Often Neglected, One of the Most Important Phases in Making Sure That the Software Meets the User Requirements Is Acceptance Testing.
The challenges it sets are numerous and thus, many project managers face the hard decision how to organize the process that requires not only technical knowledge but also demands to be able to put themselves in the user’s shoes. Being aware of the problems that will be met and relying on the testing performed so far, many decide to skip the need of conducting the acceptance testing using both external and internal resources. And what happens next - great loss for the company as the end user is dissatisfied with the software and refuses to use it. The company will face not only profit loss, but what is more important in the modern world – the reputation loss and loss of credibility among partners, competitors and above all – “his/ her majesty” – the end user, who is now to judge even harshly as ever. Because of all the possibilities he/ she has and the ease to switch from one software to another.That is the reason why each project manager shall be aware of the main challenges of organizing and conducting the acceptance testing. The benefits from it are numerous and will only lead you and your team to a greater success. Of course, should it be performed correctly and planned really well. Otherwise, you will have to deal with the losses that follow the release of a bad product in the eyes of the end user.
Imagine, You Find a Severe Bug in the Acceptance Testing Phase – What Are You Supposed to Do?
It is a well – known truth that bugs are easy to be fixed at an early stage – not only the bug does not affect the integrated system, but the time and resources – both human and financial resources are a lot less compared to fixing a bug later on in the development of the project. Imagine, you find a severe bug in the acceptance testing phase – what are you supposed to do? Ignore it and continue to delivery or try to fix it – but the effect that it will have on the system may postpone the release of the software for months. And why not skip the acceptance testing phase? Because it is the end user who will judge if your product is good or not and will determine its success.According to the CHAOS Reports one of the Main Reason for Bugs Are Bad Requirements.
Below is what the status of the IT projects in the last years is – CHAOS Report 2020:
Following the notably famous reports, according to the CHAOS Report one of the main reason for bugs are bad requirements – they are not clearly specified, they are incomplete and they are not seriously taken into account. This affects the development of the software, the software test cases created and in the end the conception of the project. Thus, the phase of accepting testing where both the client and the end users are included is the best way to check if all the expectations are met. It is better to postpone the release of the software than release a bad product. Doing that, in the acceptance phase, you will be able to collect data both from the client (one more time, actually) and from the end user and make everybody involved in the project satisfied. Everyone knows how the business works – only one bad reference can ruin it all, despite you may have thousands of successful projects behind your back. The competitors will not even hesitate to mention the bad experience you have had in that single project and gain points before prospective clients that were once yours. In the modern, competitive IT world such big mistakes as skipping the acceptance test phase are no longer allowed.
But, to make sure that we all need that specific phase, below are some more charts derived from the CHAOS reports:
But, to make sure that we all need that specific phase, below are some more charts derived from the CHAOS reports:
The Most Common Reasons Why IT Projects Fail
In the first one, we can see the most common reasons why IT projects fail.
The Factors That Make a Project Successful
Then, the second chart shows the factors that make a project successful
By comparing the two tables we can see a lot of familiarities and we can be certain to say that a very important factor for each single project is eliciting correct and not drastically changeable requirements. As we are all aware, good requirements are the basis of the Acceptance Testing. Having correct and full requirements you can now put your efforts into the organization of the Acceptance testing phrase. Some tips about that you can derive from our next article dedicated to the Acceptance Testing. Read about them in part II.
Quality House Team