uTest To Host "Battle Of The Browsers" Bug Contest

uTest today announced its first ever software testing contest, which will run from November 5-12, 2008. The Battle of the Browsers contest will challenge uTest's global community of testers to uncover bugs in IE8, Firefox 3.1 (Alpha 2) and Chrome. Winners have the opportunity to be rewarded with more than $1,000 in prize money.

uTest's Cloud Testing marketplace for software application testing provides software companies with on-demand testing services by a global community of professional software testers. Throughout the duration of the contest, testers will evaluate either one or all browsers to determine how well they work, their overall performance and usability. To be eligible, a bug must be new, unknown and the first to be submitted related to a particular subject. Therefore, repeat bugs will be excluded.

Prizes for $200 will be awarded for each program tested and will be based on the clarity of reports and the depth of testing. Specifically, uTest will be looking to find winners in each of the following categories:

• Top Tester -- the tester who reports the most valuable bugs and feedback
• Top Novice -- the beginner tester who shows the most promise in software testing.
• Top Bug -- the best bug in terms of accuracy, creativity and/or severity.
• Best Feedback -- the best feedback provided during the usability survey

"This is a contest among uTesters, not a software competition," said Doron Reuveni, chief executive officer and co-founder, uTest. "At uTest, we believe strongly in the intrinsic value of healthy competition. The goal is to identify the best tester in our community and gather information surrounding potential browser vulnerabilities. This contest will utilize the wisdom of our uTester crowd and, in doing so; will provide additional information beneficial to the software development and testing communities."

uTest will provide a final report for each application and the results from the contest will be posted in the uTester community. That summary will emphasize actionable learning items for each application and not an overall comparison of all of applications. Additionally, all the bugs found will be reported back to the teams at Microsoft, Google and Mozilla. Please note that proper credit will be given to the tester who found each particular bug.

The uTest model represents an evolution in traditional software application testing. By offering virtual on-demand software testing services and a Pay-for-Performance business model, uTest provides its clientele a tremendous resource, with flexibility regarding platform, environment, geographic location and budget.

uTest's global community of testers, which recently reached a milestone of over 10,000 testers in more than 140 countries, provide on-demand software application testing services to organizations across industries. uTest's Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform made its GA launch in mid-August and has since experienced an explosive period of growth within their testing community.

For more information on the contest and eligibility, please visit http://www.utest.com/bug_battle.