contacts

What to watch for:

• Profile information saving correctly
• Allergen selections being remembered
• Emergency medical information accuracy
• Any data loss when switching between profiles

Test 2: Ingredient Scanning and Detection

What to test:
OCR ingredient scanning and allergen detection work accurately.

Steps:

1. Use the Ingredient Scanner feature on various food products
2. Take photos of ingredient labels (packaged foods, restaurant menus)
3. Verify OCR correctly reads ingredient text
4. Check that allergen detection flags your family’s specific allergens
5. Test with different lighting conditions and label types

What to watch for:

• OCR missing important ingredients
• Allergen detection not flagging known allergens
• False positives (flagging safe ingredients as allergens)
• App crashes when processing images

Test 3: FDA Newsfeed and Alerts

What to test:
FDA recall notifications and newsfeed functionality.

Steps:

1. Navigate to FDA Newsfeed section
2. Review recent recalls and alerts
3. Check that recalls relevant to your allergens are highlighted
4. Test filtering and search functionality
5. Verify links to full FDA information work correctly

What to watch for:

• Missing recalls that should affect your allergens
• Incorrect risk level classifications (high/medium/low)
• Broken links or missing recall details
• Feed not updating or loading properly

Test 4: Reaction Diary and Tracking

What to test:
Reaction tracking and diary functionality for family members.

Steps:

1. Add new reaction entries for different family members
2. Include various symptoms, medications, and notes
3. Edit existing reaction entries
4. Review reaction history and search functionality
5. Test reaction data organization by family member

What to watch for:

• Reactions not saving or appearing under wrong family member
• Missing symptom options or medication fields
• Date/time accuracy issues
• Difficulty finding or organizing past reactions

Test 5: Food Finds Multi-Select and Duplicate Management

What to test:
Tools for managing duplicate Food Finds entries.

Steps:

1. Navigate to Food Finds section
2. Long press on any product image (not the whole item) to enter selection mode
3. Select multiple items using checkboxes that appear
4. Tap the delete button to see action options (Delete or Merge)
5. Test bulk delete with multiple selected items
6. Test merge functionality with duplicate entries
7. Verify long press on whole item still shares (preserves existing functionality)

What to watch for:

• Selection mode not activating when long pressing image
• Checkboxes not appearing or not working
• Merge functionality losing product images or important data
• Delete functionality not working
• Sync button not returning after exiting selection mode
• Existing share functionality broken

Test 6: Critical Cloud Sync Safety (CRITICAL)

What to test:
Family medical data stays correctly organized across devices (SAFETY CRITICAL).

Requirements:

• Premium subscription (see Premium Testing Access section above)
• At least 2 devices with different family profile setups
• Google account with Drive access

Steps:

1. Device 1: Create profiles “Parent” and “Child” with different allergies
2. Device 1: Add reaction entry for “Parent” (e.g., milk reaction)
3. Device 1: Add epi pen info and emergency contact for “Child”
4. Device 1: Perform cloud sync
5. Device 2: Create profiles “Child” and “Parent” (note: different order than Device 1)
6. Device 2: Perform cloud sync
7. Device 2: Verify Parent’s reaction appears under Parent profile (not Child)
8. Device 2: Verify Child’s epi pen info appears under Child profile (not Parent)

What to watch for (CRITICAL ISSUES):

• Medical reactions appearing under wrong family member (SAFETY RISK)
• Epi pen information attributed to wrong person (EMERGENCY RISK)
• Emergency contacts mixed up between family members
• Missing family profiles after sync
• Duplicate family member profiles created

Test 7: Data Backup and Cloud Sync (Premium Users)

What to test:
Enhanced backup, restore, and synchronization without duplicates.

Steps:

1. Create local backups of family data
2. Test restoring from backup files (should not create duplicates)
3. If you have Premium: Test cloud sync between devices
4. Verify all family data appears correctly after sync/restore
5. Test that personal device settings remain unchanged
6. Test Wine & Alcohol category in Food Finds

What to watch for:

• Duplicate entries created during backup/restore (should be fixed)
• Data loss during backup/restore operations
• Family data appearing under wrong profiles after sync
• Device preferences changing unexpectedly
• Missing medical information after sync
• Wine & Alcohol category not available when adding Food Finds

Reporting Issues

Critical Issues (Report Immediately)

• Medical data misattribution: Reactions or medical info appearing under wrong family member
• Data loss: Missing family profiles, reactions, or medical information after sync
• App crashes: Application crashes during sync operations

Important Issues

• Slow sync performance (longer than 1 minute)
• Duplicate family members or data entries
• Missing epi pen or emergency contact information
• Sync failures or error messages

Minor Issues

• UI display problems
• Unclear error messages
• Minor performance issues

How to Report Issues

Use this format for all reports:

Issue Type: Critical / Important / Minor
Description: Brief description of the problem
Device: Phone model and Android version
Steps: What you did that caused the issue
Expected: What should have happened
Actual: What actually happened
Impact: How this affects using the app

Send reports to: hello@makingallergieseasy.com

Additional Testing Notes

General Testing Guidelines

• Test with your actual family data when possible for realistic scenarios
• Pay attention to medical information accuracy (epi pen dates, emergency contacts)
• Try different device orientations and screen sizes if available
• Test both common and edge case scenarios (empty profiles, long ingredient lists, etc.)

Data Safety Reminders

• Always maintain current backups before testing beta versions
• Verify critical medical information remains accurate after updates
• Double-check that family member data stays properly organized
• Report any data integrity issues immediately

Performance Expectations

• App should launch quickly and respond smoothly to navigation
• Ingredient scanning should complete within a few seconds
• FDA newsfeed should load current information reliably
• Backup/restore operations may take 30-60 seconds for large datasets

Testing Timeline

First Week: Focus on core functionality and data accuracy
Ongoing: Test new features and report any issues discovered
Throughout: Use app normally and note any unexpected behaviors

Success Criteria

For any beta version to be approved for public release:

Must Have (Zero Failures):

• No medical data loss or corruption
• All core features function reliably
• Family data remains properly organized
• App stability during normal usage

Should Have (Minimal Issues):

• Good performance across different devices
• Clear user interface and navigation
• Accurate ingredient scanning and allergen detection
• Reliable data backup and sync functionality

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will testing affect my existing data?
A: Beta versions are designed to be backward compatible with existing data. However, always maintain current backups as a precaution before installing any beta version.

Q: What if I find a critical issue?
A: Report it immediately using the Critical Issue format above. We may pause beta distribution if serious safety issues are discovered.

Q: Can I continue using MAE normally during beta testing?
A: Yes, beta versions include all existing features. Use the app normally and note any issues you encounter during regular usage.

Q: What happens to my data after beta testing?
A: Your data remains yours and stays on your device. Any improvements made during beta testing will continue working in the final release.

Q: How long does beta testing last?
A: Beta testing periods vary depending on the changes being tested. You’ll receive updates about testing progress and expected release timing.

Q: Can I opt out of beta testing?
A: Yes, you can return to the regular Play Store version at any time. Your data will remain intact when switching between versions.

Thank You

Your participation in beta testing helps ensure MAE remains safe, reliable, and easy to use for families managing food allergies. Beta testing is crucial for identifying issues before they affect all users, especially given the critical nature of allergy management.

Please don’t hesitate to ask questions or report any concerns during testing. Your family’s safety is our top priority, and your feedback helps us maintain the highest standards.

---

Current Information:
Testing Program: MAE Beta Testing Program
Support: hello@makingallergieseasy.com
Documentation: This guide is updated as needed for each beta release