Tips for Releasing Software for Customer Testing
In this month's newsletter, we discuss tips for releasing software to
the customer for their testing. Standish Group research shows 52.7 percent of IT
projects cost 189 percent of their original estimates. According to the
Standish Group, only 16% of all software development projects are delivered
on-time and on-budget. A staggering 31% of projects are cancelled before they
ever get completed. This newsletter will aid you in preparing for
successful implementations by conducting exceptional user acceptance testing.
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Newsletter
Sponsored by Software Planner |
This newsletter is sponsored by
Software Planner:
http://www.SoftwarePlanner.com
 Software
Planner is a project collaboration tool that allows you to manage all phases
of your software development. In the initial stages of the project, it
allows you to post functional specifications and post project related
documents (like meeting minutes, client proposals, etc.). As the project
progresses, it allows you to post baseline documents (like detailed designs
and project plans). As development proceeds, it allows your project managers
and developers to track project deliverables.
The developers can update
the percentage complete for all items assigned to them. Once testing begins,
it allows your testers to create test cases and track software defects.
Developers are automatically alerted, by email, as defects are assigned to
them. Team members are alerted as new documents are uploaded or re-uploaded
(like project plan updates, etc.). And each person has the ability to
control the email alerts they wish to receive. Use the discussion forums to
communicate all issues with clients and project team members. Keep your
appointments and to do list on-line and updated at all times.
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Tips for Releasing Software for
Customer Testing
Once your testing team has thoroughly tested
your software, it is time for the customer to test it before moving the software
into production. This is referred to as the "User Acceptance Test"
phase of the software lifecycle. This is an important phase of the
software lifecycle, as it is the first opportunity for the end clients to work
with your software. A very organized User Acceptance Test can bear many
rewards:
-
Defect Discovery - The customers may use
your software a little differently than the developers and testers did during
the development phase. This can bring defects to the surface that you
would not have caught until implementation.
-
Customer Buy In - Since the customer has
an active role in testing the software, they become a champion for the software
release. If done properly, they will be excited about the new release and
begin telling others about its merits.
-
Customer Approval - By including the customers in
final testing, they will be more likely to quickly approve the software for
release to production once the testing phase is complete.
The key to a successful User Acceptance Test
phase is to have a very organized plan for conducting the testing.
Below is a list of 5 Tips for conducting successful User Acceptance Tests:
-
Set Expectations - Educate the customer,
letting them know that the goal of User Acceptance Testing is to find defects
that will be prevented once the software is implemented. So finding
defects is a good thing and is encouraged.
-
Identify Defect Resolution Procedures -
As defects are found, you must have a documented strategy for allowing the
client to report defects and to review the status of each defect. Using
products like Defect Tracker (www.DefectTracker.com)
or Software Planner (www.SoftwarePlanner.com) allow customers to submit support tickets on-line and check the status of the
tickets.
-
Drop Schedule - As defects are fixed,
you should have a "Drop Schedule" for new releases. For example,
during the User Acceptance Test phase, you may release a new copy of the
software each Wednesday for your customers to test. This allows the
customer to rely on a specific time table for new releases so that they can
re-test defects that were previously fixed.
-
Document Current Defects and Testing
Statistics - Before beginning User Acceptance Testing, you may have some low
priority defects that have not been fixed. Let the customer know what
those defects are so that if they encounter them, they will not report them
again. Another good approach is to supply the customer with statistics
that show how many test cases were run during your testing and how many defects
came out of that effort. Each week, do weekly status reports for your
customer, showing how many defects have been found by their efforts and how many
defects are outstanding.
-
Create a User Acceptance Testing Document
- Prior to beginning User Acceptance Testing, create a "User Acceptance Testing
Release document." This document explains the plan for User Acceptance
Testing, and provides a conduit for a successful testing phase. We have
created a template that you can use for the document, download it by clicking
here.
As you can see, an organized User Acceptance Test phase bears many
rewards. Below are some
helpful templates to aid you in developing software solutions on-time and
on-budget:
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