User Acceptance Tests - Test for Success and Build Confidence in Your Agile Team

Getting users stories from your product owner is one of many ways software requirements are conveyed to the agile team. However there is one key companion to the user story, the user acceptance test. The user acceptance test closes the cycle by providing the criteria the product owner will use the test the user story. The agile team can use both the user story and user acceptance test together to ensure they understand requirements from the product owner.

Just as when writing user stories, sometimes the product owners need help with writing user acceptance tests. It’s common to have a QA engineer assist in the process of writing user acceptance tests. I recommend using a QA engineer to make sure the software tests are clear of ambiguity.

At the end of the sprint, the agile team demonstrates the completed user stories to the product owner and validates success by executing the user acceptance tests. This software product demonstration confirms to the product owner that the software meets the requirements specified via user stories.

Running a software product demonstration and passing all the user acceptance tests is a big confidence builder for the team and the product owner.

User Story + User Acceptance Test = Clearer understanding of what the product owner wants and how the agile team can test for success.

User Acceptance Tests - Test for Success and Build Confidence in Your Agile Team