What is Acceptance Testing? Discussing in Details

We all know software is a set of instructions telling a computer what to do. That means the computer needs a particular software if anyone wants to execute any specific tasks. And thus, it has become an inseparable part of human life; people can not spend a single day without using the software.

However, sometimes this software needs to be evaluated and verified. Software testing is done to identify whether the software product is working properly. Whether the product matches the expected requirements or not.

Therefore, among all types of software testing, there is a technique known as Acceptance Testing. This article will learn about every detail of this testing type.

What is Acceptance Testing?

Although the software has passed all the 3 initial testing levels,  there may be some errors that can be identified while it is under use from the user’s point of view. That is where Acceptance Testing comes to use.

According to the Acceptance Testing definition, it is a formal type of testing based on the requirements and function processing of the user. Therefore, this type of testing is used to determine whether the software works according to the specified requirements.

Additionally, it kind of resembles black box testing, where a group of users attesting the acceptance level of the system. It is the 4th at the last level of software testing.

During this testing,  the main point of concentration is the features used regularly by the customer. Generally, this acceptance testing play is done by a domain expert customer so that he can verify whether this software will be satisfactory for the other users.

What is the use of Acceptance Testing?

Since Acceptance testing is the last level of the complete software testing process,  it is crucial as it helps to find the last minor mistakes in the software before it is officially launched.

Here are some important uses of Acceptance Testing.

  • While performing Software Acceptance Testing, the business users have a chance to check whether everything in the software is according to their expectations.
  • During this testing type, the users get a chance to be the final product to check whether the software application works according to their given requirements. This testing procedure also ensures that the requirements have been communicated and implemented properly.
  • Furthermore, the users from the business side will perform the Acceptance Testing in software engineering,  play they will have more awkward ideas than the end users need. Can the reviews of the feedback received during acceptance testing be quite helpful for the next releases? The development team can avoid those same mistakes for any future release.
  • Lastly, if the application has some major or critical issues, they can be identified during this acceptance testing add, not when the software Is under use by the customer. These issues can be resolved before The code goes into the production environment.

Types of Acceptance Testing

Under the domain of Acceptance Testing, there are some varieties of testing. Among them, there are seven types of Acceptance Testing types.

Alpha Testing

This form of Acceptance Testing usually takes place at the developer‘s site. Therefore, it is carried out by the in-house developers and the Quality Analyst team.

Not only that but some potential end users also perform it. It is not open to the world type of testing. This type of black box testing also has a touch of white box testing.

Beta Testing

This type of Acceptance Testing is usually performed at the user’s site or the customer’s site. This testing takes place only after the alpha testing, and the environment in which it is performed is the real-world environment in which there is no presence or control of any developer.

During Beta Testing, the software or the applications are open to the whole world in the form of beta versions. Therefore, these beta testing are a completely black box.

User Acceptance Testing

User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is the type of Acceptance Testing in software engineering that verifies that a solution works for a particular user. The developed application is accessed from the user’s point of view to see whether it works as per the user’s requirements.

This testing is performed by the company employees who are developing the software. It is also known as end-user testing, which follows the mode of black box testing.

Business Acceptance Testing

This testing procedure is used to assess the developed application from a business point of view. It is quite useful for checking whether the developed application or software is worthy of fulfilling the business goals.

There are independent testing teams who perform the business acceptance testing. Every member of this team has very precise knowledge of the client’s domain and business. It is also known to be the superset of User Acceptance Testing.

Regulations Acceptance Testing

Regulation acceptance testing has also been named compliance acceptance testing. This type of testing is checked to determine whether the system complies with the rules and regulations of the country where the software is going to be released.

This type of Acceptance Testing is only used for a product released internationally. If the software or the application passes the regulations of a particular country,  then only it can be released in that country.

Operational Acceptance Testing

This type of acceptability test is usually conducted to recheck the operational readiness of a product, that is, how much it is prepared to be released in the market. It is a type of non-functional testing. The operational acceptance testing includes testing backups or restore facilities, user manuals, security checks, and other maintenance tasks. 

How to do Acceptance Testing?

Acceptance Testing is usually performed multiple times because all the cases may not be quite helpful with single test iterations. Moreover, this type of testing is operated with the help of predefined acceptance test procedures, which acts as a direction to the testers.

This acceptability test procedure includes which data to use, step by step process, and the expected result after the execution. The actual results are kept so that the expected results can be compared.

If the actual results match the expected results received after the execution, the software is known to have passed the acceptance testing process.

There may be a few anticipated results after successful Acceptance Test execution –

  • The test cases are executed with the help of predetermined data.
  • The actual results have been recorded.
  • Both the actual and expected results have been compared.
  • Lastly, all the test results have been determined.

The main objective of Software Acceptance Testing is to provide confidence that the developed software meets both the functional and non-functional requirements.

Once the software or the product pass is the acceptance testing; we can see that it has met all the acceptance criteria that the customers or the users usually set.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Acceptance Testing

Advantages

  • This testing procedure helps the developers to know all the requirements after the users have tested it directly.
  • The acceptance testing procedure establishes confidence in the system or application and reduces the bugs in the system after getting reviews from users.
  • It is also a very less expensive procedure since it does not require any other tool or any kind of destination to perform the testing.
  • This software testing helps the clients and makes them satisfied and confident as they are directly involved with the testing procedure.
  • It is also very helpful for the users as they can directly describe their requirements and a complete automatic test execution process.
  • Since Acceptance Testing covers only the black box testing process, it helps to check the complete functionality of the product.

Disadvantages

  • This process requires basic knowledge about the software or the application to be tested. Thus the users need that knowledge to carry out the acceptance testing.
  • This procedure completely depends on the will of the users. Sometimes, the users do not want to participate in the Acceptance Testing process. It makes it difficult for the acceptance testing to move forward.
  • Sometimes, the users may deviate and focus on comparing the software with some other big software instead of finding its defects.
  • It is quite a time-consuming process as the feedback for the testing involves many users, and the opinions may differ from one user to another. It makes the process quite lengthy.
  • Since the development team does not participate in the testing process,  it becomes difficult for them to understand what some users want.

Acceptance vs. Integration Testing

There is another type of testing in this complete software testing procedure which is known as Integration Testing. Although software engineers use both acceptance and integration testing, these two processes are used in completely different scenarios. There is some key difference between these two procedures.

Time of Using

The developers use both processes, but the time to use them is completely different.

The developers use the integration testing earlier in the complete software testing process; the Acceptance Testing is the final step. They use integration testing even when the software is incomplete, but that is not the case for acceptance testing. To perform the acceptance testing, the software needs to be complete.

Location

Integration Testing is the method of evaluating the software, which is performed only by the developers.

In contrast, in Acceptance Testing, the testing is performed by the clients as well as the developers so that the user requirement is fulfilled. It is the reason behind integration testing within the developer’s office.

However, the client doing the Beta Testing can perform the acceptance testing from the comfort of their home.

Area of Focus

It is another important difference between the two testing procedures. Integration Testing generally ensures that the various components within the program or application are working well. At the same time, Acceptance Testing focuses on the use of the system by the client. Also, how the system works as a complete unit instead of focusing on a particular aspect of the application.

Final Words

No matter what kind of code you are testing and how you prepare the software, the final product is what a user mainly wants. Work with a good quality analyst team for your unit testing procedure, but you will also need to take the reviews from the user’s point of view.

You can easily get to know the user’s perspective with the help of Acceptance Testing, making it more helpful and effective for the software.

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