Stop 10 · Testing & User AcceptanceTopics · 4/8

UAT Planning & Execution

In short

Badly planned UAT looks like this: users invited on Monday, test environment broken till Wednesday, sign-off demanded on Thursday. Good planning makes the last check before launch actually count.

Organizing UAT — recruiting the right business users, scheduling sessions, and preparing test scripts — poor UAT planning is a common cause of rushed, low-quality final validation before launch.

The purple blob stands on a small stage with velvet curtains, holding a rolled script with props around it.

Think of it like this

The college fest dress rehearsal

Before the big night, the drama club books the stage, calls every actor, gets the props ready, runs the full play once and notes what went wrong. Skip the planning, and the rehearsal becomes chaos that teaches you nothing.

Watch it happen

A UAT cycle from plan to exit

Scope

Testers

Scripts

Execute

Triage

Exit

1/6Agree which business processes are in scope and what entry and exit criteria apply.

The big ideas

What you need to know

Book people early

Business users have day jobs. Ask their managers for time well before UAT starts.

Realistic data

Users test best with data that looks like theirs. Empty or silly test data hides real issues.

Entry criteria

Don't start until QA is done, the environment is stable and scripts are ready. Otherwise users lose faith.

Track everything

Log each scenario as pass, fail or blocked, with defects linked. It's your evidence for sign-off.

Save yourself the pain

Common mistakes

Oops

Writing UAT scripts as click-by-click steps.

Do this instead

Write business scenarios with a goal, like 'raise an invoice for a new customer', and let users do it their way.

Oops

Squeezing UAT into the last two days before go-live.

Do this instead

Plan buffer time for fixing defects and retesting. UAT almost always finds something.

Your mission

Draft a UAT plan

~30 min

Quick check

UAT is due to start, but QA still has 12 open critical bugs. What should you recommend?

Go deeper

1Draft a UAT plan: participants, schedule, scenarios, and success criteria.
2Learn why involving the right business users (not just whoever's available) matters for UAT quality.
3Practice building in enough time for UAT rather than treating it as a rushed final checkbox.