User Acceptance Testing (UAT) Checklist
A structured checklist for planning and executing user acceptance testing for IT system rollouts, upgrades, and migrations.
What Is UAT and Why It Matters
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is the final phase of testing before a new system or upgrade goes live. Real users test the system in a production-like environment to confirm it meets their requirements. Skipping UAT is the #1 cause of failed IT rollouts in Indian SMEs — systems that work perfectly in staging break in production because nobody tested with real workflows and real data volumes.
Pre-UAT Preparation
- Define UAT scope: which systems, modules, and workflows will be tested.
- Identify and recruit testers: 3-5 power users from each affected department.
- Prepare test environment: mirror production data (anonymised if containing personal data), configure all integrations, ensure network access and permissions.
- Create test scenarios: 10-20 real-world scenarios covering normal operations, edge cases, error conditions, and high-volume scenarios.
- Define success criteria: what percentage of test cases must pass before go-live? (Target: 95% pass rate, zero P1/P2 defects).
Test Execution Checklist
- Each tester executes assigned scenarios and documents: expected result, actual result, pass/fail, screenshots or logs for failures.
- All defects are logged in the helpdesk with: system, module, scenario reference, severity (P1-P4), steps to reproduce, and environment details.
- P1 and P2 defects are triaged daily by the project team. P3-P4 are reviewed every 2 days.
- Fixed defects are re-tested by the original reporter within 24 hours of fix deployment.
- Tester feedback on usability is collected separately from defect reports — a system that works but is hard to use will have low adoption.
Go/No-Go Decision Criteria
The project can proceed to go-live when: 95%+ of test scenarios pass with no P1 defects open, remaining P2 defects have documented workarounds acceptable to business stakeholders, P3/P4 defects do not block any critical business workflow, all testers have signed off on their assigned scenarios, and a rollback plan is documented and approved in case the go-live fails.
Post-UAT Actions
- Conduct a UAT retrospective: what went well, what could be improved for future rollouts.
- Document lessons learned in the project knowledge base.
- Archive all UAT evidence (test results, defect logs, sign-offs) for compliance and audit reference.
- Schedule a 30-day post-go-live check-in to identify issues that only appear with extended usage.
Put this into practice with workro desk.