Purpose
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is where authorized business stakeholders determine whether the delivered behavior meets their needs under the enterprise's normal process. The SHAPE Framework includes UAT as the final stage of both development cycles, without replacing the organization's existing UAT governance.
Responsible coordinator: Product Engineer.
Decision owner: Authorized business stakeholders and established enterprise UAT roles.
Inputs: Working application, current specifications, known limitations, applicable independent verification report, required technical review disposition.
Outputs: Business acceptance decision, documented findings, or a clear list of required corrections and follow-up checks.
Procedure
1. Confirm readiness. Make sure required architect review has been completed and significant verification findings have explicit disposition. Do not present untested or blocked behavior as verified.
2. Provide business context. Give UAT participants a clear statement of what is in scope, the workflows they should evaluate, and known limitations or dependencies. Reference current specifications where needed.
3. Support real workflows. Facilitate business users exercising representative tasks and exceptions. The Product Engineer should be available to clarify behavior and capture what users observe, without coaching them into declaring success.
4. Distinguish findings. Classify each result as an implementation defect, missing or disputed requirement, new scope, usability issue, or environment problem. Escalate business decisions to their authorized owners.
5. Resolve or disposition. Update accepted behavior in specifications, direct implementation corrections, and repeat appropriate automated, independent, architectural, or UAT checks under policy.
6. Record the outcome. Preserve the organization's normal acceptance record and any remaining commitments. Technical readiness and business acceptance are separate decisions.
Completion criteria
The enterprise's designated stakeholders have made the required acceptance decision using its established procedure. If acceptance is withheld or conditional, the issues and next actions are clear. The SHAPE-defined development cycle ends with the UAT outcome; release and operations are separate processes.
Common problems to avoid
Having the Product Engineer approve their own business requirements without authorization; treating independent verification as UAT; overlooking a known limitation; and describing a successful development demonstration as a production release.