uat

User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is the final phase of software testing in which the intended users or business stakeholders validate that a software system meets the defined business requirements and is ready for deployment. UAT focuses on whether the software supports real-world tasks and workflows, rather than on purely technical correctness. The goal is to obtain formal acceptance from the customer or sponsor before the system goes into production.

Participants typically include end users, business owners, a UAT lead or coordinator, and often a project or product manager. The testing usually occurs in a staging or UAT environment that mirrors production, with data prepared to reflect realistic scenarios. Test scenarios and cases are designed from requirements, user stories, and business processes to validate critical workflows, usability, and overall fit with existing operating practices.

The UAT process generally follows planning and design of test cases, preparation of a suitable test environment and data, execution of tests, and documentation of results. Defects discovered during UAT are reported to the development team, prioritized, and retested once resolved. Acceptance criteria are tracked, and, once all criteria are satisfied, stakeholders provide formal sign-off indicating readiness for go-live.

Entry criteria typically include completion of prior testing phases and availability of key business representatives, while exit criteria require that critical and major defects are resolved or accepted, all acceptance criteria are met, and a go/no-go decision is approved. UAT is performed after system and integration testing and before production deployment, and may be referred to as alpha testing (internal users) or beta testing (external users) in some contexts. Common challenges include ambiguous requirements, limited tester availability, data privacy concerns, and changes in scope during testing.