UAT results, go/no-go decision and stakeholder sign-off
Key Takeaway
UAT results drive the go/no-go decision. A fail means no-go, and deployment to production waits for formal written sign-off from business stakeholders.
User acceptance testing (UAT) is end-user testing in a sandbox or test environment. Its purpose is to confirm that the business is actually getting what it originally requested. UAT is the last stage before go-live, so its pass or fail result drives the go/no-go decision. Formal written sign-off from business stakeholders then clears the way to deploy. The idea isn't specific to Salesforce, so it applies to any project, including an Agentforce Manufacturing rollout.
What UAT checks
UAT happens in a sandbox after the technology team's own quality assurance and quality engineering testing has passed. Because of that timing, UAT is the last stage before go-live.
Functional tests check that features work as defined in technical requirements. UAT asks a different question: does the delivery match what was originally requested, and is the system sufficient for business use?
Testing can involve end users, business stakeholders, business analysts and IT teams. UAT usually runs from test cases. Each result is either a pass or a fail.