Lesson 6 of 6
The UAT sign-off pack
10 min
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At the end of UAT, process owners are asked to put their names to a decision: the solution is acceptable for go-live, with known exceptions. The sign-off pack is what makes that decision informed. It should be short enough to read before the meeting, honest about what is still open, and traceable back to the evidence in your test management tool.
Keep each layer to what a business leader needs. Scope and coverage fit on one page per area. Results are a table, with a link to the test plans in SAP Cloud ALM for anyone who wants the run history. Open defects are the part people read most closely, so write them in business terms: not "pricing condition missing in procedure" but "freight surcharge not applied on aftermarket orders from plant 1720; billing team adds it manually until the fix on July 14."
Exit criteria make the recommendation objective
Publish UAT exit criteria at the start, and report against them in the pack. Typical criteria are: all in-scope test cases executed; no open critical defects; open high defects only with an agreed workaround and fix date; all fixed defects retested; and every process owner has reviewed their area's results. The test lead's recommendation then says which criteria are met, which are not, and what is proposed.
| Exit criterion | Contoso status | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| 100% of in-scope test cases executed | 140 of 142; two procure-to-pay cases deferred by agreement | Met with exception |
| No open critical defects | 0 open | Met |
| Open high defects have workaround and fix date | 2 open, both with workarounds; fixes due before cutover rehearsal 2 | Met |
| All fixed defects retested | 61 of 61 retested | Met |
| Process owners reviewed results | Order to cash, procure to pay, plan to produce done; record to report pending | Not yet |
Exit criteria reported in the sign-off pack.
Some issues will be open at sign-off. That is normal. What matters is that each is a decision, not an accident. For each accepted risk, record what could happen, how likely it is, the workaround, who will watch it, and when it closes. Dan accepting "manual freight surcharge on aftermarket invoices for two weeks" is a reasonable business call when the volume is small and the billing team has a checklist. The same risk on 5,000 invoices a day would not be.
Send the pack two working days before the meeting. In the room, the test lead presents the recommendation in five minutes, then each process owner walks through their area and states their decision: accept, accept with conditions, or not accept. Grace records conditions and owners. Luis confirms what the decisions mean for cutover. Signatures (wet, electronic or a recorded approval in your tool) follow the meeting with the conditions written in.
- Two working days beforePack sentProcess owners read scope, results, open defects and risks
- First five minutesRecommendationPriya presents the test lead recommendation against exit criteria
- Per areaOwner decisionsEach process owner walks through their area: accept, accept with conditions, or not accept
- In the roomConditions and cutoverGrace records conditions and owners; Luis confirms what they mean for cutover
- After the meetingSignaturesWet, electronic or recorded approval, with the conditions written in
- Accept: the area is ready; open items are low and tracked.
- Accept with conditions: ready if named items are done by named dates, such as "fix for high defect retested before cutover rehearsal 2."
- Not accept: the area is not ready; the program decides between more testing, scope change or a date move.
What would you do?
Mock sign-off meeting. Record to report is the last area. Two month-end close scripts were not executed because Dan's team was on quarter-end, and the pack shows one high defect on an accrual report with a manual workaround. Dan says, "I trust the consultants, I'll sign." What should Priya, as test lead, recommend?
- The sign-off pack covers scope, coverage, results, open defects with workarounds, accepted risks and signatures.
- Write open defects in business terms with workaround, owner and fix date.
- Report against exit criteria published at the start of UAT.
- Accepting risk is a business decision; record it with owner and closure date.
- Use accept, accept with conditions or not accept, and write conditions into the signature.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Which part of the sign-off pack do business leaders typically read most closely?
2. Which is a typical UAT exit criterion?
3. A process owner wants to accept with two scripts unexecuted. What is the best way to record it?
4. Why should a workaround be tried before sign-off?