UAT: When and Why is it Required?
User acceptance testing is the final stage of the software testing process, where the software is tested and evaluated from an end-user’s perspective and then crucial feedback is provided. This feedback can provide insights pertaining to the product’s value in real-time scenarios. This specific information in the form of feedback can greatly help the testing team and management to improvise the overall quality of the product if need be required. In this article, you will know when should UAT be implemented and its relative importance.
What is User Acceptance Testing (UAT)?
User acceptance testing provides a testing platform to successfully launch an online platform or software product/application in a real-time production environment. This testing method ensures that the testing is carried out as per the expected requirements and the user who has tested the product has provided valuable feedback on the product in terms of its functionality and user experience.
When is the right context to perform UAT?
UAT is considered to be a crucial testing stage of change implementation and software development. Just before the product is going to be released, UAT should be performed. It is basically performed by end-users/customers/stakeholders who are given the responsibility to test the software product in a real-time environment and then provide their valuable feedback.
Based on the feedback provided, the testing team can make meaningful decisions in line with improving the overall quality, usability and user experience of a product.
The need to perform UAT
When a new feature or update is requested and developed, unit and integration testing is performed. But, if suppose the product has been released without performing UAT, then there are chances of the product being affected by technical/usability related issues, thus lowering its value in the marketplace.
Rework and re-testing can be done, but, the main point is that the brand reputation will be at stake. From a technical viewpoint, a software application can be completely functional, but, the requirements are not defined clearly or the developers might have not received clear communication on these lines. In other scenarios, in every virtual deployment model, the new code that has appeared to be effective may have been tested inadequately for a dynamic real-world environment.
UAT ensures that those software products that are faulty or ineffective are properly tested by focusing on the specific wants of the end-users/customers.
High-quality, well-designed UAT tests provide a strategic platform through which the user requirements are reflected accurately and also identify problems that might have gone unnoticed in the unit and integration tests. A macro-level overview is provided by UAT tests in order to ascertain how complete the system is.
Following are a few key reasons that justify the importance of performing UAT:
· Ongoing maintenance costs are low. Usability and functionality issues can be fixed in the early stages of the software development at a faster pace
· Optimal opportunities are provided to identify and fix features and usability issues in the early phase of QA testing
· End-users vision is provided. Outside of the developer’s viewpoint, feeding feedback can take place into the subsequent iterations of software development
· Software robustness and usability are increased and also end-user happiness is scaled up.
Conclusion
If you are looking forward to implementing UAT testing for your specific project, then do get connected with a premium software testing services company that will provide you with tactical testing solutions that are in line with your software development requirements. A dedicated team of software testers will also take proactive steps to implement UAT for your specific project and provide you with technical advice and professional support.
About the author: I am a technical content writer focused on writing technology specific articles. I strive to provide well-researched information on the leading market savvy technologies.