User acceptance testing for Agile-developed web-based applications: Empowering customers through wikis and mind maps

Abstract

Abstract User Acceptance Testing (UAT) involves validating software in a real setting by the intended audience. The aim is not so much to check the defined requirements but to ensure that the software satisfies the customer’s needs. Agile methodologies put stringent demands on UAT, if only for the frequency at which it needs to be conducted due to the iterative development of small product releases. In this setting, traditional in-person meetings might not scale up well. Complementary ways are needed to reduce the costs of developer-customer collaboration during UAT. This work introduces a wiki-based approach where customers and developers asynchronously collaborate: developers set the UAT scaffolding that will later shepherd customers when testing. To facilitate understanding, mind maps are used to represent UAT sessions. To facilitate engagement, a popular mind map editor, FreeMind, is turned into an editor for FitNesse, the wiki engine in which these ideas are borne out. The approach is evaluated through a case study involving three real customers. First evaluations are promising. Though at different levels of completeness, the three customers were able to complete a UAT. Customers valued asynchronicity, mind map structuredness, and the transparent generation of documentation out of the UAT session.