This article provides a checklist of user acceptance testing (UAT) best practices to ensure a successful UAT process, covering aspects such as test case alignment with design requirements, tester scheduling, test environment preparation, progress monitoring, bug prioritization, and final test case sign-off.
Whether you’ve performed user acceptance testing (UAT) for years or you are participating in your first test run, reaching the point where users can finally evaluate the work is both exciting and nerve-racking.
That’s why having a plan for conducting UAT is essential, ensuring your team doesn’t overlook key items that could influence the success of your product and that everyone involved has a positive experience.
Although every UAT plan is unique to each organization and product, there are some user acceptance testing best practices every team can follow to ensure they cover the necessary bases.
To give your team a head start, the professionals at TestMonitor compiled a checklist of the most essential user acceptance testing best practices based on our decades of combined experience.
Every test case should directly link back to at least one design requirement, each of which should have its own consistent, easily identifiable numbering schema. With modern test management tools, this numbering schema and tracking process is simple.
Although the exact days and test cases won’t be known, your development team likely has a timeframe in mind for when testers will be needed and the functionalities that will be tested.
Use the information you know to notify testers as soon as possible to ensure they make space in their schedule and their testing responsibilities don’t conflict with their primary job functions.
Test cases are grouped to form test runs, which can then be sequenced together to create test milestones. Although breaking up the work and timelines organizes individual test runs, make sure to budget enough time for unexpected delays, technical or scheduling issues, and space to conduct thorough testing.
One of the most important user acceptance testing best practices is using a test management tool designed to intuitively track issues, record test case sign-offs, and display tasks, updates, and statuses.
Start your testers off on the right foot with a clean, functional test environment. During your preparations, ensure all required sample test data is prepared and accessible both locally and remotely.
Leave spreadsheets, emails, and manual reports behind, replacing them with a test management tool packed with native reporting functionality and customizable dashboards that makes tracking test progress and next steps easy.
Not all failed tests or identified defects are created equally. Develop and consistently apply a prioritization method to determine which issues need to be remediated first and who is responsible for carrying them across the finish line.
One of the most essential aspects of UAT is often the most overlooked: sign-off. A platform like TestMonitor makes this process easy, providing ample space for testers to upload screenshots and attachments, leave comments, and record sign-offs with an auditable trail.
When planned and executed correctly, UAT can be a fruitful and meaningful time for your project team, providing the validation, feedback, and final guidance needed to take your software development over the finish line.
Although there are numerous moving parts before, during, and after UAT, managing the experience doesn’t have to be hard. There are test management platforms like TestMonitor designed specifically to help your team perform at their peak.
When TestMonitor is combined with these user acceptance testing best practices, your team will have the momentum needed to keep your customers coming back for more.
Is your team ready to see the power of TestMonitor firsthand? You can get started with a free trial of TestMonitor today.