Execute Acceptance Tests

Once the system as a whole has been validated, you must make sure that the functionality provided is acceptable to the business users. Hopefully, the business user has been engaged all along, approving at each phase of the project to make sure that there are no surprises. In the User Acceptance testing process, open the system up to a larger community of trained users and ask them to simulate running their business on the system. User Acceptance testing should be designed to simulate live business as closely as possible. Complete this process by having the user community representative (business user) approve the acceptance test results.

The following image illustrates the process involved in executing acceptance tests and includes the following typical steps:

1. Set up the audit environment.

2. Execute acceptance cases.

3. Log and track defects (if there are any).

4. Signoff user acceptance tests.