Acceptance Testing

Finding defects is not the main focus of acceptance testing!

It’s to establish confidence in the system.

Typically performed by the end-users or testers simulating end-users.

It’s not about technical correctness—but validating that the system delivers what the users and business expect.

It’s to answer questions such as “Does this fulfill my needs as a user?” and “Does it provide the required user experience that will encourage me to use and get value from the system?”

Functional and non-functional testing.

Test basis:

User requirements
System requirements
Use cases
Business processes
Risk analysis reports

Test objects:

Business, operational, maintenance, and processes
Procedures
Forms and reports

Two types: UAT and OAT

User Acceptance Testing (UAT)

Verifies fitness for use by users
Typically the responsibility of the users

Operational Acceptance Testing (OAT)

Verifies the fitness for use of the system by system administrators
Done by system administrators

For example:

Restore from backup
Disaster recovery
User management
Maintenance tasks
Data load and migration
Security vulnerability testing

Contract and regulation acceptance (e.g., government, legal, safety).

Alpha testing is done at the vendor’s site, while Beta testing is done at the customer’s site.