UAT Participation Information

Date posted: May 4, 2021

Bellevue College ctcLink Communications header

Greetings,

As a key contributor to our college’s business practices, you have been identified as a person who is well-qualified for ctcLink User Acceptance Testing (UAT). UAT is an activity led by the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) to conduct end-to-end testing of business workflows. The reasons for testing are two-fold:

  • first, to ensure the software configuration decisions made by the project team are correct and work for our purposes, and
  • second, to ensure the security permissions applied to your ctcLink account are the ones you need to do your workflow when we go live.

The purpose of this email is to share the dates and responsibilities with you so you have time to plan your summer vacations, plan your work schedule and complete your Canvas trainings.

Let me preface that I understand this is a lot of information, and that the information isn’t necessarily easy to navigate. Thanks for bearing with me.

What you need to Know and What you need to Do:

UAT: The actual testing of ctcLink

  • Your assigned tests are listed in the UAT Participant List spreadsheet, and are listed on two tabs: Sprint 1 and Sprint 2. Dates are listed on the tabs, and are:
    • Sprint 1: July 28 through August 23
    • Sprint 2: August 30-September 24
    • See vacation FAQ below
  • Primary vs Secondary testers:
    • Primary is assigned to do the testing
    • Secondary will step in should a Primary become unavailable.
    • Both need to attend all training, walkthroughs, and kickoff.

Training: Now and Later

  1. UAT has prerequisite training – these. Column G and I in the UAT Participant List shows which prerequisites you need to complete by May 31. These courses equal your Phase 1 Canvas training and are your ticket into the Walkthroughs. It’s very important they are completed on time so we can load your credentials into the test environment.
  2. Phase 2 training (aka Key Concepts) dates align with the actual testing and is led by SBCTC. If you complete your UAT/Walkthrough prereqs, you’ve completed the Phase 2 prereqs. Yay!
    • Phase 2 is required for testers (you), but all employees are encouraged to attend (so please share the details with your manager/coworkers). Anyone who attends must have the prerequisites complete. Phase 2/Key Concepts training details will be added to the UAT Participant List soon.
    • Test execution of data scenarios will directly follow Key Concepts sessions.

Walkthroughs: Sprinkled between June 1-July 22

  • Walkthroughs are listed in the UAT Participant List.
  • The SBCTC will walk us through the business process flows, data scenario worksheets and expectations for UAT testing execution.
  • UAT participants are only required to attend the sessions corresponding to their UAT assignment, but all employees are encouraged to attend (so please share the details with your manager/coworkers).
  • Anyone who attends must have the prerequisites complete. Prerequisites are listed in column I of the UAT Participant List.

Kick-off: July 28

  • The SBCTC will provide an overview of the UAT process including how to activate UAT tester accounts, how to use the UAT documentation in the Reference Center to guide you through the UAT flows, as well as how to track testing issues using Oracle Test Manager (OTM). This is an important meeting you won’t want to miss.

So, in a nutshell: the UAT Chronology

  1. Complete training by May 31
  2. Walkthroughs are sprinkled throughout June 1 through July 22nd
  3. UAT Kickoff happens July 28
  4. UAT begins July 28th and ends August 23
  5. Break from August 24-27
  6. UAT Sprint 2 begins August 30 and ends September 24

FAQ

  • When can I take vacation? A: During the pockets of time between scheduled events. From a ctcLink perspective, June/July are fairly safe so long as you plan around the Walkthroughs. Coordinate with your manager.
  • But what about August?! A: There are a finite amount of tests to be completed. Depending on how many you have and how fast you complete them, it’s possible the days at the end of each sprint will not be needed, in which case you don’t need to stick around. The first part of each sprint is definitely the most important part but I don’t expect people will work September 3rd.

Actions to take today

  1. Review UAT Participant List and identify which tests you will do.
  2. Review and add your Walkthrough(s) to your calendar. Don’t forget to add the WebEx info (linked in the spreadsheet).
  3. Add the UAT Kickoff on July 28th to your calendar. I’ll also send an invite.
  4. Note which sprints you are participating in, add it/them to your calendar. Start talking to your manager/team about how to include them in the testing (observing you, taking turns doing it, etc)
  1. Schedule time to finish your Phase 1 training
  2. Schedule your vacations!

If you’ve made it this far and are still in one piece, congratulations! We’re lucky to have a dedicated and knowledgeable person like you participating in these tasks. It won’t always be fun, but we’ll sure try! You’re going to learn a ton and will be that much closer to knowing what to do when we’re live in ctcLink. Please email me if you need support during this process and we’ll work through any issues that arise, together. Warmly,

Last Updated August 15, 2021