The Art of Software Testing, Second Edition

6.3. Acceptance Testing

Returning to the overall model of the development process shown in Figure 6.3 on page 127, you can see that acceptance testing is the process of comparing the program to its initial requirements and the current needs of its end users. It is an unusual type of test in that it usually is performed by the program's customer or end user and normally is not considered the responsibility of the development orga-nization. In the case of a contracted program, the contracting (user) organization performs the acceptance test by comparing the program's operation to the original contract. As is the case for other types of testing, the best way to do this is to devise test cases that attempt to show that the program does not meet the contract; if these test cases are unsuccessful, the program is accepted. In the case of a program product, such as a computer manufacturer's operating system or compiler, or a software company's database management system, the sensible customer first performs an acceptance test to determine whether the product satisfies its needs.