Test Management
Entry & Exit Criteria
Conditions that must be met to start testing (entry) and to declare testing complete (exit).
Full definition
Entry and exit criteria define when testing should start and when it can stop.
Entry criteria (prerequisites to start testing):
- Test environment is set up and accessible
- Test data is prepared
- Code is deployed and build is stable
- Smoke tests pass
- Test cases are reviewed and approved
- Required tools are configured
Exit criteria (conditions to stop testing):
- All planned test cases executed
- Defect density below threshold (e.g., < 3 critical bugs)
- Test pass rate above threshold (e.g., > 95%)
- All critical and high-priority bugs fixed and verified
- Code coverage meets target (e.g., > 80%)
- Performance requirements met
- Sign-off from stakeholders
Why they matter:
- Prevent premature testing (wasting time on unstable builds)
- Prevent premature release (shipping with known critical issues)
- Provide objective criteria for go/no-go decisions
- Align team on expectations
In Agile, the Definition of Done (DoD) serves a similar purpose — it defines when a story/sprint is truly complete.