How to Plan User Acceptance Testing

Alongside determining the scope and strategy, a plan will need to be set out, which plans the testing process’s timeframe. Setting out a plan can increase the testing project’s efficiency and demonstrate to stakeholders the expectations they should have of the testing stages.

When mapping out the testing, ensure you’re factoring in a practical timescale and suits the UAT manager, users and business objectives. It will also need to be flexible to change as factors of the project will inevitably influence it.

Outline the Test Plan

• Outline the strategy into weekly segments
• How realistic is this approach?
• Where are the compromises?
• What are the risks?
• Get feedback from product teams, business users and stakeholders for the time process.

Determine Resources Needed

• Assess the resources needed
  • Where do they need to be implemented?
  • Skills associated with the resources
  • How available and accessible are the resources
  • Can they be supplemented?

Assess the Role and Impact of Interfaces and Other Systems

Any capable and meaningful application and software undergoing UAT will connect to other applications, internally and potentially externally. This can complicate the change, which extends the coverage and nature of test cases and resources you may need to assess the impact of changes as many businesses operate over several integrated solutions.

Things to consider:

• Will the impact on other software mean more teams need to be involved?
• Do you have existing linked test environments to support this end-to-end testing?
• The impact of changes on test cases and data

Setting out a detailed plan with timescales and communicating it with internal stakeholders and users demonstrates accountability of the project and where resources may be needed.

Download the free Ultimate UAT Guide today and receive a documented exploration of the process and ways to optimize your next UAT project to understand better the effects of changing software.