Entry Criteria
Entry criteria are the conditions that must be satisfied before a testing activity or test level can begin.
“The set of conditions for officially starting a defined task.”
(Definition reproduced from the ISTQB Glossary. Copyright belongs to ISTQB.)
View the complete ISTQB GlossaryWhat is Entry Criteria?
Entry criteria help ensure that testing starts only when the necessary prerequisites, resources, and work products are available, reducing delays and wasted effort.
Readiness: Required artifacts such as requirements or builds must be available.
Quality gates: Entry criteria prevent testing from starting prematurely.
Project control: They improve planning and resource utilization.
Real World Example
A healthcare scheduling team is building a feature that lets patients book follow-up appointments after a consultation.
Developers, testers, clinicians, and product owners may all believe they understand the request while imagining different rules. Entry criteria gives the team a shared way to confirm intent.
The tester turns clinical and business expectations into concrete examples, such as eligible appointment windows, unavailable doctors, and messages shown when no slot is open.
The team prevents late rework because Entry criteria makes expected behavior testable before the feature is treated as finished.
Practice Questions
Question 1
Which statement BEST describes Entry criteria in the context of ISTQB terminology?
Question 2
A tester needs to explain Entry criteria to a non‑technical stakeholder. Which approach is MOST appropriate?
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