Phase 5—Testing: Informal testing of the network's functionality and logic occurs throughout Phase 4. In Phase 5, testing becomes more formal and thorough. Two formal testing periods exist: alpha and beta.

Alpha testing is performed by the designer(s). He or she systematically checks various aspects of the network's stability, to make sure everything is working properly and that content is complete. This type of testing should find the vast majority of obvious bugs in the system.

Beta testing is performed by presenters, when the designers hand off the "finished" product. This level of testing theoretically should not find any problems, but inevitably it does. For example, a presenter may have consistent difficulty finding a particular slide, and a decision is made to relocate that slide to a different area of the network.

When a design team is small, or an individual is building his or her own network, the alpha and beta testers are the same person. In this case, it's vitally important to get subtle or direct feedback from audiences or other outside individuals to ensure the network content and logic REALLY ARE as effective as you think they are.

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