Based on the positive experience we’ve had during our alpha testing; we are happy to announce a decision to move testing schedule forward by two weeks, provide a review of the alpha testing and details for the beta testers.

New release schedule

Beta — 3/19

Live — 3/26

Alpha Testing Review

Testers

The alpha testing program started with 20 randomly selected testers and while there were initial concerns that our random selection of testers would lead us to a group that was not capable of testing, we ended up being a great sample of technical ability.

Documentation

A key part of this testing phase was to test the documentation. Many testers set up their nodes with zero issues, some skipped 1 of the 3 steps and others, — with zero Linux ability — required a little help. During the testing we updated the documentation (and scripts) based on testers feedback.

Here is the current Akroma Masternode Install Documentation.

http://bit.ly/2FHk2x6

Dashboard

By opening the alpha program we also introduced the concept of the ‘dashboard’. The dashboard is the entry point into the Akroma ecosystem. We think of it as ‘where you login with your Akroma account’.

Registering masternodes is a key part of the dashboard and what was tested during the alpha program. We have more in-store for the dashboard and will have a detailed blog post about those features soon.

Beta Testing

The beta testing program is open to all that are signed up here http://bit.ly/2FNfG3v — by the start of the program.

In order to access the program you will need to use the email address you registered with.

Packages

One of the new features that we want to test during the beta program is a new install process that uses either deb or apt package managers. We’re aiming to make the process as simple as:

apt-get install akroma-masternode

Multiple-Nodes

During alpha we asked testers not to configure multiple nodes, simply so we could limit the scope of the tests and resolve those issues before adding a new variable, and they did :) In beta, we want testers to configure multiple nodes.

UI Polish

UI/UX and designing for the consumer, even for technical features such as masternodes, is a key part of what sets Akroma apart. During the beta testing period we will be performing updates to the dashboard.

For example, here is the current masternode page:

A beautiful design, but multiple outstanding items to implement:

Wrong logo image/size

Missing Graph

Wrong images on node details

Wrong spacing/underline on navigation.

These might seems like small items but they add up. During beta we visit every page in the dashboard, collecting testers feedback and adjusting as required.

Conclusion

For the Akroma team, the goal of the masternode program, is to setup the infrastructure required to build out features into the masternodes. Once we reach a live launch, our attention will turn to building developer focused features — such as oracles — into the masternode stack.

We’re very happy to be able to reach this next milestone but have a long way to go.