User Acceptance Testing (UAT) allows your target audience to validate that your product functions as expected before its release. It ensures that you correctly interpret the requirements, and implement them in alignment with what users want and expect.
What is User Acceptance Testing and why is it important?
User Acceptance Testing (UAT), also known as Application Testing, End-User Testing, or Acceptability Testing, is typically the final phase in the software development lifecycle. It acts as a last quality check, performed after internal QA testing and prior to the product’s release.
In UAT, you gather a group of your target user audience to test, validate, and interact with your software in a real-world scenario. The goal is to see if everything is working as expected and record and correct any bugs. After testing is complete, all findings are forwarded to the development team to make any final changes before deployment.
Key questions to consider during UAT include:
- How intuitive is the delivered feature set?
- How correct are the requirements for the feature set?
- What scenarios do users execute? Did they pass this level of exploratory testing?
UAT also presents another set of business benefits, such as increased transparency with users, and a fresh perspective for the testing team, which is now able to work with real cases and data.
UAT is essential for ensuring user satisfaction and meeting business requirements. It safeguards against releasing faulty or unfinished software, helping to protect your company’s reputation.
Who participates in UAT?
There are a couple of different roles involved in UAT, demanding a strong level of collaboration between the groups planning and managing the tests, and those executing it.
Internal functional experts oversee the planning and managing of UAT cycles. Their responsibilities include creating the test plan, setting up the testing environment, writing test cases, and interpreting the results.
This team typically consists of the product owner, business analysts, QA professionals, and the development team. However, team composition may vary depending on the organization’s structure.
On the other hand, those responsible for performing the tests are the software’s end users from your target audience. They are the ones who know exactly how it will be used in their daily operations and what changes need to be made for it to be the most suitable. In agile environments, when teams can’t interact with external users, the product owner is also in charge of the testing.
You can recruit end users by relying on internal volunteers, paying test subjects, or offering some of your users a free trial of a test version of your software.
UAT prerequisites and checklist
Before conducting your User Acceptance Testing, there are some important prerequisites you must ensure in order to smoothly advance to this last phase of software testing. Use the following checklist to verify UAT readiness:
- Ensure that known bugs and defects have been addressed and retested;
- Provide the testing team with complete business requirements;
- Verify that the feature set is fully developed;
- Complete system, integration, and unit testing ensuring no high or medium defects remain;
- Complete regression testing to confirm that recent changes haven’t negatively impacted the software.
How UAT is done: Step-by-step guide and template
Let’s walk through the steps to performing User Acceptance Testing:
Step 1: Define the scope and objectives
Create your UAT test plan, outlining the testing strategy, scope, schedule, resources, and entry and exit criteria. Also, take this moment to define your workflows and expected team behaviors.
As part of this step, also, create your business requirements document (BRD). A BRD helps direct the project and keeps everyone on the same page. In an agile context, however, teams often go straight to creating user stories as their requirements artifacts.
Step 2: Design and create test cases
Encourage end users to conduct exploratory testing. Using high-level charters outlining key goals and expectations, they should perform typical tasks using the new features. This approach covers realistic outcomes of the user experience and potential issues, determining whether the product meets the agreed-upon requirements.
Step 3: Setup test environment
Prepare the UAT environment with the necessary hardware, software, and data. Ensure that it closely mimics the production environment, allowing you to identify potential issues that could occur in the real world. This way you can be more confident about the accuracy of your test results, minimizing failures after deployment.
Step 4: Select the testing team
The development team can decide whether to rely only on a few targeted end users or to offer a free trial to a higher number of users. Either way, the selected testers should have knowledge of the software and how to detect and report issues. Remember to instruct participants on your processes, teaching them how to correctly perform the tasks, fill in test scenario forms, and provide feedback.
Step 5: Execute the tests
Here is when the end users begin testing the software, logging any potential bugs or other issues. They should verify that the application works as expected, meets business requirements, and aligns with user needs.
Step 6: Report and track defects
Record all bugs in detail in the tracker of your choice, with notes on how to reproduce the errors that led to them. This is why it’s important to set up a clear process for defect reporting, including the format, severity, and steps to reproduce. It helps to be actionable and specific with your instructions.
You can even include a defect triage process with the UAT testers. This ensures clarity on the issues and helps confirm the level of severity or priority for any fixes.
Step 7: Update code and retest
The development team adjusts the code based on test results, resolving any bugs and making suggested changes. Then the software is retested to confirm the resolution.
Step 8: Regression testing
Conduct regression testing to ensure that the fixes or changes made haven’t introduced new issues. It is worth retesting previously validated functionalities to ensure they remain unaffected.
Step 9: Check exit criteria and sign off
Once the software meets users’ criteria, the internal testing team signs off on the changes for production release. To help streamline this part of the process, specify who has the authority to provide the sign-off for production release based on the UAT results, so that no unnecessary time is wasted.
Step 10: Document everything
Test documentation is essential. Be sure to document all User Acceptance Testing results, including test cases, defects, resolutions, and any additional feedback. Maintain this UAT documentation for future reference and auditing purposes.
Types of UAT
Here are some different types of user acceptance testing, along with practical tips on when and how to apply them effectively:
Alpha Testing
Alpha Testing is the first end-to-end testing you will perform in your software development cycle. It ensures that the software meets business requirements and performs how it is supposed to.
When to use Alpha Testing:
- Before releasing to external users, in order to eliminate potential security issues and ensure a smooth user experience for beta testers.
Practical tips:
- Rely on internal staff who are familiar with the software.
- Conduct testing in a staging environment to closely simulate production conditions, allowing you to catch major bugs before the software reaches beta testers or goes live. This controlled setting helps to address issues before they impact a larger user base.
Example:
- A tech company tests a new software feature with its in-house professionals before making it available to a larger audience. This team includes SMEs, Product Owners, and Business Analysts.
Beta Testing
During beta testing, you evaluate whether business objectives are met, the software performs as expected, and the user experience is satisfactory. The software is tested in a production-like environment by real end users within the intended domain, providing actionable feedback to developers for improvements.
When to use Beta Testing:
- After Alpha Testing, before the software’s official release.
Practical tips:
- Choose a small group of your external target end users to provide diverse feedback.
- Focus on user experience and usability issues.
Example:
- A social media platform releases a beta version of a new feature to selected users for feedback before rolling it out to the entire user base.
Black Box Testing
Black Box Testing assesses whether the software performs its intended tasks by focusing on inputs and outputs, rather than internal mechanics. Unlike other testing methods, black box testing is uniquely valuable because testers do not need to understand the underlying code. This aligns well with alpha and beta testing, where end-users test functionalities without needing technical insights into how the software works internally.
When to use Black Box Testing:
- Use Black Box testing when you need to validate software functionalities from a user’s perspective, without involving knowledge of the software’s internal workings or code structure. It’s ideal for confirming that user requirements are met through the software’s external behavior.
Practical tips:
- Encourage end users or testers to explore the software as they would in daily workflows, providing insights into how it functions in real-world scenarios.
- Design scenarios that simulate real-world use cases, helping uncover any gaps between expected and actual behavior.
Example:
- A payment app might work with an external team to ensure it processes transactions correctly. Here, the testers only need to confirm that the app handles payments accurately, without knowing how the backend operates.
Operational Acceptance Testing (OAT)
Operational Acceptance Testing (OAT), also known as operational readiness testing (ORT) or operational testing, aims to ensure that predefined workflows operate smoothly and evaluates the software’s operational readiness in its Standard Operating Environment (SOE).
When to use Operational Acceptance Testing:
- To ensure the system is ready for production in a real-world environment.
Practical tips:
- Verify operational processes like disaster recovery, failover or rollback.
- Simulate a live production environment as closely as possible.
Example:
- A cloud service provider tests their newly deployed server’s resilience under disaster scenarios.
Contract Acceptance Testing
Contract Acceptance Testing assesses if the developed software meets the agreed-upon specifications of the project contract between the client and the development team.
When to use Contract Acceptance Testing:
- To ensure the software meets all contractual requirements.
Practical tips:
- Review the contract thoroughly to ensure all requirements are met.
- Collaborate closely with stakeholders to verify compliance.
Example:
- A software vendor delivers a custom CRM system and tests it against the specific features agreed upon in the contract with the client.
Regulation Acceptance Testing
Regulation Acceptance Testing, also known as Compliance Acceptance Testing, ensures that the software complies with both regional and industry-specific regulations relevant to its operational environment. This can include geographic regulations, such as GDPR in Europe, as well as industry-specific standards like HIPAA for healthcare or PCI-DSS for payment processing.
When to use Regulation Acceptance Testing:
- When the software must comply with industry regulations or legal standards.
Practical tips:
- Ensure the test environment reflects regulatory requirements.
- Work with legal and compliance teams for accurate testing.
Example:
- A financial software company tests its system before launching in Europe to ensure it complies with GDPR data protection rules.
Real-world examples of UAT
Exploring practical applications of User Acceptance Testing in different industries can be very beneficial. You can better understand how selecting the right end-user testing group is crucial and gain a clearer picture of some of the bugs that can be found at this stage.
Banking mobile app upgrade
A large bank plans to upgrade its mobile banking app to introduce new features, like facial recognition for authentication and improved transaction history filters.
Target audience
A select group of actual customers.
Test instructions
Users must perform common tasks, like logging in with face recognition, transferring money, and reviewing past transactions.
Potential bugs and defects found
- Difficulty logging in with facial recognition under low light conditions.
- Transaction history filters are not functioning as expected.
Healthcare system implementation
A hospital is implementing a new patient management system to streamline scheduling, billing, and medical record access.
Target audience
A diverse group of nurses, doctors, and administrative staff.
Test instructions
Users must simulate daily tasks, such as scheduling appointments, retrieving patient records, and generating bills.
Potential bugs and defects found
- Issues with the scheduling module not aligning with the hospital’s specific scheduling needs.
- Missing medical terms in the patient records section.
Tools for User Acceptance Testing
Choosing the right tools for User Acceptance Testing can significantly impact your results. Here are a few tools to consider:
Test case management
Helps you create, organize, and manage test cases. A test management tool allows teams to document all of the test cases they plan to execute, assign them to different testers, and track their progress and results.
TestRail integrates seamlessly with your entire QA tech stack, offering detailed analytics and customizable reports to monitor testing progress. It has an intuitive interface and also supports collaboration across teams, making it easier to manage large-scale testing efforts.
Image: Effortlessly manage everything from individual test runs to establishing a test case approval process. Leverage your team’s collective expertise and ensure your team knows what to work on and when.
Bug and issue tracking
Ensures that defects discovered during the testing process are logged, prioritized, and resolved. Bug and issue-tracking tools should integrate with project management systems to keep the development and QA teams informed and accountable.
One of the most popular tools for this is Jira, offering powerful tracking capabilities with real-time updates and customizable workflows. It seamlessly integrates with test management tools like TestRail, keeping development and QA teams aligned while offering detailed reporting to monitor issue resolution progress.
Image: With TestRail’s Jira integration, you can link test cases to user stories, epics, or any other kind of Jira issue to clarify exactly which requirement is being tested.
User feedback gathering
User feedback gathering tools enable users to provide feedback during UAT, either through surveys or by recording their interactions directly on it. These kinds of tools help teams understand how real end users evaluate the developed software, and whether or not it meets their expectations.
A good example is User Testing. Its platform enables deeper analysis of user behavior, by providing real-time video feedback of how users interact with your software. This helps teams identify usability issues and make data-driven decisions for improvements.
User Acceptance Testing top challenges
Although UAT is important for your software launch’s success, it does not come without its challenges. If you don’t pay close attention to how you conduct your testing process, your results may not be as satisfactory. Here are some of the top challenges testing teams face:
Not enough internal QA
Development teams can save themselves a lot of time by getting rid of bugs beforehand, rather than leaving them for the UAT phase.
Poor test planning
Because UAT is the last stage of the software development lifecycle, any delays in previous stages mean less time and more pressure to complete this stage faster.
Poor UAT documentation
A lack of scope, defined objectives, or solid test planning will cause issues during testing, as testers often won’t know how to proceed and developers won’t have enough information to correct defects.
Bad choice of UAT users
UAT testers should be properly trained in your tools and processes, otherwise they may not know how to correctly submit bugs and reports. Pre-screen your testers and ensure they are the right target audience for your software.
Testing environment
Using the same environment that was used with functional testing and system testing could lead to software dependencies in that particular environment. It’s best to create brand-new ones specifically tailored to your UAT.
Communication gaps
UAT testers and the internal testing team must have good planning and communication processes in place, so as to not cause delays or problems with reporting bugs or navigating testing scenarios.
Not using the right tools
For large-scale projects in particular, asking your testers to use Excel, Google Docs, or emails for their reports is a recipe for disaster. Prepare solid bug-tracking and reporting solutions to make it easier for all involved stakeholders.
Image: TestRail enables you to generate comprehensive reports that consolidate diverse data points, offering valuable insights into every aspect of your testing process.
Improving visibility
Without a centralized way to monitor progress, teams can struggle to track test coverage, identify bottlenecks, and ensure timely feedback loops. Implement real-time dashboards and automated reporting tools to have better test control and visibility.
Image: Instantly generate traceability reports in TestRail so that your team can see the status of testing in real time, evaluate coverage, and link tests to requirements and defects.
UAT best practices
Every software development team is always striving for more agile and streamlined tests. Learning how to optimize your processes can bring excellent, more trustworthy and stress-free results. Here are some best practices for maximizing the impact of User Acceptance Testing:
Invest in gathering information
Collecting the right data before planning your tests is crucial. Ensure that all necessary information is gathered, including the process being tested, the actions for each test, and the guidelines for selecting test data.
Properly identify and brief the target audience
Select UAT users who understand what to look for and how to provide valuable feedback. Ensure they are fully briefed on the business objectives and what the testing aims to uncover.
Understand the project scope
Clearly define and document your goals, focusing on what is critical for test success. During UAT, refer back to this document to ensure all key pain points have been addressed.
Design workflows
Map out the testing process, assign tasks, and set a timeline to ensure everyone is aligned on responsibilities and deliverables.
Ensure flawless communication
Cross-team communication is the key to any project’s success. When dealing with testers and developers, maintaining good balance and communication is essential. Focus on guaranteeing proper documentation, progress reporting, and defect management.
Pre-organize feedback
A good tip is to pre-categorize the feedback you receive from your testers into two categories: instant action and discussion. This way, the development team will better understand priority levels, and whether an issue can be quickly resolved or if it needs to be evaluated by the whole team.
Value security
Protect your software by ensuring that only authorized users have access, minimizing the risk of information leaks and cyber-attacks. Implement strong password policies, enforce multi-factor authentication, and regularly update access permissions to maintain a secure environment.
Document all steps
Detailed documentation is essential for tracking progress and ensuring clarity throughout the testing process. Keep records of what has been fixed, what tasks are currently underway, and what areas still need attention. This ongoing documentation supports better communication and helps streamline future updates and troubleshooting.
User Acceptance Testing is the necessary final step of your software development cycle, where your real end-user confirms that your product works the way it’s intended to. By ensuring that your solution meets both user and business requirements safeguards, you can avoid product defects and impacts on end users.
The more familiar you become with UAT, the more prepared you will be to conduct these kinds of tests, learning how to leverage best practices and overcome challenges.
Ready to streamline your User Acceptance Testing process? Explore TestRail with a free 30-day trial today. Happy testing!
