7thchapter Uat

User Acceptance Testing 1. ACCEPTANCE TESTING CONCEPTS Acceptance testing is a formal testing conducted to determine whether a software system satisfies its acceptance criteria and to enable the buyer to determine whether to accept the system. Acceptance testing at delivery is usually the final opportunity for the buyer to examine the software and to seek redress from the developer for insufficient or incorrect software. To reduce the risk of problems arising at delivery or during operation, the buyer must become involved with software acceptance early in the acquisition process. Software Acceptance is an incremental process of approving or rejecting software systems during development or maintenance, according to how well the software satisfies predefined criteria Acceptance decision occur at pre-specified times when processes, support tools, interim documentation, Segments of the software and finally the total software system must meet predefined criteria for acceptance The Final Acceptance Decision occurs with verification that the delivered documentation is adequate and consistent with the executable system and that the complete software system meets all buyer requirements Formal Final software Acceptance testing must occur at the end of the software Development process. It consists of test to determine whether the developed system meets predetermined functionality, performance, quality and interface criteria A life Cycle for Software acceptance enables:          

Early detection of software Problem Preparation of Appropriate test facilities Early consideration of the user’s needs during software development Accountability for software acceptance belongs to the user of the software User Involvement in developing system requirements and acceptance criteria Identify interim and final products for acceptance Plan how and by whom each acceptance activity will be performed Plan resources for providing information on which to base acceptance decisions Schedule adequate time for buyer staff to receive products Prepare the acceptance Plan Perform the final acceptance activities, including formal acceptance testing, at delivery

Acceptance testing is designed to determine whether the software is fit for use . The four components for fit for use  Data – the reliability, timeless, Consistency, and usefulness of the data included in the automated application  People – People should have the skills, training, aptitude, and desire to properly use and interact with the automated application  Structure – The structure is the proper development of application systems to optimize technology and satisfy requirements

[email protected]

User Acceptance Testing  Rules – The rules are the procedures to follow in processing the data ACCEPTANCE TESTING

SYSTEM TESTING

Acceptance testing is performed by user

System testing performed by developers

personal and may include assistant by

and/or software testers

software testers System testing should be performed before Acceptance Testing Acceptance testing Should focus on input

System testing will focus on determining

processing, use of the software in the

whether or not the software

organization, and whether or not the

specifications have been implemented as

specifications meet the true processing

specified.

needs of the user. Acceptance testing is considered to be

System testing is done by integrating the

the final stage of validation. This is the

component of a system and any defect

time to see that the system under test

that occurs in the system is due to the

meets the users needs and provides

defect in the integration of the system,

confidence in its use

but not in the individual components

Acceptance testing is the process of

These tests check for factors such as

comparing a program to its requirements

Cross-Tool testing, memory management and other operating system factors

Acceptance must be performed by the actual user's and their Assistants including consultants, auditors, internal systems staff, etc. The actual software and hardware configuration (or equivalent configuration) must be tested The actual policies, procedures, manuals, operations, organization structure, and controls that will be in place and required to meet the stated objectives of the Systems must be used in the test.

[email protected]

User Acceptance Testing

2. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY USER’S ROLE  In acceptance testing begins with the user making the determination as to whether acceptance testing will or will not occur.  If acceptance testing is to occur the user has primary responsibility for planning and conducting acceptance testing.  It’s assumes that the users have the necessary testing competency to develop and execute an acceptance test plan. If the user does not have the needed competency to develop and execute an acceptance test plan the user will need to acquire that competency from other organization or outsource the activity.  Defining acceptance criteria in a testable format.  Providing the use case that will be used in acceptance testing.  Training user personnel, for acceptance testing.  Providing the necessary resources, primarily user staff personnel, for acceptance testing  Comparing the actual testing results with the desire acceptance testing results  Making decisions as to whether additional work is needed prior to placing the software in operation , whether the software can be placed in operation with addition work to be done, or whether the software is fully acceptable and can be placed in to production as is  If the software does not meet the user needs, but will be placed in to operation, the user must develop a strategy to anticipate problems and pre-define the actions to be taken should those problems occur SOFTWARE TESTERS ROLE  First is no involvement at all - In that instance the user accepts full responsibility for developing and executing the acceptance test plan  The second role is that of an advisor – The user will develop and execute the test plan  The third role is active participant – This role can include any or the entire acceptance testing activities  Software tester will develop a process for defining acceptance criteria  Software tester will develop a process for building an acceptance test plan  Software tester will develop a process to execute the test plan, and develop a process for recording and presenting the results of acceptance testing

[email protected]

User Acceptance Testing 3. ACCEPTANCE TEST PLANNING ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA  Acquire full knowledge of the application  Understand the risks and benefits of the development methodology  Fully understand the consequences of adding new functions to enhance the system Four categories of Acceptance requirements  Functionality – It’s related to Business rule that the system must execute  Performance – It’s relate to operational aspects, such as resource/time constraints  Interface Quality – Connection from one component to another component of processing  Overall software Quality- Specify limits for attributes (Quality factors ) Acceptance Criteria Sample

Required information

[email protected]

User Acceptance Testing User Responsibility for Acceptance Criteria  The user has the responsibility of ensuring that acceptance criteria contain pass or fail criteria  For specific software systems, users must examine their projects’ characteristics and criticality in order to develop expanded lists of acceptance criteria for those software systems  The user must also establish acceptance criteria for individual elements of a product (should be numeric value or a range of values) ACCEPTANCE TEST PLAN  The first step to achieve software acceptance is the simultaneous development of a Software Acceptance Plan, general project plans, and software requirements to ensure that user needs are represented correctly and completely.  Acceptance managers define the objectives of the acceptance activities and a plan for meeting them  After the initial Software Acceptance Plan has been prepared, reviewed and approved, the acceptance manager is responsible for implementing the plan and assuring that the plan’s objectives are met What should be included in a Software Acceptance Plan?  The first section of the plan is an overview of the software development or maintenance project, followed by major sections for management responsibilities and administrative matters  The plans overview section describes the technical program for software acceptance  The plan must include the techniques and tools that will be utilized in acceptance testing  Two categories of testing techniques can be used in acceptance testing: structural and functional  Functional testing techniques help ensure that the requirements/specifications are properly satisfied by the software system  Structural testing ensures sufficient checking of the implementation of the function by finding test data that will force sufficient coverage of the structured presence in the implemented software USE CASE TEST DATA

[email protected]

User Acceptance Testing

 use case is a test case which represents how the software will be used in operation  A use case is built on a business transaction and can be test data or a test script  Unit testing will attempt to determine whether there are any variances between unit specifications and the unit as it is executed  Integration testing will attempt to determine if there is a variance between specified integration and actual integration  System testing will validate that the system will perform as specified  The test cases and scripts used for these three levels of testing are focused more on the components of the software than business transactions An individual use case consists of:  Preconditions that set the stage for the series of events that should occur for the use case  Post-conditions that state the expected outcomes of the above process  Sequential narrative of the execution of the use case 4. ACCEPTANCE TEST EXECUTION EXECUTE THE ACCEPTANCE TEST PLAN  The objective is to determine whether the acceptance criteria have been met in a delivered product  Through reviews, which involve looking at the interim products and partially developed deliverables at various points throughout the dev. Process.  Through testing the executable software system  The determination of which of these techniques to use will depend on the criticality of the software, the size of the software program, the resources involved, and the time period over which the software is being developed  Software acceptance criteria should be specified in the formal project plan  Acceptance decisions need a framework in which to operate  A disciplined acceptance program for software of any type may include reviews as a formal mechanism  Some software acceptance activities may include testing pieces of the software; formal software acceptance testing occurs at the point in the development life cycle when the user accepts or rejects the software

[email protected]

User Acceptance Testing ACCEPTANCE DECISION  Final acceptance of software based on software acceptance testing usually means that the software project has been completed, with the exception of any caveats or contingencies  Final acceptance for the software occurs and the developer has no further development obligations  Typical acceptance decisions include:  Required changes are accepted before progressing to the next activity  Some changes must be made and accepted before further development of that section of the product; other changes may be made and accepted at the next major review  Progress may continue and changes may be accepted at the next review  No changes are required and progress may continue

[email protected]