Acceptance testing can mean one of two things:
- A smoke test is used as an acceptance test prior to introducing a new build to the main testing process, i.e. before integration or regression.
- Acceptance testing performed by the customer, often in their lab environment on their own hardware, is known as user acceptance testing (UAT). Acceptance testing may be performed as part of the hand-off process between any two phases of development.
In engineering and its various sub disciplines, acceptance testing is black-box testing performed on a system (for example: a piece of software, lots of manufactured mechanical parts, or batches of chemical products) prior to its delivery. It is also known as functional testing, black-box testing, QA testing, application testing, confidence testing, final testing, validation testing, or factory acceptance testing.
Software developers often distinguish acceptance testing by the system provider from acceptance testing by the customer (the user or client) prior to accepting transfer of ownership. In the case of software, acceptance testing performed by the customer is known as user acceptance testing (UAT), end-user testing, site (acceptance) testing, or field (acceptance) testing.
A smoke test is used as an acceptance test prior to introducing a build to the main testing process.
