The Way to Perform Successful User Acceptance Testing (UAT)

UAT is when we conduct a test to find out if a software product meets the business demands. It is the last stage of software development before moving on to production. The end-user will verify a software system before launching the software. It affirms whether the solution works accurately for the user or not.

UAT makes sure that the system doesn’t crash and fulfils the documented requirements. On the other hand, UAT ensures the software system is functioning as per the company’s requirements. The system is assessed in real-life situations from the external user point of view. You should perform the test in an environment equivalent to a production environment.

Objectives of UAT

• To confirm that the software product can execute all the business functions.
• To confirm the application product is usable in the end-users view.
• To certify that the software product is ready to proceed to production.

Who conducts UAT?

The end-users or the client conducts UAT. These can function as end-users of custom-made applications or somebody who has asked for custom applications from a software developer as a service. The individuals performing the evaluation are called the evaluation group.

Within a business, the staff should include members from all departments and distinct groups. The testing team ought to be comprised of subject matter specialists. For example, accounting applications UAT should demand accountants.

UAT Prerequisites

Some prerequisites that must be met before performing a UAT test are:

• Supplying business requirements to the testing staff. UAT is performed against business requirements.
• System testing, integration testing, and unit testing should be completed. System errors aren’t expected at this phase. The reported flaws are already fixed and assessed before UAT.
• UAT environment ought to be available.
• Regression testing should be complete to confirm recent code changes do not influence the computer software.

Why you want UAT?

The principal reason why you need user acceptance testing is to validate if all business requirements of the applications are met. This has to be performed before releasing the software to the marketplace.

UAT also verifies that alternative requirements are employed to match the business requirements. UAT would be able to catch such changes.

UAT ensures the losses that might arise from post-release issues will be reduced. The cost of fixing software problems before launch is lower than mending after launch. UAT prevents the loss of standing to organizations that would be a consequence of distributing software with flaws to production.

It is every test engineer’s dream to make sure that the right solution is sent to the users. This section will discuss some tips a programmer may use while doing UAT along with best practices.

UAT Best Practices

Prepare the ideal environment: Having a production-like evaluation environment is vital. Precise performance testing cannot be performed in test environments.

Plan your test: Layout a very clear evaluation acceptance plan throughout the requirement analysis and design phase. Planning reduces stress to meet deadlines.

Train the UAT staff correctly: The testers need to get trained on the developed business requirements. During the planning phase, select and train testers. This may significantly increase the achievement of UAT.

Possess the right communication channel: UAT involves collaboration between the development, quality assurance (QA), and UAT team. Possessing a suitable communication channel is critical to the achievement of UAT, particularly when the teams are still working remotely.

Don’t use the functional testing team: Functional testers aren’t meant to perform UAT. Functional testers may wind up not analysing all real-world scenarios. This leads to end-users discovering issues when the software is in creation.

Conclusion

UAT is your last chance to recognize and rectify flaws. Businesses can suffer losses if UAT is not performed correctly (or even at all). The losses that may happen (by adjusting system problems after production) are a lot more expensive than repairing before production.