Beware of Disengaged User Acceptance in Testing Software-as-a-Service

Abstract

User acceptance tests (UAT) are an integral part of software engineering. This study aims to question the appropriateness of UATs to collect usable feedback for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, which are continuously delivered rather than rolled out during a one-off signoff process. Our preliminary results from an exploratory qualitative field study at a multinational SaaS provider in Denmark show that UATs often address the wrong problem in that positive user acceptance may paradoxically indicate a negative user experience. Hence, SaaS providers should be careful not to rest on what we initially term disengaged user acceptance. Instead, we aim to explore how SaaS providers can purposefully query users for ambivalent emotions to evoke constructive criticism. We briefly outline the adverse effects of disengaged user acceptance on testing SaaS applications.