Every Product Needs Acceptance and Production Verification Testing. Here’s Why

When working on software, there might come a moment when you doubt whether it’s enough. These reservations might become a hindrance if your team is a part of a startup or smaller project with no deep software testing expertise. But if you’re hesitant, it means you’re doing something right. It means you care about the quality.

Today, we discuss two types of testing that help you gain confidence in your work: acceptance and production verification testing.

Explaining Acceptance Testing

Acceptance testing evaluates whether the software meets specified criteria derived from project documentation. It aims at validating the product’s alignment with requirements and consumer expectations. Let’s review what it does in practice by considering different types of acceptance testing.

• User acceptance testing – does the product work as intended for the users?
• Business acceptance testing – does it align with business requirements and goals?
• Contract acceptance testing – does it deliver based on the terms defined in contracts (e.g., SLAs)?
• Regulation acceptance testing – does it conform to the regulatory norms?
• Operational acceptance testing – does it meet operational requirements (e.g., performance, interoperability, backup, recovery, and maintainability)?

Essentially, acceptance testing is like checking the boxes of your plan for the day. If you’ve completed everything – success. If you’ve missed something, well, you’ll have to come back tomorrow. In other words, acceptance testing is assessing what has been done so far and whether it was done right.

So, when you run it, you can:

• Ensure the software meets business requirements and regulatory compliance.
• Locate defects missed during system testing.
• Engage end-user perspective.
• Assess the effectiveness of current software testing services.

Building a Culture of Quality Through Acceptance Testing

When to Run Acceptance Testing?

Acceptance testing usually takes place in the later stages of the SDLC. You’d want to run it after systems tests and before deployment. Typically, its execution is seen as the “final checkup”. But it can also:

• Occur throughout the development process in Agile and DevOps for continuous feedback.
• Happen when introducing updates, customization, or seeking regulatory compliance.

Hence, acceptance testing sometimes shifts from being the last touch-up to being a qualification tool. And so, you might think, “How is it different from prior testing phases?” Acceptance testing doesn’t really “go over” prior tests, it centers on users’ points of view.

For instance, system testing focuses on technical aspects of a product (does it work correctly?). Acceptance testing is about the people (does it work correctly for the consumer?). For the latter, think of consumers as everyone related to the software. Remember the types of acceptance testing? Consumers can be:

• End-users.
• Stakeholders.
• The team.
• Regulatory bodies, etc.

Briefly, these tests confirm that the product is “the right thing” for everyone involved.

Explaining Production Verification Testing

Production verification testing (PVT) affirms that the product meets design and performance requirements and reliably functions in a production environment. It validates the product’s readiness for mass production or market release.

You may be a bit confused at this point, “Isn’t PVT the same as acceptance testing then?” We’ll cover their core differences later, don’t worry. But for now, think about these two like this:

• Acceptance tests are about what has been done so far.
• And PVT is about how things are going now.

So, production verification testing aims to evaluate how the product works in a live environment when subjected to real-world scenarios.

When to Run Production Verification Testing?

Like acceptance testing, you’d conduct PVT after the initial product development and design phases. But you can also run it as a part of:

• Risk mitigation.
• Pilot testing.
• Pilot production.

It may depend on the project’s complexity. Yet, generally, it takes place just before the software enters full-scale production. It allows you to:

• Ensure the live build is working as needed.
• Locate any issues that might have happened during the release.
• Check all critical elements.

Acceptance Testing vs Production Verification Testing

Now, to make things clearer, let’s review how exactly acceptance testing and PVT differ and where they overlap a bit.

Similarities

• Both focus on assuring the quality and readiness of a product.
• They involve verifying that the software meets specified requirements and criteria.
• The two serve as final checks before mass production to ensure alignment with expectations.

Differences

• Acceptance testing is a part of the development stage. PVT is the first official production run that usually takes a couple of hours.
• Acceptance testing is run in a simulated production environment. PVT is run in a live environment.
• Acceptance testing occurs at the end of the software development lifecycle before deployment. PVT takes place during the product development lifecycle, before mass production or market release.
• Acceptance testing verifies that the product meets the designed acceptance criteria. PVT makes sure that the final build is functioning correctly in its final environment.
• Acceptance testing focuses on user-specific functionality, usability, and alignment with business goals. PVT verifies the product’s design, reliability, and production processes.
• Acceptance testing may involve end-user testing to obtain authentic feedback. PVT needs the QA and development teams to create test accounts and data.

QA Audit Checklist for Documentation Review

To summarize, acceptance testing centers on hitting all the checkmarks, and PVT focuses on evaluating how everything works live.

How Acceptance Testing and PVT Define Product Readiness

So, how do you know that your product is release- and mass production-ready? With acceptance testing and PVT, you just need to pass each criterion, which, of course, depends on your project. In other words, not all criteria are the same. That’s why we’ll focus on universal readiness denominators.

Based on acceptance tests, your product is ready when it:

• Aligns with project requirements.
• Offers stable performance and functionality.
• Is error-free (as much as it’s possible).
• Conforms to business goals.
• Is easy to use and provides a positive user experience.
• Adheres to specific industry standards, compliance, or regulatory requirements.
• Can handle expected workloads and scale as necessary.
• Is secure and consistent.

All these signify that, indeed, the right software was built and that each user is likely to be satisfied with the result.

And regarding PVT, your project is ready for mass production when it:

• Can function properly and reliably in a real-world setting.
• Doesn’t show significant issues or performance bottlenecks.
• Runs continuously and reliably without crashes or failures.
• Is easy to use across various environments (devices, operating systems, browsers, etc.).
• Handles errors and exceptions properly.
• Performs well under the expected load and usage conditions.
• Can scale effectively to accommodate increased demands.
• Meets the quality standards set for mass production and deployment.

These mean that your software will be able to handle the wilderness of live usage in the long term.

Why Pay Attention to Acceptance Testing and PVT?

Failed acceptance testing means the product won’t be satisfactory to consumers. And unsuccessful PVT means users won’t enjoy the product to the fullest and that it may be short-lived. If you find certain criteria unfulfilled, you might need to take a step back.

For example, during acceptance testing, you can find:

• Issues in the software’s business logic or workflows, affecting the overall operation of the app.
• Difficulties in understanding or operating the software, resulting in poor user experience.
• Non-adherence to legal or industry regulations, requiring adjustments for compliance.

Any of these would mean that the developers and QA engineers need to refine the product further and adjust their testing strategy for better coverage. So, acceptance testing determines the quality of the product and defines the effectiveness of your QA resources.

And with PVT, you may come across:

• Problems related to the deployment process, such as configuration issues or compatibility troubles with the production environment.
• Errors when handling increased user loads, data volumes, or transactions, as well as scalability concerns.
• New defects or issues introduced during the deployment process, including regression defects.

In these cases, you’d need to conduct root-cause analysis and fix any issues before committing to mass production. It’s like releasing a sanctuary animal into the wild. Even if you simulate all natural conditions, you never know what might happen or go wrong. So, you’d need to monitor it, help it adapt, and see what could’ve been done better.

Types of Software Testing to Improve Product Quality

Tips for Better Acceptance Testing and PVT

Both acceptance and production verification testing are highly personalized. You probably won’t find recommendations that suit your project fully. But that’s completely fine. In software development, there aren’t really any one-fits-all solutions. So, treat every best practice you come across as something that has proven its worth and as a guideline rather than a rule.

Acceptance Testing Tips

• Start planning for acceptance testing as early as possible. It’ll help you avoid rushed or incomplete testing at the end of the project.
• Include end-users (if possible), business owners, and other stakeholders in the acceptance testing process. You’d want to ensure full consideration of their expectations and requirements.
• Clearly define acceptance criteria in collaboration with stakeholders. They should outline the specific conditions the software should meet to be accepted.
• Use real-world data or data that closely resembles real-world scenarios to secure correct product performance.
• Create a testing environment that mirrors the production environment. This way, you can be sure of your software’s authentic behavior in real-world conditions.
• Run end-to-end testing to simulate genuine user journeys and validate proper integrations.
• Encourage open communication and collaboration between QA specialists, developers, and stakeholders to address issues promptly and provide timely feedback.

Production Verification Testing Tips

• Set clear expectations regarding the scope and purpose of post-production release verification. This way, the team knows exactly what to do, streamlining testing and lifting productivity.
• Develop a post-production release verification test plan for easier and organized testing.
• Include the most important and critical steps that allow maximum functionality coverage.
• Verify major impact areas for stable performance.
• Use defect management tools to facilitate root cause analysis and traceability.
• Carry out data clean-up after completing the verification to avoid unnecessary influence on the system.
• Supplement in-production testing with pre-production testing (don’t replace one with the other) to minimize disruption in a live environment.

Frankly, the one “best practice” that is actually the best practice is finding the right people for your project. Your team makes all the difference.

Reviewing Your Testing Strategy – How to Do It Right?

To Sum Up

You may be inclined to view acceptance and production verification testing as “leftover” checks. With so much work done already, why bother too much now? But they are like the final exams for your software. Sure, you’ve passed the monthly and mid-term tests. But the finals are the true proof that you’ve learned something.

Acceptance testing and PVT demonstrate that your efforts were directed properly, your team realized their potential, and your project is indeed its best version at the moment. Most importantly, passing these two means that you and your product are now ready for greater things.