Zephyr

Using Zephyr to run effective UAT cycles

User Acceptance Test (UAT) programs have traditionally been areas of contention between IT and the Business. IT teams get critical systems readied through development and testing, while Business teams verify that these systems meet their requirements. The division of responsibilities might seem clear cut, but realities on the ground are far different. The planning, management, execution and reporting phases of UAT cycles have always been problematic since responsibilities fall in a grey area.

A well-defined UAT process augmented by a test management platform that assists with Planning, Coverage, Execution, Tracking, Reporting, and Reuse phases is a must-have. Zephyr has been designed to solve such problems and specifically assists in the following areas:

Planning

Zephyr's Test Repository and Scheduling applications make it easy to identify test areas and assign and schedule those specific tests in UAT cycles. The Business may or may not be involved in the direct creation of test cases in this phase. Existing UAT checklists and tests can be easily imported into Zephyr and tracked. The planning and scheduling process is real-time and visible to both teams. UATs are easily authored in the Test Case Creation application that has an Excel-like feel to it, thereby allowing non-IT resources to easily interact with it - be it for actually creating tests or merely reviewing and annotating them.

Coverage

Test Coverage of the various features and functionalities are very important. The Business needs to get a good feel - through quantitative and qualitative means - that the system meets their requirements. Zephyr's Requirements Management application in conjunction with the ability to directly map UAT testcase(s) to those requirements allows for real-time coverage reports and tracking metrics. Mapping is done using a simple click-and-select process. End-to-End Requirements traceability is also available.

Execution

UAT execution in Zephyr is highly simplified to allow non-technical domain experts and business users to easily run them. Similar to performing everyday tasks such as using a Web Browser or Excel spreadsheets, the Test Case Execution application in Zephyr is accessed via any web browser. The user logs in with a username/password provided, selects the Test Case Execution application, and clicks on the UAT Cycle. A list of user acceptance tests is presented to them. Upon selecting one of them, detailed steps to perform are shown. The user can then "pass" or "fail" test steps and/or entire tests and include their comments. There is no need to fill out spreadsheets or write reports .

Tracking & Reporting

Zephyr captures all changes and updates in real-time and presents this information in live Dashboards. Live Dashboards show details about the UAT execution schedule, project news and detailed metrics about how well the UAT cycle is progressing in real-time. The dashboards show progress, pass and failure rates, areas of risk, defects and provide overall quality insight. All of this information is available without having to build reports, run queries, hound the non-IT users for updates, or do a ton of paperwork.

Reusability

Once the UAT cycle is completed successfully, the information may be recycled for the next UAT cycle. Tests, schedules, reports, and metrics can be reused and modified appropriately for a new cycle. This increases efficiency in successive UAT cycle planning and execution. All historical information about past UAT cycles is stored and available immediately for instant comparisons and reuse.