User Acceptance Testing (UAT) or End-User Testing is the final leg of the web application testing process. This particular kind of testing process calls for the participation of actual software user testers. The aim of the User Acceptance Testing of web apps is to ascertain that the developed software can handle required tasks in real- world scenarios. Also, it allows the development team to check if the final product is working according to specifications laid out during the designing phase.

UAT involves testers that are people from the intended audience. Further, it records and corrects defects that users. During UAT or beta testing, users interact with the web app software and find out how everything works. Moreover, the UAT process must assess if the system can support day-to-day business and user scenarios. It ascertains if the order is sufficient and suitable for business usage. Thus, it validates the web apps against the business requirements.

Being the last step in the web app development trajectory, UAT follows thorough system testing of the web app. In the case of commercial web apps for B2B businesses, clients enjoy the access to the products ahead of the time. It is best to choose the team of UAT members internally from every group of the customer organization. This helps in thorough testing of each user role. Testing teams then wait around for feedback from them. In the case of B2C web apps, actual users perform UAT.

Why is User Acceptance Testing an Integral Part of Every Web Application Development Process?

Various types of testing, like functional testing and regression testing, validate the software against the technical specifications. Web application testers interpret the customer requirements and test data according to their own superior knowledge. However, just because a web application functions properly doesn’t mean it will be well-received by its intended audience. Very often, app developers work with a tunnel vision on an app for long periods. That is why they fail to evaluate anything with a clear perspective when it comes to front-facing frameworks of a web app. Thus, the need for user acceptance testing.

UAT is crucial to the web app testing process as it validates the final product against all the business requirements before its launch in the market. UAT features the use of live data and real use cases, making it a crucial component of the release cycle. Conclusively, the test results from UAT depend on the perspective of the end-users. Additonally, they also depend on the domain knowledge of a department that represents the end- users.

Moreover, successful user acceptance testing takes care of post-release bugs, errors, or even lousy user experience of a web app product — timely fixing these defects before the web app is released, reduces the chances of negative impressions or reviews. Otherwise, the cost of repairing imperfections after a web app is published on the market is much higher and incurs significant losses for a business.

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Types of Web Application User Acceptance Testing

1. Alpha Testing
2. Beta Testing
3. Contract Acceptance Testing
4. Regulation Acceptance Testing
5. Operational Acceptance Testing

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Web Application User Acceptance Testing Best Practices that ASTAQC Team Swears By

UAT testing is a crucial step in the web app testing process. UAT test managers ensure prolific quality control of a web application before it is shipped out to the audiences.

Here is a list of web app UAT best practices that ASTAQC team swears by

Set Acceptance Criteria

The foremost thing about an effective user acceptance testing process is to consider the critical acceptance criteria. World-class web apps are a product of calculated software testing processes. Businesses need to enlist different things that need calculations before taking on the product. Analysis of critical business functionalities concerning the business industry is enough to set an acceptance criterion.

Detail Out Test Assignments

The main aim behind UAT is to assess if the web app can support simpler operations it intends to perform. Software testers must create all tasks and assignments for UAT based on real-world scenarios. Thus, test scenarios should adequately represent a user journey. Further, executing the test should be done concerning the high-level requirements of client businesses. All test cases must cover a specific usage scenario of the product. It is best if the test scenarios specify test steps in layman’s language instead of the difficult to understand business-oriented language. Stick to the user’s language when describing a task. Aim for highly focused testing assignments and create a test plan that caters to specific areas of concern.

Initiate UAT Early and Often

Sometimes, the software development process of web apps saves UAT for later in the development process, when the product is close to the delivery date. This would be a risky approach for the success of web apps. Because conducting UAT late in the app development cycle delays the discovery of any misunderstanding of requirements by the development team. It can also escalate the costs of fixing. Thus, regardless of the product development process, UAT must be integrated as a planned activity that should be scheduled across the life of the project.

Focusing on the Right Questions

Never undermine the importance of the right questions when it comes to user acceptance testing. Testers need to answer questions that concern loading times, resource consumption, output, and the input and scenarios of app crashes. They must figure out if the web application behaves exactly as its intention and if there are any troubles, etc. during UAT. Asking the right kind of question ensures that the testing team can perform user acceptance testing in better ways to ensure the product is working effectively.

Avoid Finding Defects, But Clarify Findings

The aim of UAT is not to find the maximum number of defects. QA testers must acknowledge all defects during the previous phases of testing. However, if a user sees a bug on a web app during the UAT, that wasn’t reported by the quality assurance department, it is terrible news. Mainly speaking, UAT is about tracking user responses on interaction with a product.

On completion of UAT, test participants may report issues, change requests, or demand functionalities. Given that the actual users perform UAT and not professional testers, the findings from the testing can be a bit ambiguous and non-technical. Thus, it’s beneficial to spend some time with the user to clarify the results. This can be done by conducting a quick after-testing interview with test participants.

Web Application User Acceptance Testing Tools that ASTAQC Team Swears By

Numerous tools are available on the market for efficient user acceptance testing. ASTAQC team used UAT automation tools like:

1. FitNesse
2. Selenium
3. SoapUI

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Why ASTAQC for User Acceptance Testing of Web Applications?

User acceptance testing contributes towards improving the overall quality of your end products. Incorporating user acceptance testing is the software development life cycle of a web app project that significantly reduces the probability of unexpected issues. Successfully conducted UAT brings confidence to the development team and the business before the final launch.

At ASTQC, we design UAT test cases around the communications received from the end-users of the web apps. We intentionally keep our test cases broad to allow the testers to navigate freely to complete tasks. The ASTAQC team also triages the test feedback and prioritizes it based on its severity level. We bring in the client to confirm which feedback needs immediate clarification, should be acted on and what errors should receive the highest priority. The policy at ASTAQC headquarters keeps the feedback and remediation cycles concise. We think UAT is the best way to find out if a web app fits for the purpose for which it is put in front of the users.

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