User Acceptance Testing: Calming the Nerves

One of the many "thorns in the side" of a software development project is the User Acceptance Testing phase (UAT). While absolutely necessary, it's often one of the most difficult to organize and effectively manage to get usable results. There are many in the development field who believe we need to rethink this process, and I tend to agree.

The very name of the phase, UAT, often strikes terror into the hearts of the very people without whom there is no UAT: the users. I think the users are largely okay with looking at new software elements, but when they're told they have to "test" it, they tend to freak! Since their input is so indispensable, how do we avoid the feelings of terror the name generates and get them on a productive path? Well, we can start by changing the name of the process to eliminate the word "testing".

When you get down right to it, the bulk of the testing is done before the user community gets its hands on the software. While they often find issues that get by the testing staff, that's not really their job. What the users are really tasked with is using the software as they would in production, then providing an assessment: is this the software we need to do our jobs? Does it work the way we want it to and do what we need it to do?

I've seen that when you eliminate the word "testing" while explaining what you need them to do, they tend to relax a bit. They still require guidance, but at least they start off on a more comfortable footing. So what I've started doing is calling it the "User Assessment Phase", ditching the "red flag" word "testing" all together.

A change in the mindset is just a first step in running an effective UAT, but it's a good beginning. I'd be interested in hearing how other folks have gotten past the panic the word "testing" seems to cause.