Welcome to the second part of our interview with the RIM beta team! Today, Stephanie Joiner, Director of User Engagement at RIM answers your questions about the BlackBerry® Beta Zone. Click the link below to see Stephanie’s answers; if you have any more questions, post them in the comments and we’ll try to get them answered as well. If you haven’t yet, don’t forget to also read part one of our Inside the BlackBerry Beta Team interview!

When we Tweeted out to our followers asking for BlackBerry® Beta Zone questions, we got a lot of variations on the “when will we see an updated version of app X?” Is there a roadmap you can share with us?

We work really closely with the RIM® product teams to identify beta candidates and bring them to BlackBerry Beta Zone members. As the site continues to grow and be well-received by users and by the RIM teams benefiting from the user feedback, we anticipate adding more and more programs. I can’t really speak to future or rumored products, of course, but I can definitely say that our members will continue to get access to some great programs and we are always looking to add more products to our site and to build out the ones we have there.

We also received the question as to whether or not increased BlackBerry Beta Zone participation would lead to a better chance at unique beta invitations. Can you explain to us how the invitation process works?

There are a number of different ways a program could be introduced on BlackBerry Beta Zone. It could be an open program, which means everyone can join. Or it may be a limited preview, which would have a cap on program size. The limited previews are filled on a first come, first serve basis. In addition, some programs are designated for specific regions (handheld software is regionally based), while others are specific to business or organization use.

Lastly, there are a few products which will be offered by invitation only. In these cases, invitations are based on matches to current user profiles. All members are encouraged to keep their profiles up to date in order to increase opportunities for selection in these types of programs!

Our readers are also very interested in knowing when BlackBerry Beta Zone is coming to their country? Can you fill us in on which countries now have access to BlackBerry Beta Zone?

One of our top priorities in growing the site is to keep up the global expansion. Ensuring we receive feedback from all the places where BlackBerry smartphones are sold is very important to us. So as of last week, we’ll be adding new countries each week until we have covered the globe. Here is a list of the most recently added countries:

• Australia
• Bangladesh
• Caribbean:
  * Anguilla
  * Antigua and Barbuda
  * Aruba
  * Bahamas
  * Barbados
  * Cayman Islands
  * Dominica
  * Grenada
  * Jamaica
  * Montserrat
  * Netherlands Antilles
  * Saint Kitts and Nevis
  * Saint Lucia
  * Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  * Trinidad and Tobago
  * Turks and Caicos Islands

• Hong Kong
• India
• Malaysia
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Puerto Rico
• Rwanda
• Singapore
• South Africa
• Sri Lanka
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
• Thailand

What does the future hold for the beta program at RIM?

Can I say more, more and more? More programs, more people, more countries, more feedback, more changes. Our goal is to steadily increase the number and size of our programs to give members increased opportunities to participate and provide feedback on a variety of BlackBerry software.

Astute BlackBerry® smartphone users (and regular readers of Inside BlackBerry!) may have noticed an increased focus on product betas from RIM. The Twitter® for BlackBerry smartphones beta update is only the most recent example, but it all started with the launch of the BlackBerry App World™ Test Center in December of last year. With the beta release of the BlackBerry® Feedback Tool this week, I thought now would be a good time to talk to the RIM beta team to learn more about how it all got started and where it’s heading.

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Stephanie Joiner, the Director of User Engagement. My team works with various product groups here at RIM to run beta programs via BlackBerry® Beta Zone.

First with BlackBerry App World Test Center and now BlackBerry Beta Zone, RIM has embraced external betas. Can you explain the intent behind this new movement?

BlackBerry smartphone users are a passionate group and we wanted to support that enthusiasm and show appreciation for it. The beta programs are a great way engage with our users and help them to participate in the evolution of RIM products, which we feel is central to building products that meet and exceed customer expectations. Our intention with BlackBerry Beta Zone is to provide users with a venue to try out products and provide feedback, and make that easy to do. Not every suggestion can be implemented, but our goal is to be sure we’re constantly aware of the things that matter most to our customers.

Was this also the reason for the release of the BlackBerry Feedback Tool?

The name says it all, right? Our greatest resource is our user base and the BlackBerry Feedback Tool is a great way for anyone to send in comments about BlackBerry smartphones and how they are using them. How many times have you been doing something on your BlackBerry smartphone and thought to yourself “Gee, I’d really like to tell someone about ___”? I know I have! The BlackBerry Feedback Tool sits right in the BlackBerry Menu, and lets you share your thoughts in the moment.

What kind of responses are you expecting from BlackBerry Feedback Tool users? Is there anything you’re hoping for or will it all be a surprise?

We don’t really have any preconceived expectations, but we’re hoping the BlackBerry Feedback Tool will be something customers find useful. Beta testing is all about putting it out there and iterating through changes. It will be exciting to see where it takes us. We’re really curious to see how people will use it and look forward to seeing even more suggestions.

Since the launch of BlackBerry App World Test Center and then Beta Zone, your team has been collecting a lot of app-specific feedback. What have we learned so far about how BlackBerry smartphone users use our applications?

Great question! As BlackBerry smartphones have evolved, so have BlackBerry smartphone users and their preferences. Applications that make life easier, as well as social media applications to help people stay in touch with friends and family have been real drivers.

One of the coolest things about BlackBerry Beta Zone is that it too is in beta. What’s the verdict so far on the site and the community?

BlackBerry Beta Zone launched in March and since that time users have been fantastic at giving us feedback to help improve the site and make it their own. We’ve had several updates since our first launch, with nearly all changes based primarily on incoming user feedback, so please – to everyone who has participated and had their say –keep it coming! We’d like to hear from you!

So far the product groups have been amazed by how quick and thorough users are when testing out the products, and I think a lot of that comes from the community feel BlackBerry Beta Zone promotes. Each beta program has its own discussion board where members can share ideas, comments, tips and tricks, anything. I think that community connection is such a big part of what people get from their BlackBerry smartphones, and being able to build on the social nature of our users while we work to empower and learn from them on this site and in these programs, is just fantastic.

Stay tuned for part two of our RIM beta team interview Monday, where Stephanie answers questions sent to us by Inside BlackBerry readers and Twitter followers!