How can a QA Team support UAT Process efficiently

As we all know that User Acceptance testing (generally known as UAT), is a very critical phase in the development and rollout of any software, so it is very important to carry out the UAT process seamlessly. It is generally carried out to make sure that the software developed meets the requirements of the end user and is bug-free. 

UAT is considered to be the last quality check for the application as after this phase, the software is rolled out to production which is what is utmost important that we validate the quality, user compliance and accuracy of the application without any risk to the business.

But as in today's software development model where agile comes into the picture, the testing team usually gets a reduced amount of time to test due to timely delivery of sprints, so it is very crucial for the testers to have highly optimized skills for testing the application end to end. This can also be achieved through optimum techniques of testing and also using automation to automate the frequent carried out test cases and work closely with the development team. 

Usually, User acceptance testing differs on what kind of application you are testing but there are certain things to keep in mind: 

-> Verifying the environment setup to make sure that everyone has access to it
-> Validating performance of the system on critical use cases which is important to business
-> Carrying out regression testing as and when required
-> Finding P1 and P2 issues ASAP
-> Evaluating the potential risks and taking actions to overcome them 

Generally, it is a type of black box technique where the attention is on the functionality and usability of the software. It is carried out on an environment which is very much similar to the production one in the real world.
In most of the organization, there is a separate team to carry out this activity which involves the business users or the product owners.

Here is the list of tasks/ actions which are performed by the UAT team for a smooth rollout:-

1. Setup and installation of tools like creating test data and defect management tools 
2. Assigning tasks to the users for carrying out UAT
3. Writing test cases and test plan
4. User training 
5. Carrying out retesting and regression testing activity of the defects found 

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