What is UAT (User Acceptance Test)?

What is UAT : In this article let us understand what is UAT and what is the role of Business Analyst during UAT phase. As we discussed in previous articles, Business Analyst is responsible for end to end to project execution.

UAT (User Acceptance Test)

Business Analyst suppose not to actively participate in testing part but, Business Analyst do support and perform testing.

What are User Acceptance Tests or what is uat?

User Acceptance Test is very important. Usually client will do the UAT. Once development completed and all approvals are in place, then we will release changes to client for Testing. Before releasing to client, we will do the end to end testing (Testing Team/QA Team).

Before planning for production movement, we will release to client for testing, client will do the end to end testing, and usually End users will do the UAT. As they have good knowledge on functionality, they will do the UAT.

Sample BA Document Templates FREE DOWNLOAD Send download link to: I confirm that I have read and agree to the Privacy Policy. Subscribe to get exclusive content and recommendations every month. You can unsubscribe anytime.

What is the Role of Business Analyst in UAT(User Acceptance Test)?

Business Analyst supports to End users during UAT, if any issues are observations raised by the client, then they will inform to the Business Analyst, Business Analyst is the person to understand the issues are observations raised by the client. Then Business Analyst will coordinate with the respective teams to fix the issues.

If any understanding gaps then Business Analyst will explain to the End users, what is the existing functionality and what changes we deployed, so that they can test without deviations, or else we deploy something and client test something else and raise as a Bugs or defects. It may lead to project delay and client escalation due to misunderstanding.

Business Analyst responsibility is to support to client during the UAT and get signoff from the client, once we received signoff (Approval) from the client then we will deploy the changes into production environment.

Why UAT (User Acceptance Test) is required and important?

As we discussed earlier, client will do the UAT testing and Business Analyst supports to complete the UAT successfully.

User Acceptance Testing (UAT) are tests that are usually conducted by the end user to verify that the product is working as expected. It is used to confirm if the product meets both the requirements and expectations of the stakeholders.

These tests are usually performed to capture product before it is deployed to the production environment.

The user acceptance tests are usually done in an environment that is almost identical to the final production environment.

They are one of the final tests that are conducted after all other tests such as the functional, integration and system tests are done.

As client (End Users) is performing the UAT, they can identify the application or functional issues/bugs.  As soon as we receive issue tracker or bug tracker from the client, we will start work on fixing the bugs. This helps us to deploy the product in production environment with ‘0’ errors or less errors. 

And we can make client happy as there is no issues or less issues in production environment.

If a defective product is prematurely deployed, it can severely damage an organization and the cost of fixing the incurred damages can sometimes outweigh the value to be gained from the deploying that product.

So it is important that the user acceptance tests are conducted before the product is deployed.

How are the User Acceptance Tests conducted?

The UAT is usually performed by the users who are going to use the final product, as they have knowledge and idea on product requirements and understand the business process so they are the best qualified resource to identify the application or functional issues with the finished product.

What steps to be taken care before deploying to UAT?

1. Once the product is ready for the user acceptance tests, the test scenarios and test cases should be created. Sometimes Business Analyst may create the Test cases, it depends on the organization.
2. The test scenarios should be created based on the requirements. If the project is Agile, then the created user stories can be used to create the acceptance testing scenarios.
3. Once Test cases and test scenarios are in place, then we can release to client for testing.
4. Before releasing to client we should ensure all the approvals are in place and testing and QA completed from our end.
5. Then client starts the user acceptance tests and reports if any issues with the product.
6. The identified issues should be reviewed and any defects should be fixed from our end. If any understanding issue or process gaps then we need to schedule meeting with the stake holders and explain to them.
7. Once issues or bugs fixed from our end then again user acceptance tests should be rescheduled.
8. The users should retest the product.
9. The process continues until the product passes the tests at an acceptable level and we receive the signoff from the client. Without client signoff we can’t move any changes to production environment.
10. Sometimes we will move the working product to production environment if the raised issues or bugs are not show stopper. It depends on the client.

What are the things to be taken care as a Business Analyst to complete the UAT successfully?

1. Before client performing the UAT, schedule a meeting or session with the client and explain about developed product, like how it works and what are the requirements covered and how the solution has been provided to the requirements, so that client or end user can test the product in proper way.
2. Identify the right testers: stakeholder analysis is an important part of the UAT’s because if the wrong people are invited to test the product, the product might not be properly tested and this could lead to costly mistakes. Usually client will assign the end users who needs to test the application, get in touch with the end users and explain and make them to understand the product before starting testing and before they raise as defect or bug.
3. Business Analyst should have clear idea on test cases and test scenarios and what is the functionality of the product, so that it is easy to explain the product features and clarify the end user doubts.
4. Clarify the test results: the UAT results might include the identification of some product defects and change requests. The report might require some clarifications, so the business analyst would need to follow up with the end users to fully understand the UAT results.

I hope this help you to understand what is uat and what are user acceptance tests. And why Business Analyst  should have knowledge on what is UAT?

What is User Acceptance Testing (UAT)?

Sample BA Document Templates FREE DOWNLOAD Send download link to: I confirm that I have read and agree to the Privacy Policy. Subscribe to get exclusive content and recommendations every month. You can unsubscribe anytime.

FAQS:

What is UAT testing?

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.

What UAT means?

user acceptance testing

Short for user acceptance testing, typically the final phase in a software development process in which the software is given to the intended audience to be tested for functionality. … UAT also is called beta testing, end-user testing or application testing.

How is UAT performed?

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.

Who should perform UAT testing?

User Acceptance Testing (UAT), also known as beta or end-user testing, is defined as testing the software by the user or client to determine whether it can be accepted or not. This is the final testing performed once the functional, system and regression testing are completed.

What is the purpose of UAT?

User acceptance testing (UAT) is the last phase of the software testing process. … The goal of User Acceptance Testing is to assess if the system can support day-to-day business and user scenarios and ensure the system is sufficient and correct for business usage.

What happens during UAT?

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.

Who prepares UAT test cases?

When it comes to UAT, often the UAT is composed of Business Analysts and selected end-users who will perform the actual UA testing. But QA, who have an overall responsibility to ensure the application/product works as required, should be part of the process for test definition.

What is UAT sign off?

UAT Sign–off: When all defects are resolved, the UAT team formally accepts (or recommends acceptance to the project manager) the software application as developed. The approval shows that the application meets user requirements and is deployable.

What is UAT full form?

Short for user acceptance testing, typically the final phase in a software development process in which the software is given to the intended audience to be tested for functionality. … UAT also is called beta testing, end-user testing or application testing.

What is the difference between QA and UAT testing?

Difference Between QA and UAT Testing. … The major difference between both of these is the fact that quality assurance ensures that the software is error-free, whereas user acceptance testing ensures that the software is giving the users just the experience and usability that they were looking for.

How is UAT done in agile?

Lets have each of them one by one: Agile UAT begins with user stories which includes both story and acceptance criteria. … In last, UAT involves a dedicated sprint to perform overall user acceptance test and fixing discovered defects. It should be done by Product Owner along with the subject matter experts.

What are the primary objectives of UAT?

User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
The aim of User Acceptance Testing (UAT testing), is to receive feedback on the software from real customers. Thus, as a rule, UAT is conducted by people selected from the target audience. These conditions are the closest real-world usage of the product.