Methodologies of Acceptance Testing in SaaS Environments

Abstract

Modern business is more competitive than it has ever been before due to the increasing spread of technological achievements. Therefore, when all available options are equally competent in terms of provided functionality, the quality of the delivered service becomes the primary criteria of choice for the customer. This factor becomes especially important for any SaaS company as such a business model assumes making architectural and infra-structural decisions on the behalf of of the client. Thus, a thorough acceptance testing of a software application is as important as developing it.

The study focuses on researching different methodologies of software acceptance testing and their impact on existing business processes. The study is primarily dedicated to acceptance and performance testing carried out after major software upgrades and customized minor changes. The empirical part was done in a Finnish SaaS company, which provided an opportunity to try different approaches and improve ineffective processes.

Different reoccurring obstacles in effective testing processes were identified. Major encountered challenges include lack of communication and technical complexity, resulting in inefficient planning. Several vectors of improvement were suggested to improve the soft-ware quality.