5.3.2 Purposes, Contents, and Audiences for Test Reports

The purpose of test reporting is to summarize and communicate test activity information, both during and at the end of a test activity (e.g., a test level). The test report prepared during a test activity may be referred to as a test progress report, while a test report prepared at the end of a test activity may be referred to as a test summary report.

During test monitoring and control, the test manager regularly issues test progress reports for stakeholders. In addition to content common to test progress reports and test summary reports, typical test progress reports may also include:

• The status of the test activities and progress against the test plan

• Factors impeding progress

• Testing planned for the next reporting period

• The quality of the test object

When exit criteria are reached, the test manager issues the test summary report. This report provides a summary of the testing performed, based on the latest test progress report and any other relevant information.

Typical test summary reports may include:

• Summary of testing performed

• Information on what occurred during a test period

• Deviations from plan, including deviations in schedule, duration, or effort of test activities

• Status of testing and product quality with respect to the exit criteria or definition of done

• Factors that have blocked or continue to block progress

• Metrics of defects, test cases, test coverage, activity progress, and resource consumption. (e.g., as described in 5.3.1)

• Residual risks (see section 5.5)

• Reusable test work products produced

The contents of a test report will vary depending on the project, the organizational requirements, and the software development lifecycle. For example, a complex project with many stakeholders or a regulated project may require more detailed and rigorous reporting than a quick software update. As another example, in Agile development, test progress reporting may be incorporated into task boards, defect summaries, and burndown charts, which may be discussed during a daily stand-up meeting (see ISTQBCTFL- AT).

In addition to tailoring test reports based on the context of the project, test reports should be tailored based on the report’s audience. The type and amount of information that should be included for a technical audience or a test team may be different from what would be included in an executive summary report. In the first case, detailed information on defect types and trends may be important. In the latter case, a high-level report (e.g., a status summary of defects by priority, budget, schedule, and test conditions passed/failed/not tested) may be more appropriate.

ISO standard (ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-3) refers to two types of test reports, test progress reports and test completion reports (called test summary reports in this syllabus), and contains structures and examples for each type.