A well-defined User Acceptance Test (“UAT”) scope is essential to ensure the models, templates, or programs delivered truly meet business needs—not just technically, but operationally. When planning UAT, three key components should be clearly outlined: the calculation period, test cases, and test scenarios.
By clearly defining the UAT scope across these three areas, users and developers can work with shared expectations and greater confidence in the process outcomes.
Calculation Period
For processes that are performed on a regular schedule—such as monthly reporting or calculations—the UAT must cover at least three consecutive months. This helps confirm that the process works consistently across different time periods and that dependencies on time-sensitive inputs (such as month-end data or quarterly assumptions) are correctly handled.
Consecutive months also help catch issues like misaligned opening balances, missing data carryovers, or edge cases tied to calendar month variations (e.g., February vs. March).
Test Cases
A minimum of five test cases should be included in the UAT scope, tailored to cover a range of common and critical scenarios. These can be drawn from real business data or compiled using dummy data to simulate specific conditions. Each case should be selected to challenge both the core functionality and the logic of the process being tested—ensuring robustness before go-live.
Test Scenarios
Test scenarios should be organized into two categories:
- Base Scenarios: These reflect how the process should behave under normal, day-to-day conditions. They validate that core operations are functioning as intended.
- Special Scenarios: These are designed to test the process’s response to unique, conditional, or exceptional cases. For example, if the reinsurance arrangement for a specific product changes mid-year, UAT should include a test that simulates how the system handles that change—ensuring accuracy in both recalculation and reporting.
Other topics related to UAT: