Here is a link to a presentation about UAT phase. Main goal here was to discuss UAT phase with the customer, mainly clarify expectations, discuss typical issues we were facing on some projects and give to the customer some tips how to handle UAT:

UAT project phase

We expect Partners will have similar rules for UAT phase like we have on our own projects, so the main responsibility for UAT is on customers and Partners can help in case customer needs some advice about preparation, training of UAT testers, monitoring or testing.

Here are basic topics Partners can share with customers:

• Quick overview of UAT phase

• Tips for smooth UAT

• Acceptance

UAT phase main goals

1. final verification of E2E business cases on QA partition

   • final check that Pricefx sw does what is expected to support customer’s business

   • finish the development phase officially and start using Pricefx sw on Prod partition on production data

Typical misunderstandings about UAT phase

1. Some customers just repeated what was tested during Feature Sprints - however UAT test cases should be created and used for UAT testing. The main difference is that E2E process should be covered during UAT testing, not just particular functionality testing

   • Sometimes there are a lot of change requests submitted during UAT phase - however the customer should respect the scope for the project was already defined and there is not space for new development at the end of the project. New change requests can be part of the scope for the next phase of development.

   • Some customers expect that UAT testers will just start at the beginning of UAT phase - however typically it is not possible as they need at least basic training of Pricefx sw, instructions about the project scope and expectations from them and UAT test cases must be created for them in advanced

Customer main responsibilities for UAT phase

1. Create UAT test cases and test based on them on QA partition

   • Report bugs as soon as possible after testing

   • Final acceptance of the solution after all tests were performed and bugs were fixed

Tips for smooth UAT

• Choose a test management tool for UAT:

  • In Pricefx we are using X-Ray in Jira, but you as Partner can use a test management tool based on your choice and share it with the customer

  • Note that Excel is not a test management tool - it can be used when no other tool is available, but typically it needs more time for administration

• Create UAT test cases during Feature Sprints:

  • they should cover E2E business cases

  • they should not just repeat test cases from Feature Sprints

  • keep in mind they will be performed by UAT testers, so they should be detailed enough

  • prioritize UAT test cases so testing can start from the most important test cases

• Select group of UAT testers:

  • Typically they are SMEs which will use the sw in production

  • Keep in mind, they are typically not trained as software testers, and that they usually have also other work to do

  • Check that they will have time for UAT testing - at least 2-3 hours a day is strongly recommended

• Choose UAT test lead:

  • it should be somebody from the project team who knows the scope and the design

  • it should be somebody who can help to UAT testers with their questions and requests

  • UAT testers should report to him

• Training of UAT testers:

  • at least basic training should be done before UAT phase

  • be sure UAT testers know the scope and what is expected from them

  • verify in advance that UAT testers have access to all tools they will need for UAT

• Testing and reporting results every day:

  • UAT testers should test based on their UAT test cases every day and they should report their progress to UAT test lead every day - it is not about detailed administration, but about monitoring the progress

  • In case a bug was found, it should be reported immediately to Jira or other project tool you are using

  • UAT testers should start with top priority test cases

  • UAT test lead should check the testing progress every day

  • as soon as bugs are fixed and deployed, they should be retested as soon as possible

• Final retest when all bugs are fixed:

  • There should be code freeze at least several days before the end of UAT phase

  • At least top priority UAT test cases should be retested again

Final Acceptance

• After all UAT test cases were tested

• Ideally all bugs should be fixed

• In case some bugs were not fixed yet, Go-Live is still possible, based on PMs decision - it is typically possible in case there are no critical bugs open

• Bugs which were not fixed in UAT phase can be fixed during Stabilization Phase

• Please keep in mind that Acceptance is necessary for Go-Live and for using Pfx sw in production - some customer are waiting with final acceptance and they are not aware of postponing Go-Live and seeing benefits from using the Pfx sw