UAT test case
A UAT test case is a test case written for user acceptance testing: a business scenario, the steps a tester follows, the expected result and a pass or fail outcome. It is written in the language of the business process, so that a user who did not build the software can run it and judge the result.
The longer version
A typical case holds an ID, the business scenario, preconditions such as the role and data needed, numbered steps, the expected result, the actual result, a status of pass or fail, the tester's name and date, and a link to any defect raised. The scenario comes first and is stated as something a user does, such as 'a finance approver rejects an invoice over their limit', never as a function being exercised.
Writing from the acceptance criteria keeps the cases tied to what was agreed. Each criterion gets at least one case, and the traceability matrix records the link, so at the end of the run there is no doubt which agreed behaviours were seen working. Steps stay at the level a business user would describe.
The results roll up into a decision. A failed case becomes a defect, a retest follows the fix, and the business owner signs off when the agreed cases pass or when the open ones are accepted with their risk understood. The UAT test plan template on this site holds the scope and the entry and exit criteria that surround the cases, and the UAT checklist template records each scenario and the sign-off.
Common questions
What should a UAT test case include?
A UAT test case includes an ID, the business scenario, preconditions, numbered steps, the expected result, the actual result, a pass or fail status, the tester and date, and a link to any defect. Acceptance of the release as a whole is recorded once, in the UAT sign-off, outside the individual cases.
How is a UAT test case different from a QA test case?
A QA test case is written by the testing team to verify the software against its specification, often at the level of functions and inputs. A UAT test case is written or reviewed by business users, in terms of a real process, to confirm the software serves the need.
Who writes UAT test cases?
Business analysts or product owners write them with the end users, sometimes with a tester's help on structure. Users should read or run them, because they know which exceptions in the process really happen.
How many UAT test cases do you need?
A team needs enough to cover each acceptance criterion and each critical business scenario at least once, with extra cases for the exceptions users meet most often. There is no fixed number, and coverage of the agreed criteria is the measure that counts.
What happens when a UAT test case fails?
The tester records the actual result with evidence such as a screenshot and raises a defect, and the case waits for a retest after the fix. The business owner decides whether an open failure blocks sign-off or is accepted for a later release.
Bug reports that arrive ready to triage.
Collect replay, console, network and browser context with the Free plan.