productionacceptance

Production acceptance refers to the formal process by which a product, system, or manufacturing process is evaluated to determine whether it meets predefined requirements and is suitable for production use. It sits between development or commissioning and full-scale production. In manufacturing contexts, Production Acceptance Testing (PAT) often follows Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT) and Site Acceptance Tests (SAT) and may be integrated with installation and qualification steps such as IQ (Installation Qualification), OQ (Operational Qualification), and PQ (Performance Qualification) in regulated industries. In software and systems engineering, production acceptance may overlap with release readiness, user acceptance testing, and go-live approvals, focusing on production readiness criteria rather than feature validation alone.

Acceptance criteria are defined in advance in requirements, design specifications, quality plans, and risk assessments. Typical criteria cover functional compliance, performance, reliability, safety, compatibility, documentation, and operability under expected production conditions. The process includes planning, test execution, measurement, non-conformance handling, corrective actions, and formal sign-off by responsible parties, including quality assurance and customer or product owner representation.

Outcomes include formal approval to begin or continue production, release to customers, or, if criteria are not met, a rejection with corrective actions and retesting. Regulatory and standards considerations—such as ISO 9001, IATF 16949, GMP, or industry-specific guidelines—often shape documentation requirements and approval workflows. Production acceptance aims to minimize risk, ensure traceability, and provide a verified transition from development or testing to operational use.