Having an application or software that’s ready for market competition is an advantage. Because in today’s business landscape, even minor bugs or defects  in your software can impact its profitability. To get there though, the best method is to conduct effective testing methods to weed out all potential errors. One way to help you with this is by conducting user acceptance testing (UAT).

Achieving what customers want and need results in quality products delivered. User acceptance testing prevents defects from forming in the process, such as faulty functions, by detecting and correcting them before deployment. Having this stage in the validation process gives confidence to product owners knowing that their project is completely finished and ready for launch.

If you’re new to the concept, you might ask, “what is UAT anyway?” or “how is this relevant to the product our company is developing?” Read on to discover what UAT is all about and why it’s good for your software or app development.

What is User Acceptance Testing?

The primary goal of UAT user acceptance testing is to ensure that a software product meets its user’s expectations and standards in usability and optimum experience. This testing also allows the client to check whether their software is ready to go or could use a few more tweaks.

UAT is also usually mistaken as a part of the Quality Assurance (QA) process. However, UAT is far different from QA. UAT revolves around finding out if actual users may be able to use it in real-world scenarios. Quality assurance, on the other hand, focuses on improving and ensuring error-free systems and processes to be used by teams, creating confidence in the product being produced.

A successful UAT session would usually yield feedback that would enable developers to insert a few more quality-of-life (QOL) improvements and resolve possible bugs that may have eluded testing.

UAT vs Usability Testing

Another term that usually gets mixed up with UAT is Usability Testing. Don’t get these two jumbled: user acceptance testing and usability testing are two different types of tests. While both are significant to product and software development, usability testing focuses on the deliverables – to see if the software is good to go and can satisfy its end users.

In a Digital.gov article, it was mentioned that usability testing and UAT can overlap with each other, despite the difference in purpose. Usability testing is a kind of test that occurs earlier in the validation or testing stage where development teams first perform usability research to gather the information they need about what functions a product should deliver and try to achieve.

UAT comes after that stage, a secondary “survey” of users’ needs, to further build confidence that the product will be competitive in the market.

Why Do I Need This?

User acceptance testing is as important as other validation steps involved in software development. Without it, your software might just miss out on a lot of improvement opportunities.

Investing in UAT shows your dedication in addressing the needs of your customers and giving them an enjoyable experience. By including UAT in the development process, your customers get to experience better, smoother performance, which, in turn, could strengthen their brand loyalty and encourage them to keep using your product. Keep in mind that great user experience is one of the keys to establishing a positive brand reputation.

Creating error-free and high-quality software is a surefire way to earn customer’s loyalty and enhance user experience – it’s a domino effect!

Conclusion

If you’re curious about UAT and how to integrate it into your process or wish to find experts who can do it for you, then we’re the agency you’re looking for.

User Experience Researchers Singapore (USER), is a Singapore-based UI UX design and usability testing agency with extensive expertise in testing services. We can help you understand more about UAT and how this can be an advantage for you.

Don’t hesitate to reach us through our website or inquire through our contact form: https://www.user.com.sg/contact/.