Entry & Exit Criteria

Summary

Entry criteria define when testing can begin (e.g. build is stable, environment is ready); exit criteria define when testing is considered complete (e.g. no critical bugs open) — clear thresholds prevent ambiguous 'are we done?' debates.

• 1Draft entry and exit criteria for a hypothetical test cycle.
• 2Learn why starting testing before entry criteria are met usually wastes effort on a broken build.
• 3Practice defending an exit criteria decision when there's pressure to ship despite open issues.