Moderator
A moderator is the person responsible for planning, leading, and controlling a formal review while ensuring the review process follows established procedures.
“(1) The person responsible for running review meetings. (2) The person who performs a usability test session.”
(Definition reproduced from the ISTQB Glossary. Copyright belongs to ISTQB.)
View the complete ISTQB GlossaryWhat is Moderator?
The moderator coordinates review activities, manages discussions, records outcomes, and helps the team achieve the objectives of the review efficiently.
Facilitation: Guides the review meeting and keeps discussions focused.
Process responsibility: Ensures entry criteria, roles, and review procedures are followed.
Neutral role: Facilitates discussion without dominating technical decisions.
Real World Example
A regulated product team is preparing a release where Moderator appears in reviews, test design conversations, or defect triage rather than as an isolated glossary word.
The risk is that the team treats Moderator 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 Moderator and similar ideas.
The page becomes useful in practice because Moderator is connected to a specific testing decision, not memorized as a detached definition.
Practice Questions
Question 1
Which statement BEST describes Moderator in the context of ISTQB terminology?
Question 2
A tester needs to explain Moderator to a non‑technical stakeholder. Which approach is MOST appropriate?
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