Making UAT More

Effective

Jim Trentadue
Software Quality Consulting Director
Original Software
jtrentadue@origsoft.com

www.origsoft.com | © Original Software 1

Agenda

1 UAT in IT

2 Defining UAT within the overall test effort

3 Supporting UAT from an IT perspective

4 Enabling UAT Planning

5 Enabling UAT Execution

6 Session Recap

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UAT in IT

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 UAT in the IT Industry
Role in the various SDLC methodologies

Waterfall Agile
www.softwaretestingsoftware.com

Identify
Execute Verify UAT Report UAT UAT
Plan UAT UAT
UAT Tests defect fixes results Signoff
Scenarios

• Define Scope • Review • Execute & • Rerun impacted • Go / No Go Call

of UAT Business Reqs, Document UAT Scenarios
Use Cases and Results
UI Design
• Log UAT
• Document UAT Defects
Test Scenarios

Test Cases?

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 Automation for everyone – even UAT
Shift-Left to Reduce Errors, Shift-Right for Better Quality

Shift Right!
Skillset Spectrum

More Technical, No Coding Skills

More Specialists Required
Project
Team Goal:
Pro’s Con’s Pro’s Con’s

Cheaper or Significant Do Testing Increased Higher entry

free software investment to utilization of point cost to
implement
Better! automation buy or build
Better-known Requires Automation Potentially
in market place specialized done earlier by longer to
resources everyone implement

Dev, DBA, QA Specialist BA, Functional QA, UAT

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Defining UAT

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Defining UAT – Testing Assessment
First, understand the risk and strike a proper balance
Risk Assessment

Is there an SQA team?

Independent QA team
executes system tests?
Yes No
Is UAT the only active
testing group?

Ensuring we have
different roles!

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 Defining UAT - Dividing Responsibilities
Understanding Breadth vs. Depth testing approaches

LOGIN MENU ORDER INVENTORY PROCESSING CONFIRMATION REPORTS

• Login as Manager (Full access)

• Login as Supervisor (Administrative access)
LOGIN • Login as User (Limited access)

• Access order A (Requires full or admin access)

• Access order A (Should be able to access)
MENU • Access order A (Negative test – should not be able to access)

• Process order A
• Process order A
ORDER • Process order B (Does not require full or admin access)

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Supporting UAT

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Responsible parties for UAT
Who is responsible for a successful UAT initiative
Successful UAT with minimal disruption to the business

Business knowledge EVERYTHING! Coordination

and Training Guides and Training
$$$
Business
Schedules Usability Environments Business Impact

External Customers
Testing Department
Business Analysts
Project Managers

Business Users
IT Operations
Developers

UAT Lead
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Testing Department support for UAT
EVERYTHING!
Planning
Test Strategy – UAT part
Acceptance Test assist
Test Data approach
Requirements Training outline
Stories Strategy
Design Backlog
Prototype / Demo Status
Test Plans / Cases Test Results
Test Summary Defects
Retrospectives Execution Product Readiness
Defects
Scenario sharing
Environment preparation
Test Data setup
Defect retest

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Key questions & concerns
Is this just an IT problem?

Enough business
interest to allot
time?

Who is
accountable for
success?

How can UAT

improve?

Technical
Enablement

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Enabling UAT Planning

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 Enabling UAT Planning: Estimation
How should UAT be estimated for planning & execution?

Estimation

Current Situation Improvement

Fraction of Plan lacking Systematically

time taken for other from UAT
from QA business regression
estimate deadlines test runs

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 Enabling UAT Planning: Test Assets
How much document assistance does SQA provide?

Test Assets

Current Situation Improvement

Re-create Commitment Maintain test

UAT scripts or from UAT staff repository of
take existing on completing UAT-created
SQA tests testing tasks artifacts

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 Enabling UAT Planning: Test Mgmt. access
Who coordinates what UAT needs / does in TM solution?

Test Management

Current Situation Improvement

Unclear what System tests / UAT specific

access UAT scenarios are view & access
needs into TM given to UAT for relevant
repository to modify information

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 Enabling UAT Planning: Test Automation use
Who creates / runs the automation and for what purpose?

Test Automation

Current Situation Improvement

Test engineer Automation is Biz process

created tests executed by steps capture
based from system tester; done by UAT,
system tests validation only used by UAT

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 Enabling UAT Planning: Training artifacts
Does UAT have to re-execute to produce training materials?

Training

Current Situation Improvement

UAT focuses No schedule Enable UAT

on executing allocation for with markup
test, not for training docs feature during
training doc production test execution

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Enabling UAT Execution

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 Enabling UAT Execution: Accountability
Who has it from IT and Business?

Accountability

Current Situation Improvement

Direct input:
What is done
IT plans 50%+ Biz dedicates
resource time colleague for Who did it
for UAT strictly UAT When did they
Coordination Coordination
Where was it

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 Enabling UAT Execution: Testing Status report
Who did it? What did they do? Where did they test?

Testing Status

Current Situation Improvement

Frequent Lack of time,

checkpoint priority shift; Clear visibility
and status defect ties to UAT results
updates back to SQA

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 Enabling UAT Execution: Continuous Testing
How can we turn this into automatic maintainability?

Productivity

Current Situation Improvement

Constantly File location Continuous

re-engineer holds test that updates to
test cases are outdated; UAT artifacts;
for accuracy maintenance! Shift Right!

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 EST
Solution Implementation /

TC
Framework Modification

Test Management access

TM
Test Automation through

TA
Test Management access
Recap of Better UAT procedures

Test Management access

TR

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ACC

Test Management access

REP

Solution Implementation /
CT

Framework Modification
23
Process Review for UAT Planning & Execution
Session Recap

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Presentation Recap
Key takeaways for UAT effectiveness

Understand where UAT falls within the SDLC and where they are
positioned for Test Automation

Define where UAT is within the Testing organization and how

responsibilities are divided

Outline who are the main parties supporting UAT, especially those
roles within the Testing department

Review the means which UAT Planning can be more efficient,

through solutions or framework build in Test Mgmt. system

Review the means which UAT Execution can be more effective,

through dynamic result reporting and test case maintenance

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 Thank you for attending
this presentation!

Jim Trentadue
Software Quality Consulting Director
Original Software
jtrentadue@origsoft.com

www.origsoft.com | © Original Software 26