What is Acceptance testing or User Acceptance Testing (UAT)?

After the machine test has corrected all or most flaws, the machine will be sent to the user or client for Acceptance Testing or User Acceptance Testing (UAT).

·         Acceptance testing is essentially done by the user or customer although other stakeholders may be involved also.

·         The objective of approval testing would be to build confidence in the system.

·         Acceptance testing may occur at more than just one level, such as:

·         A Commercial Off the shelf (COTS) software product could be acceptance tested when it's installed or integrated.

·         Acceptance testing of the usability of the component might be done during part testing.

The types of acceptance testing are:

The User Acceptance test: focuses primarily on the performance thereby validating the fitness-for-use of the system by the company user. The consumer acceptance test is done by the consumers and application managers.

The Operational Acceptance evaluation: also called Production approval test ascertain if the system meets the prerequisites for operation. In the majority of the business the operational acceptance test is done by the system administration before the machine is released. The operational approval test could include analyzing of backup/restore, disaster restoration, maintenance tasks and periodic check of safety vulnerabilities.

Contract Acceptance testing: This is performed against the contract's approval criteria for generating custom developed applications. Acceptance should be officially defined when the contract has been agreed.

Compliance approval testing: it's also called regulation acceptance testing is performed contrary to the regulations which must be adhered to, such as governmental, safety or legal regulations.