UAT Best Practices: Stay off the Merry-Go-Round

When it comes time to implement a system, the last step that one must take is User Acceptance Testing (UAT). This is where your end users run the system through a series of tests to see if it will work effectively for your business. UAT is a critical point in any testing stage and is where you test your system with your intended audience. This form of testing is especially effective for an SPM software implementation as you see if your employees can effectively utilize and understand your new system. Here are the 5 steps you should take in order to have a seamless and efficient UAT.

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1.?????Planning

Firstly, you must have a comprehensive testing plan and your testing criteria must be defined in a robust knowledge-gathering step. You must define which of your business processes are being tested, as well as in what order you perform test cases. You must select your stakeholders and subject matter experts - those who will be doing UAT for you must be those impacted by the system once finished, and those who understand your goals for the system. Set a clear schedule as well, have a definitive endpoint for you to be finished testing. The last point you must set is exit criteria, what results for your tests are acceptable, when are you allowed to move on to the next test case? You must take the time to first define all these things before beginning UAT.

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2.?????Test Creation

To create your tests, you must first perform an analysis of your business requirements. Ask what you want the system to provide for your business, and test based on those needs. This is why, preceding the testing phase you must have intensive requirements planning, so you are sure what your system needs and therefore what to test for. Develop detailed steps to execute your test cases.

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3.?????Data

UAT requires accurate, real-world test data. This production level data must be based on your existing comp plans and incentives data, so that UAT can run smoothly. It is integral to know your data and come to UAT prepared with it so that your test cases are accurate to real-world scenarios. Ensure also that your testers understand and know your data so that they can properly test it.

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4.?????Test Execution

The fourth step is testing itself. Running through your test cases with accurate data and identifying issues that come up. Bugs are inevitable, but if your system requirements are well defined, errors can be fixed and re-tested efficiently, as you know what you are hoping for.?

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5.?????Outcomes

Appropriate stakeholders must sign off on the system during?UAT, signifying their approval of the system. After sign-off, the system will finally be ready. Ensure that your exit criteria have been met and that the system appeals to your business objectives. Once the outcomes of UAT have been reviewed, your system is one step closer to being finalized.?

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If these steps are not followed or done incorrectly, then testing will return results that you did not expect, and this can lead to circular conversations and reviews of the results and the system. Your end-users will run into constant errors while performing UAT, and you will have to bring this back to your implementation team over and over again. Blue Horizons Group calls this the Merry-Go-Round of testing, where you go round and round, testing and testing, and never get off. However, with a robust testing plan, defined requirements, accurate data, strong test execution, and understanding of outcomes this step of your implementation can run smoothly.

To learn more about testing, UAT, and the implementation process, reach out to our experts at [email protected] or visit our website at www.bluehorizonsgroup.com.