Most of us understand and realize the traditional role of the test engineer in the life cycle of the product, from conceptualization to final shipment. However, there is still one area where test engineers can play a significantly useful role, and this is the part of the product life cycle that deals with customer interaction and feedback. Often, during product development, it is easy to overlook the importance of getting involved with customers early enough in the product cycle. The servicing phase is when there is expected to be maximum interaction between customers and the product team, primarily through expensive Product Support calls. Therefore, it is not only desirable but also profitable for the business to incorporate customer satisfaction and feedback mechanisms formally in every phase of the product life cycle. This paper deals with exploring the concept of customer interaction through all the major phases of the product cycle, as well as the role of the test engineer as based on my own experiences while working with the Windows Peer-to-Peer team. Approaching the matter of customer feedback integration with a breadth, as well as a depth of knowledge about product internals, common development issues, and proven real-world scenarios, our team found that test engineer participation in community forums, blogs, and support calls is not only a valuable experience, but also an effort clearly appreciated by the customer. The paper discusses a few low-cost ways and tools to help teams get directly involved with customers throughout the product life cycle. It also discusses ways to quantify and measure success for each of these techniques.
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