Datasheet

24 ■ Optimize Quality for Business Outcomes
User Acceptance Test
When users are satisfied that the business functional specifica-
tions and business requirements have been met, system sign-
off and release can take place. The User Acceptance Test (UAT)
phase involves turning loose a number of real end users to try
the system, using it as they would in real life to accomplish
whatever task the system is designed for.
The goal is to make sure that the end users are comfortable
with the system they will be working with and that all their
requirements are met.
Often a team will leverage training of the end users as a means
to perform User Acceptance testing. In our flight example, we
might have reservation agents go through the system and
make flight reservations and help identify any issues in the
flight system.
The quality gate for the UAT is the end-user sign-off.
Operational Readiness Test
The project requirements and design specification documents
clearly define the expectations for systems operational readi-
ness. We’ve been aware of operational readiness levels while
we’ve conducted previous testing phases (Unit, System, Inte-
gration, Performance, and UAT).
Operational Readiness testing ensures that the system we are
about to deliver has the appropriate production data loaded, is
ready to communicate with required external systems, and is
ready to run the necessary regular batch processes, while meet-
ing any specific security and compliance requirements.
For the flight application, we might check to make sure that the
flight data is being populated correctly, that billing processes
that use an external system are working, and that the ticket
purchase process is done through secure channels so users are
not worried about sharing their private information.
MQM.book Page 24 Wednesday, May 7, 2008 11:29 AM