User Acceptance Testing is one of the last phases of testing in the software development lifecycle that involves the product being used by the end-user to see if it meets the business requirements and if it can handle real-world scenarios. So it goes without saying that intricate planning and disciplined execution are required as it assures the stakeholders that the software is ready for rollout. As one of the best software testing companies in India, we have vast experience when it comes to performing user acceptance testing. So in this User Acceptance Testing Tutorial, we will be explaining the important factors to consider when performing User Acceptance Tests.
Prerequisites
There are various reasons why user acceptance testing happens at the very end. For starters, we can start only when the application code has been fully developed without any major errors. To ensure that there are no major errors, we should have completed unit testing, system testing, integrated testing, and regression testing as well. The only acceptable errors are cosmetic errors as they don’t affect further processing of the application. The business requirements should also be available to design the test cases accurately. Apart from that, the environment for performing UAT should also be ready. Now that we have covered all the prerequisites, let’s explore how to get the job done.
The Stages of User Acceptance Testing
For an easier understanding of how to efficiently execute UAT, we have split the main process into different stages to indicate the purpose.
Strategic Planning
As in every process, we should start by coming up with a plan to perform UAT. To develop the most effective plan for your project, you should analyze the business requirements and define the main objectives of UAT. This is when you will also be defining the exit criteria for UAT. An exit criterion is nothing but the minimum goals that should be achieved when performing the planned User Acceptance Tests. Exit criteria can be defined by combining the system requirements along with user stories.
Designing effective Test Cases
Once the plan is ready, you will have a clear vision as to what has to be achieved for the business. So we will be using that to design test cases that cover all the functions that needed to be tested in real-world scenarios. You also have to be crystal clear about the expected result of each test and define the steps that have to be followed to get that result. This step doesn’t end here as you will also be needed to prepare the required test data required to perform such tests.
Choosing the right team
There are primarily two ways to go about UAT. Either you can have end-users sign up to beta test your application by making it available to them or you can create your own team. You can either execute it using an in-house team or you can also employ outsourcing software testing options. Irrespective of which way you choose, you have to make sure the right people are on the task. If you are choosing people for your beta program, then make sure they are people from the same demographic as the targeted users of the application. Make sure to check their knowledge of the business and ability to detect bugs as well.
User Acceptance Testing
All the groundwork has been laid for you to start with the tests. So in this part of the User Acceptance Testing Tutorial, we will be focusing on how to perform UAT. Make sure to follow all the steps from your test cases without any deviation. If you wish to test something else in a random manner, do it separately and not while performing a particular test case. Once you start, you will also have to create meticulous records of the results, remarks, and so on from each test. Then only it will be possible for the development team to fix all the bugs and issues that were discovered during the process. Once the bugs are fixed, you can rerun those tests to see if the changes have been made without any issues.
Sign-Off
This step is the final step and the name makes it self-explanatory as well. So once you have verified that the application meets all the business requirements, you can indicate to the team that the software is ready for rollout by sending a sign-off email.
General Tip: Using the right pools is also pivotal in yielding the best results. As a leading software testing services company, we use the best tools to make the process more efficient. Test data management can become a nightmare if you don’t monitor and feed the test data in a frequent manner. We use data management tools to feed all the required test data and remove the hassle from this process. Similarly, we also use bug reporting systems to keep track of all the bugs that were discovered and make sure everything is resolved in the most efficient manner.
Conclusion
We hope that our User Acceptance Testing Tutorial has helped you get a clear picture of the UAT process. Based on your specific project demands, you could make some tweaks to this process. Also, make sure to choose the appropriate tools to get the best results.
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