You might think that a website is only about coding and developing, but it isn’t true. The website is all about the users. You need to focus on providing to your users what they want, and not just what you want. To ensure the user journey is smooth, User Acceptance Testing is a must.
UAT testing is the last phase of the website testing process before actual deployment. With user acceptance testing, you are giving your client a chance to play around with your website and make sure everything works as expected. It can also be used to show the client that your team created what they asked for in terms of functionality, navigation, and general usability.
It's vital that the site works for users and that all the features are easy to use and navigate. All too often teams rely on their own judgment and assume that what they've built is intuitive enough to be used by everyone.
We think of it as an opportunity to get final feedback from the client before the website goes live. To that end, through UAT web development we aim to point out where the site experience becomes rough or where errors are hiding.
Bonus SIT vs UAT: System Integration Testing is intended to test the functionality of a system as a whole after integrating all the system components. On the other hand, UAT (User Acceptance Testing) is responsible for testing the system from the user's perspective.
Acceptance testing is more than just a check for bugs and errors. It helps us eliminate the gap between what we have developed and what the users expect from our software. It is the opportunity to bridge any final holes between what the client expects and what we deliver. If our software cannot meet user requirements then it will fail in the market! Some other reasons are:
It is the only way to make sure that the system actually does what you want it to do. If you skip UAT, you are just guessing whether the system will do what you want.
Example: Make sure a certain section’s introduction text is customizable because you may change it monthly.
Acceptance testing provides an opportunity to get user feedback. This can lead to a better understanding of the users' needs and any changes in the requirements or scope that might be necessary.
UAT best practices provide a way to test out new features or functionality before they are added to the production release. This can help identify potential problems with new code or design issues before they become a problem for all users of the system.
This will help all website stakeholders be confident of a successful launch process. They’ll have trust in the platform and be secure that a rigorous testing process has been followed.
Example: Website UAT checklist may include, making sure the navigation dropdown menu stretches to fit longer page titles.
UAT gives users a chance to become familiar with the system and learn how to use it. This reduces support costs by identifying problems early on.
UAT allows for more efficient testing of complex systems with dependencies on other systems. Testing these systems in their final configuration is often difficult or even impossible.
We see UAT as a great time to get your hands dirty and learn the CMS and tech stack that has been implemented. It’s a good time to ask questions and again - try your best to break the site and push it to its limits. It's a preview, where our clients get to see how things look and feel on the actual website and from a real user perspective. During this time, we can review responsive blocks, animations, parallax, and other interactive features.
UAT is easy to overlook, but all too often, it’s the aspect of development that not only catches problems and inconsistencies before they result in bugs but also helps you answer important questions like: Are the backend and frontend suited to the end user's needs? Does it behave as expected? Do you encounter problems using it (since you are going to handle it first-hand)?
It is a risk with any software that is developed, no matter how big or small the project. So it is very important to have adequate system testing or UAT in place before deployment so that potential issues are rectified before the software is released to your end-users as well as to keep the maintenance costs low since it's easier to find and fix usability and functionality issues early on.
Tiffany is a Biochemistry graduate from CUHK. After graduation, she worked as a Digital & Analytics intern at L'Oréal APAC for more than a year before joining Butter as part of the Graduate Programme. Tiffany now works closely with the Strategy and Business Development Team to meet output expectations and contributes to managing client projects within Butter.
