APPENDIX C
UAT TRAINING

THE TRAINING PROCESS

Training is, first and foremost in the implementation of an IS project, a process of enabling. One-off classroom courses have a place in this process but so do a variety of other methods that are less about ‘pushing’ information and more about helping individuals and teams to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to be effective.

The generic process is one of:

•   defining training objectives;

•   identifying the best way to achieve the objectives;

•   delivering the training;

•   measuring the learning achieved.

This process can be broken down into as many elements of training as necessary and, helped by the feedback from measurement, can be repeated as often as required. This is very important. Where changes of perception or acquisition of new skills are concerned, a single training event will never fully meet the need. Timing is key, and training can often be broken into three key stages:

•   preparation – concentrating on information and motivation for the next stage;

•   delivery – concentrating on providing skills and knowledge required;

•   reinforcement – concentrating on refreshing skills and knowledge and, if appropriate, advancing the level.

Each of these stages can involve the receivers of training directly in identifying needs, especially between stages, so that training delivery can be tailored to the individuals and their needs at each delivery.

Because training events are not all about ‘push’, the best method of delivery will, in many cases, not be teaching or lecturing, and much of the training delivery will be achieved more effectively by participants in the project rather than training specialists. Where a training specialist is essential is in helping to shape and define the overall training programme; a role we will call training consultant.

THE TRAINING CONSULTANT ROLE

The training process must be integrated into the overall project plan and can be understood as a series of tasks, some required and others optional, that should be carried out depending on the size and specific circumstances of the project.

Figure C.1 lists the high-level tasks that need to be carried out in order to deliver UAT and end-user training. Tasks in italics are not directly training related but are research tasks that help the training consultant to understand the system. Research tasks may include reading the relevant documentation, helping with the UAT preparation and attending demonstrations and walk-throughs.

The training consultant is not necessarily a specialist trainer and not necessarily a consultant in the usual sense of the word. The role is one of enabling, shaping, encouraging, motivating, measuring progress, adapting and partly delivering a training programme. The consultant must therefore be someone who knows the organisation and the project well, understands the challenges of IS implementation, has experience of training delivery, and can manage a programme over an extended period. This is, therefore, a senior role in the project with a very high level of responsibility and accountability for the eventual success of the project.

Even if an IS implementation is small, the training consultant role is vital although it may be absorbed within another role, such as the project manager role, or provided by an external specialist on a part-time basis.

This is not a book about training so we will not pursue the development of a project-wide training programme here, but UAT training is a key part of preparation for UAT so we will focus attention on defining that part of the training programme to provide a flavour of the remainder of the overall programme.

It is also very useful to understand how UAT training should be planned, prepared, delivered and followed up in the context of the overall training process for a number of reasons:

•   The person who delivers or enables UAT training will also be likely to deliver or enable other training for the project.

•   The end-user training, which is as critical to the success of implementation as UAT training, will be partially dependent on UAT training and testing (and its outcomes) as a baseline for the end-user training content.

•   Planning for the training activities is likely to be done at the same time.

UAT training has four key objectives:

1.  to provide a thorough understanding of the UAT process to be used on the project and its relationship with the development process;

2.  to provide a thorough grasp of the system under test and the business intent for which it is being implemented; this will include familiarity with the relevant documentation, especially the RS;

3.  to prepare the participants fully for the tasks they are about to carry out including key skills such as review techniques, test design and execution, and reporting, and it must include an introduction to any management tools (for example IM) that they will have to use;

4.  to promote UAT team formation and development.

Figure C.1 The training process

Clearly timing is essential in planning and delivering these training events. Objective 1 must be delivered early in the project. Objectives 2 and 3 will need to be close to the beginning of the UAT exercise, partly because the system will need to be ready for demonstration and partly because the time lapse between training and use of the skills must be minimised. Objective 4 should, ideally, be a feature of all other training.

These objectives set a rough timetable that might look like this:

•   An early training phase to achieve objective 1 and initiate team development (which requires the UAT team to be identified and staffed early in the project).

•   A second training phase to introduce the system and testing some time before completion of development and further enhance team formation, after which the team can begin key tasks such as requirements reviews.

•   A practical demonstration of the system and hands-on testing training just before UAT begins, together with hands-on training of any required management tools. (Team development can be further enhanced here through role play based on realistic scenarios.)

•   Workshop sessions can be arranged during the UAT phase to sharpen skills or introduce specific techniques that can be used in this project.

•   A UAT review session to elicit feedback on the effectiveness of UAT training and of UAT, and to identify key insights into what will be most important for end-user training. In particular, the UA testers may have discovered potentially serious issues for which workarounds have been developed during UAT.

The individual trainers for these sessions can be drawn from the project team, from specialist trainers inside or outside the organisation and from the sponsor and managers who defined the business benefits. The widest possible participation in training delivery should be encouraged, with the training consultant acting as the coordinator and ensuring that all training is effective and integrated into a clear programme.

By way of an example of more detailed planning we will examine the requirements for training objective 2 above, using the template of:

•   entry criteria (what must be in place to enable the training);

•   training inputs (what must be provided at the start of the training event);

•   training content (what the training event must deliver to participants);

•   training outputs (what must be created by the training event).

The template provides a coherent structure for this and any training event.

Entry criteria for UAT training

Entry criteria are the conditions that must be met to make the training event viable.

Business requirements are available

Understanding the requirements is key to UAT as well as to UAT training. One purpose of this event is to enable the preparation of a UA test basis. (The next training event will deliver key skills for designing tests from the test basis.)

Application code is nearing completion

Often UAT training is carried out before work on the IS has been fully completed. This is acceptable as long as the ‘workarounds’ are known and there are not so many that they affect the usefulness of UA testing and training. The relationship between the business intent, the business requirements and the system as developed should be clear.

System testing is under way and all previous testing levels have been signed off

Previous testing must have been completed and outstanding issues must be of low criticality or of a cosmetic nature and a known quantity.

Training inputs for UAT training

Training inputs are the prerequisites for effective training.

Suitable training venue

A training venue must be suitable for the purpose, for example demonstrating a system, and large enough for the anticipated participants. The arrangements for acquiring suitable training venues may need to be started very early to ensure their availability when required.

Attendance list

The attendance list should provide each attendee’s current role and their role within the UAT team. If possible a brief outline of the attendee’s previous experience will help the trainer(s) form a mental picture.

Defined objectives

Defining the objectives for UAT training is essential. They need to be sent to the attendees in their invitations and should be the framework for the training content. Referring to the objectives of training should also keep the training content relevant.

Evaluation of current knowledge

The content of training must be relevant to the audience’s current levels of UAT and business knowledge and experience. A brief quiz (used as an initial icebreaker) can be used to determine where each participant is (or thinks they are) on a scale against each key topic.

Training materials

Visuals, handouts, exercises and any supporting material should be bound into a manual bearing a suitable logo. A specific team logo is helpful in reinforcing the team’s identity.

Trainer notes

Key words, phrases and exercises help to provide seamless delivery and, more importantly, to ensure no important points are missed in delivery.

UAT training content

General

An introduction to UAT and software testing will have been provided in an earlier training event (to meet objective 1).

Basics to cover would include:

•   general project information and timeline;

•   the basic functionality of the system;

•   any known issues and workarounds;

•   what the system is designed to deliver;

•   what the expected business benefits are;

•   what testing has already taken place;

•   introduction and explanation of the RS.

Reinforcement may be needed for key ideas delivered in the earlier training event, such as:

•   What is UAT?

•   What is the specific purpose of UAT?

•   What tasks are carried out during UAT and in what order?

These topics can be added to the content at appropriate stages as revision or used as an initial quiz to measure levels of current knowledge.

The interaction required to create the session, especially if members of the project team and other stakeholders deliver some of the material about the project, is invaluable in helping to form the ‘UAT community’.

An introduction to the system, with demonstrations as necessary, is important so that the team can feel comfortable with the way the system works and, if possible, have an opportunity to do some simple practical exercises to gain confidence. Actual behaviour can also be related to the business requirement from which it arose to provide insights into the interpretation of the RS.

Task-based training

Detailed task-based training belongs under objective 3 and will be the focus of a later training event. All UA testers will need to understand the key steps in executing a test script, evaluating and logging the results, and reporting test incidents, so these ideas can be introduced in this training event to be reinforced with practical hands-on training at the next, which will be based on the specific approach to be used in the project.

At this stage some background will be needed on the overall processes so that testers can understand where their specific contribution fits. They will also need to understand the basics of how test scripts arise so that they can contribute their experience and question any aspect that does not make sense to them as end-users.

Key content will need to include:

•   the FTP;

•   requirements, test conditions, test cases, test scripts;

•   how to complete a test script;

•   what UAT test scripts will look like;

•   how much detail they will contain;

•   how to note issues on test scripts;

•   how results are recorded;

•   what a test incident is;

•   how test incidents are reported;

•   severity ratings and how to apply them.

The task-based training will need some background, such as:

•   what will happen to issues raised;

•   how to feed back issues that are not part of the script, such as usability;

•   the importance of working independently and not forming a consensus.

By covering the points mentioned, the UA testers will have a good understanding of why and how they are taking part in UAT and what the outcomes will achieve.

Team formation

The single most important aspect of team formation is to ensure that the whole team is present. Exercises should provide opportunities for team members to cooperate and provide mutual help and support. Group practical exercises are one way to engage team members, although it is important to watch out for the least experienced or confident being marginalised by more confident team members.

Careful debriefing of exercises provides opportunities to draw out key issues about participation and mutual support by inviting participants to make their own assessments of how successful the exercise was and how each participant contributed.

Training outputs

Training outputs are those things we expect to see at the end of training to demonstrate that training was successful and to provide opportunities to enhance what has been learned.

Attendance list

A record of actual attendance, with some notes on participation by each trainee, may be useful later, especially if anyone has been forced to miss any part of the training.

Comments and questions list

Questions raise during training can be noted and fed back to those stakeholders who were not present. In particular, those not answered at the time can be followed up.

Completed exercises

Completed exercises from training may be useful to participants as a reminder of the situations in which key skills were practised. A record of completed exercises may also be a useful insight into the level of skills acquired during training and any that might need to be reinforced.

Increased knowledge and changed behaviour

The most important training output is the fact that the attendees have learned what they needed to learn from the session. The quiz at the start of training can be repeated to see how much participants’ confidence in their knowledge has increased. Participant feedback can be collected and evaluated. The trainer can also provide feedback on the progress made by participants and any problems encountered.