Understanding About Testing UAT Test

UAT Test

User acceptance testing (UAT) is the last phase of the software testing process. 
During UAT, actual software users test the software to make sure 
it can handle required tasks in real-world scenarios, according to specifications.

Phases : 
1. Unit Testing 
2. System Testing
3. Integration Testing 
4. Acceptance Testing (UAT) (User Acceptance Testing)

T2T - Time to Talk

What is UAT Testing 
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is a type of testing performed by the end user or the client to verify/accept the software
system before moving the software application to the production environment. 
UAT is done in the final phase of testing after functional, integration and system testing is done.

The main purpose of UAT is to validate the end to end business flow. It does NOT focus on Cosmetic errors,
Spelling mistakes or System testing. User Acceptance Testing is carried out in a separate testing environment 
with production-like data setup. It is a kind of black box testing where two or more end-users will be involved. 

Prerequisites of User Acceptance Testing:
Following are the entry criteria for User Acceptance Testing:

In VModel, User acceptance testing corresponds to the requirement phase of the Software Development life cycle(SDLC).


Prerequisites of User Acceptance Testing:-

Business Requirements must be available.
Application Code should be fully developed
Unit Testing, Integration Testing & System Testing should be completed
No Showstoppers, High, Medium defects in System Integration Test Phase -
Only Cosmetic error is acceptable before UAT
Regression Testing should be completed with no major defects
All the reported defects should be fixed and tested before UAT
Traceability matrix for all testing should be completed
UAT Environment must be ready
Sign off mail or communication from System Testing Team that the system is ready for UAT execution


How to do UAT Testing:-
Analysis of Business Requirements
Creation of UAT test plan
Identify Test Scenarios
Create UAT Test Cases
Preparation of Test Data(Production like Data)
Run the Test cases
Record the Results
Confirm business objectives

Exit criteria for UAT:
Before moving into production, following needs to be considered:

No critical defects open
Business process works satisfactorily
UAT Sign off meeting with all stakeholders

UAT Tester should possess good knowledge of the business. He should be independent and think as an unknown user to the system. Tester should be Analytical and Lateral thinker and combine all sort of data to make the UAT successful.

Tester or Business Analyst or Subject Matter Experts who understand the business requirements or flows can prepare test and data which are realistic to the business.

Best Practices:
Following points needs to be considered to make UAT Success:

Prepare UAT plan early in the project life cycle
Prepare Checklist before the UAT starts
Conduct Pre-UAT session during System Testing phase itself
Set the expectation and define the scope of UAT clearly
Test End to End business flow and avoid system tests
Test the system or application with real-world scenarios and data
Think as an Unknown user to the system
Perform Usability Testing
Conduct Feedback session and meeting before moving to production

Some Example Guidelines of UAT
Most of the times in regular software developing scenarios, UAT is carried out in the QA environment. If there is no staging or UAT environment
UAT is classified into Beta and Alpha testing but it is not so important when software is developed for a service based industry
UAT makes more sense when the customer is involved to a greater extent

Conclusion:
In Software Engineering, Full form of UAT is User Acceptance Testing.
In Software Engineering, UAT stands for User Acceptance Testing.
UAT is one of the many flavors of testing that has emerged over last twenty-five years.
With UAT, the client can be sure "What to expect" from the product rather than assuming.
The benefit of UAT is that there will be no surprises when the product is released to the market.