User Acceptance Testing
By: Dan Stewart
February 20, 2023
The quality assurance team has found that the thing was built right, but did
we build the right thing?
Why Conduct User Acceptance Testing
The development team is not typically a subject matter expert on the feature being built. I try to learn as much as I can so that I can confirm that the feature is working as expected, but it takes a user to really know. That is why I conduct user acceptance testing.
Elements of User Acceptance Testing
These are the elements of user acceptance testing.
- People - the stakeholders from the epic are the participants in the testing.
- Gathering - a kick-off meeting is set to explain the feature being released.
- Demonstrating - in the meeting I provide a demo. Sometimes just the demo is good enough. Other times it will take an extended period of time to fully test it. In these cases we need a way of reporting any problems. I create a spreadsheet to capture feedback.
- Testing - I ask the stakeholders if they need anything such as logins. I provide a timeline for the testing. Then, I actually test it along with them using my testing process.
- Monitoring - I monitor the spreadsheet, and reach out to anyone who has not started testing.
Spreadsheet
Here are the columns and their purpose on the spreadsheet.
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Test | A brief name for the test. | Invalid Login |
| Steps | An ordered list of steps to perform the test. |
|
| Expected Result | The expected results of running the test. | An error message will appear. |
| Actual Result | The actual result of running the test. This is where the valuable feedback will be gathered. | I did see an error message, but the font was too small to read. |
| Tester Name | The name of the person performing the test. | Dan Stewart |
| Date | The date the test was run. | 2/25/2023 |
| Status | Pass / Fail | Fail |
| Level | Blocker (cannot release with this issue) / Fix Post-Release (we can release, but need to fix ASAP) / Suggestion (we can release and determine if we should fix this) | Blocker |
| Jira Ticket | The Jira ticket link for the issue. | STEW-5698 |
| Resolution Notes | Notes back to the tester on the resolution. In Google docs, you can mention someone in a comment to assign it to them. | @dan This has been fixed by increasing the font size. Please retest. |
Conclusion
At the end of the user acceptance testing period, I schedule a meeting with the stakeholders. In that meeting, we go through the findings and determine if we can release the feature.