User Acceptance Testing: A step-by-step guide

by Brian Hambling, Pauline van Goethem

Every information system brought into service in every type of organisation requires user acceptance testing. It is by far the most common activity carried out by non-IT specialists. This book is designed to be a hands-on manual for non-testing specialists to plan and carry out an effective acceptance test of an information system. It provides a structured and step-by-step approach to effective acceptance testing and identifies ways of making the process as simple and cost-effective as possible.

Genres: Nonfiction

225 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2013

Reviews

[Swimmer Runner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great step by step guide for user acceptance testing. Knowledge presented in the book can be widely used in testing field.

[BCS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Projects involving the development of software for information systems are regularly plagued with major problems; all too often, when the finished system is put into use, it does not live up to the expectations of the interested parties, as it is not capable of providing the functionality that was required. In far too many cases, the end product is rejected as completely unusable, despite considerable effort and enormous sums of money having been spent over a long period of time.

For this reason, it is clearly important that the new product or system is rigorously tested during the development phase to ensure that it meets the specific requirements of the client; and that before it goes live, a full end-to-end test of the functionality proves that it will perform in the way that the customer wanted.

This book delivers exactly what is described on the cover; a detailed guide to the process of user acceptance testing, including a number of sections that amply justify the approach put forward. It highlights the need for the product to be tested at the key stages, and demonstrates some suitable testing techniques. It draws upon a considerable amount of experience and the reports of many different projects in a wide range of sectors, to provide some valuable insight into the best practices of systems testing.

It is a really excellent book; well written, carefully structured and in a format that makes it easy to read and understand the topic. The text is regularly broken up by different bullet point lists, tables, diagrams and comment boxes, all of which make it a very engaging read. This makes what might be quite a dry subject something that could easily appeal to people with a wide variety of skill levels, and gives clear guidance on how to develop a testing regime that will help to avoid some of the worst problems and deliver a more valuable system.

It’s clearly intended to be read from end to end; although if necessary, it would be possible to refer back to key sections quite easily, as they can be taken out of context without losing the value of the message. Although there are some technical items within the pages, it could still be read and enjoyed by most laymen; and especially those end users that the authors recommend undertake part of the testing process.

This is an absolute must-read for anyone involved in systems development.

Reviewed by A P Sutcliffe, PG Dip CCI, MBCS

[Christophe Addinquy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave a bunch of interest in acceptance testing. The next logical step would be for me the UAT. You know, the tests that check how the system is useful to the tasks at hand. In short, testing if the requirements effectively tackle the business goals. There are not so many books about it, maybe this one would effectively be the only one.
Unfortunately, this text focus on the good old (very old) scenario testing, the ones that revamp human beeing into dumb monkeys. The testing process is effectively that here: az process, long and painful. I felt back 20 years ago. Not what I expected.
Ma note de lecture en Français ici

[Tai Zhang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed go though the whole cycle of UAT, I think it is also applicable for the SIT or any other testing stage.

[Rouli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful in understanding UAT process. The book refers to ISTQB (International Standard of Software Testing Qualifications Board) which is good for testers.

[Paul Pryce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok book, read in conjunction with a UAT role I was assigned to. I think the book wasn’t so much “perfect world” rather the project itself was out of control.