Acceptance Testing (UAT)

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The user acceptance testing is usually a black box type of testing. In other words, the focus is on the functionality and the usability of the application rather than the technical aspects. It is generally assumed that the application would have already undergone Unit, Integration and System Level Testing. However, it is useful if the User acceptance Testing is carried out in an environment that closely resembles the real world or production environment.

The steps taken for User Acceptance Testing typically involve one or more of the following: …….1) User Acceptance Test (UAT) Planning …….2) Designing UA Test Cases …….3) Selecting a Team that would execute the (UAT) Test Cases …….4) Executing Test Cases …….5) Documenting the Defects found during UAT …….6) Resolving the issues/Bug Fixing …….7) Sign Off User Acceptance Test (UAT)

Planning: As always the Planning Process is the most important of all the steps. This affects the effectiveness of the Testing Process. The Planning process outlines the User Acceptance Testing Strategy. It also describes the key focus areas, entry and exit criteria.

Designing UA Test Cases: The User Acceptance Test Cases help the Test Execution Team to test the application thoroughly. This also helps ensure that the UA Testing provides sufficient coverage of all the scenarios.The Use Cases created during the Requirements definition phase may be used as inputs for creating Test Cases. The inputs from Business Analysts and Subject Matter Experts are also used for creating.Each User Acceptance Test Case describes in a simple language the precise steps to be taken to test something.The Business Analysts and the Project Team review the User Acceptance Test Cases.

Selecting a Team that would execute the (UAT) Test Cases: Selecting a Team that would execute the UAT Test Cases is an important step. The UAT Team is generally a good representation of the real world end users. The Team thus comprises of the actual end users who will be using the application.

Executing Test Cases: The Testing Team executes the Test Cases and may additional perform random Tests relevant to them Documenting the Defects found during UAT: The Team logs their comments and any defects or issues found during testing.

Resolving the issues/Bug Fixing: The issues/defects found during Testing are discussed with the Project Team, Subject Matter Experts and Business Analysts. The issues are resolved as per the mutual consensus and to the satisfaction of the end users.

Sign Off: Upon successful completion of the User Acceptance Testing and resolution of the issues the team generally indicates the acceptance of the application. This step is important in commercial software sales. Once the User “Accept” the Software delivered they indicate that the software meets their requirements. The users now confident of the software solution delivered and the vendor can be paid for the same.

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