Let’s go ahead and get started.<\/p>\n\n\n
- 5 UAT steps to your workflow<\/a>
- Communication & Issue Strategy<\/a><\/li>
- UAT Checklist for downloading (in pdf)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- 2. Execution<\/a><\/li>
- 3. Documentation<\/a><\/li>
- 4. Evaluation<\/a><\/li>
- 5. Reporting & lessons learned<\/a><\/li>
- UAT tracker tools<\/a><\/li>
- User acceptance test it’s not just a test. It’s a cycle.<\/a><\/li>
- Bonus: Great tool for any User Acceptance Testing workflow<\/a><\/li>
- 1. Planning<\/a>
- UAT Checklist for downloading (in pdf)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- 2. Execution<\/a><\/li>
- 3. Documentation<\/a><\/li>
- 4. Evaluation<\/a><\/li>
- 5. Reporting & lessons learned<\/a><\/li>
- User Acceptance Testing best practices<\/a><\/li>
- How to perform or conduct UAT testing<\/a><\/li>
- Bonus: Great tool for any User Acceptance Testing workflow<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
How does the User Acceptance Testing Process and UAT Strategy Work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
User Acceptance Testing is not like shooting in the blind when conducting user acceptance testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is a strategic UAT process<\/strong> flow that validates if all of the business objectives and requirements are met by the product developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Building an Effective UAT Strategy<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Your UAT strategy serves as the backbone of the testing process, guiding you through selecting the right test cases, defining success criteria, and involving the right stakeholders. A comprehensive UAT strategy not only helps in identifying potential issues early but also ensures that these issues are addressed before the product reaches the market. This proactive approach reduces the risk of costly post-launch problems and enhances the overall user experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your UAT strategy<\/strong>, along with the UAT testing process, enables you to determine whether your product is market-ready. That’s why it is important to learn how to conduct user acceptance testing with the right tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n
Try Usersnap for Customizing Your Feedback Widget<\/h2>Try Usersnap Now<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
UAT planning also verifies whether change requirements are deployed to align with the business needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There may be a few other business requirements for changes that might not have been relayed to the development department and that’s where your UAT test strategy comes into action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s where having a User Acceptance Testing checklist template can help out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apart from that, UAT testing helps you minimize post-release risks as the cost of fixing issues prior to the release is far lower than fixing them post-release. The UAT process is what protects an organization’s reputation in the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, it’s time to get your hands dirty. I’ll guide you through the 5 steps of a UAT process<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Planning<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Execution<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Documentation<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Evaluation<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Reporting & Lessons Learned<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tTry Usersnap for UAT testing now!<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n5 UAT steps to your workflow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
User Acceptance Testing is complicated. That’s what a lot of you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From creating a UAT plan<\/a> to executing and analyzing your test cases. All kinds of different departments and people are involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And worst of all\u2026 UAT takes place at an awkward time: at the end of a project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your development team is done with their tasks (at least they should be), and your QA agents start testing the application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And they have just one main job: test if the application works for your users.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"User](\"https:\/\/usersnap.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/uat-testing-workflow.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n1. Planning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Planning your User Acceptance Testing efforts is an absolute must-have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without proper planning, UAT won’t get you anywhere. Planning your User Acceptance Tests must cover the following areas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Planning & Time Management<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In the first step, you need to clarify some basic questions. You need to collect information regarding your UAT schedule and your QA agents<\/a> and testers. Please make sure all the information is in one place to set up a realistic UAT plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And most importantly, Draft a concept of what your testing groups should look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Staff Requirements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You need to plan who of your team is involved in the next UAT execution. UAT execution, as well as ensuring that all responsibilities and tasks are known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every person involved in the UAT process should have a clear understanding of what his or her responsibility is.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"UAT](\"https:\/\/usersnap.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/UAT-testing-team-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nWhen setting up beta testing<\/a> with your UAT team ensure to bring everyone on the same page. Establish clear communication guidelines and prepare your target audience for the test case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Communication & Issue Strategy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
While executing the defined UAT test cases you need to make sure to have a User Acceptance Testing workflow in place that deals with bugs, issues, and other problems<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- How are you going to document problems?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How can testers communicate problems?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
This is exactly where visual feedback for UAT<\/a> makes a real difference, testers can show what went wrong without having to write up a lengthy bug report every single time.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Usersnap](\"https:\/\/usersnap.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/issue-reporting-1024x613.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nUAT Checklist for downloading (in pdf)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Before starting to execute test cases, I recommend making use of a User Acceptance Testing checklist<\/strong>. It will help you to stay focused and keep your efforts and to-dos in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on our UAT experience, we’ve put together this User Acceptance Testing workflow checklist template<\/a> for you. You can download and view the checklist for free. If you’re looking for a head start, our UAT testing template<\/a> makes it easy to organize test cases, set clear acceptance criteria, and keep sign-offs on track, all in one place.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tI want a free UAT checklist<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n2. Execution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You have a couple of options when executing your UAT test cases. As the name suggests, your testers (= potential users) will now test and evaluate your application regarding certain test scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you provide a global product in various geographical markets, chances are high that you can’t meet these testers in person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The test cases can be executed in one-on-one sessions via Zoom or any other video calling software. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the sessions, you will gain a lot of quantitative and \u2013 even more important \u2013 qualitative data from your actual users themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially if the test cases are executed after the finished development process, you might end up with some new insights that you haven’t considered. Your theory of how much know-how your real users will have will be tested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Documentation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Executing and documenting your User Acceptance tests should happen simultaneously. I recommend setting up a system that allows you to document all relevant information without losing any test data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Documentation is one thing, clearly defined responsibilities for ensuring the implementation of your users’ feedback is another key factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lot of our customers have set up Usersnap<\/a> for this step. Bugs, feedback, and other abnormalities can be documented on your user’s browser screen with a website feedback widget<\/a>. An easy-to-use project dashboard allows your colleagues to get a good overview of important issues. Making sure to delegate and assign priorities is another key thing here.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"UAT](\"https:\/\/usersnap.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Screenshot-2022-09-15-at-19.18.14-1022x1024.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n4. Evaluation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
During this phase, you must evaluate if the defined acceptance criteria are tested and met. And most importantly if those criteria were successfully accomplished by your testers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Has any test case failed? Which problems did occur? How can those problems be resolved and who is responsible for that?<\/p>\n\n\n
Try Usersnap for Customizing Your Feedback Widget<\/h2>Try Usersnap Now<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
The quantitative and qualitative data documented in the first place need to be analyzed. The following questions need to be answered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- How many testers complete the test cases?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- What was the overall rating of these test cases?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- What was the overall state of mind of each tester?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Which emotions did occur during the test cases?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"voice-of-customer-survey-analytics-dashboard\"](\"https:\/\/usersnap.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/data-visualization-1-1024x737.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe evaluation phase is a pretty extensive one, since each and every single test case needs to be analyzed and put into context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Reporting & lessons learned<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You might think that the evaluation and reporting phases are the same. They are not. During the evaluation phase, you are collecting, aggregating, and analyzing data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In contrast, the reporting phase deals with the bigger picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main goal is to gather insights and lessons learned which will help you to improve your future test cases and UAT workflows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You might also start building relationships with some of your UAT testers during that phase as they are a helpful source for further feedback and insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
User Acceptance Testing best practices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The ultimate goal of user acceptance testing is to ensure the software works as the users expected or intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the secondary goal, which is so important that often in practice this becomes the primary goal, is to make the UAT process flow as efficiently as possible. Time-wise and cost-wise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to conduct user acceptance testing with good project management over timelines and resources, here are some best practices for your UAT testing strategy<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Prepare a UAT plan early on in your project<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Define the scope and set expectations in a clear and concise manner<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Develop a checklist of conditions and prerequisites prior to starting UAT<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Align with stakeholders on the process and UAT tracker tools<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Conduct usability testing with real-world end-users and not just the client<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Hold a debrief feedback meeting prior to proceeding to production<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The most important stakeholders in the UAT planning are the product owner, UX designer, lead engineer, QA engineer, and the client.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, running the UAT will be the task of the QA testing team, who may also be leading many other tests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To ensure the various web application testing processes<\/a> do not interfere with each other, here are some best practices for the QA engineering team in UAT planning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Set clear lines between system tests and user acceptance tests<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- UAT test plan should evaluate end-to-end business flow<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Carry out a pre-UAT session when you are in the system testing phase<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Test your product, system, or app using real-world user roles and scenarios<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Educate testers on the tools to perform and document test results<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
For both stakeholders and testers, it’s best practice to show UAT examples<\/a> of what the UAT process would look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let us demonstrate this right now by showing you a screenshot of what UAT test results look like in Usersnap’s list dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"UAT](\"https:\/\/usersnap.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Screenshot-2022-09-15-at-22.20.14-1024x584.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nUAT tracker tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- Execution<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 2. Execution<\/a><\/li>
- UAT Checklist for downloading (in pdf)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Communication & Issue Strategy<\/a><\/li>
![\"agile](\"https:\/\/usersnap.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/agile-testing-cycle-workflow.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n