Appraisal
Appraisal is the process of evaluating a work product or process to determine its quality, effectiveness, or compliance with defined criteria.
“The activities of measuring and monitoring the quality of a system.”
(Definition reproduced from the ISTQB Glossary. Copyright belongs to ISTQB.)
View the complete ISTQB GlossaryWhat is Appraisal?
Appraisal helps organizations assess whether software products, testing activities, or development processes meet expected standards and identify opportunities for improvement.
Quality evaluation: Reviews strengths and weaknesses objectively.
Improvement focus: Findings support process or product enhancement.
Assessment methods: Appraisals may involve reviews, audits, or formal evaluations.
Real World Example
A regulated product team is preparing a release where Appraisal appears in reviews, test design conversations, or defect triage rather than as an isolated glossary word.
The risk is that the team treats Appraisal as interchangeable with nearby ISTQB terms. That makes test scope blurry and can lead to weak evidence for the release decision.
The tester anchors the discussion in the official definition, asks where the concept appears in the product, and designs examples that show the difference between Appraisal and similar ideas.
The page becomes useful in practice because Appraisal is connected to a specific testing decision, not memorized as a detached definition.
Practice Questions
Question 1
Which activity is MOST clearly an appraisal cost in cost of quality?
Question 2
Which metric BEST demonstrates effective appraisal activities?
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