UAT Glossary
This glossary gives you clear, beginner‑friendly definitions of the most important UAT terms. Use it as a quick reference while working through templates, examples, and practice exercises.
Acceptance Criteria
Clear statements that define what must be true for a requirement to be considered complete. Acceptance criteria guide testers on what to validate and help the business decide accept vs reject.
Actual Result
What actually happened when the tester performed the steps in a test case. Used to compare against the expected result.
Business Process
The workflow or activity a user performs in the system (e.g., “Customer Profile Management,” “Loan Application Review”). Scenarios are built around business processes.
Defect
A problem found during testing. A defect is anything that does not work as expected, causes incorrect behavior, or breaks a requirement.
Defect Log
A record of defects found during UAT. Includes defect ID, summary, severity, steps to reproduce, expected result, actual result, and status.
Expected Outcome
What should happen if the system works correctly. Used in scenarios and acceptance criteria.
Expected Result
The correct behavior the tester should see when performing the steps in a test case. Used to determine pass/fail.
Negative Testing
Testing how the system behaves with invalid, incomplete, or unexpected input. Helps uncover defects that normal “happy path” testing won’t find.
Pass/Fail
The final decision for a test case.
- Pass: Actual result matches expected result
- Fail: Actual result does not match expected result
Pre‑Conditions
What must be true before testing begins. Examples:
- User is logged in
- Customer has an existing profile
- Required data exists
Regression Testing
Testing existing functionality after a change to ensure nothing broke. Often done after defects are fixed.
Requirement
A statement describing what the system must do. All UAT test cases, scenarios, and acceptance criteria are built from requirements.
Scenario
A real‑world action a user performs in the system. Scenarios help testers understand what they are testing before writing test cases.
Severity
How serious a defect is. Common levels:
- Low: Minor issue, no impact
- Medium: Some impact, but workaround exists
- High: Major impact, no workaround
- Critical: Blocks users or breaks core functionality
Steps to Reproduce
Exact steps a tester follows to trigger a defect. Must be clear so developers can reproduce the issue.
Test Case
A step‑by‑step script a tester follows to confirm a requirement works correctly. Includes scenario, pre‑conditions, steps, expected result, actual result, and pass/fail.
Test Scenario
A high‑level description of what the user is trying to accomplish. Test cases are created from scenarios.
UAT (User Acceptance Testing)
The final phase of testing where real users validate that the system works for business needs. UAT ensures the product is ready for release.
UAT Environment
A testing environment that mirrors production. Used for UAT so testers can validate real‑world behavior safely.
UAT Decision (Accept/Reject)
The business’s final decision on whether a requirement is ready to go live.
- Accept: Requirement meets acceptance criteria
- Reject: Requirement fails, has defects, or does not meet business needs
What You Should Do Next
Now that you have the glossary, you can move confidently through the rest of the site.