Quality Risk
Quality risk is the possibility that a quality-related issue may prevent a product or process from meeting specified requirements or stakeholder expectations.
“A product risk or a project risk impacting quality management.”
(Definition reproduced from the ISTQB Glossary. Copyright belongs to ISTQB.)
View the complete ISTQB GlossaryWhat is Quality Risk?
Quality risks may arise from inadequate processes, insufficient testing, poor design, or other factors that affect software quality.
Broad quality focus: Includes both product and process risks.
Risk management: Quality risks should be identified and mitigated early.
Decision support: Helps prioritize quality improvement activities.
Real World Example
A team building a hospital patient-monitoring app identifies that the alarm threshold logic might be miscalculated for certain vital sign combinations, and separately that the one tester who understands that logic is going on leave right before release with no documented handover.
Without recognizing that both a defect in the product and a staffing gap in how the project is run count as Quality risk because they both threaten the same quality outcome, the team might track only the alarm-logic defect and miss that the staffing gap is just as capable of letting that defect ship undetected.
The test manager treats both as Quality risks requiring mitigation: designing focused test cases for the alarm threshold edge cases, and arranging a knowledge-transfer session and documentation before the tester's leave.
The knowledge-transfer session surfaces an edge case in the alarm logic only the departing tester knew about, which then gets test cases written for it before release — showing why treating the staffing gap as seriously as the technical defect, both under Quality risk, is what actually protected quality here.
Practice Questions
Question 1
A team identifies a possible defect in alarm threshold logic, and separately notes that the only tester who understands that logic is leaving before release with no documented handover. Which concept covers BOTH of these as risks requiring mitigation?
Question 2
Which of the following BEST illustrates a quality risk arising from a project risk rather than a product risk?
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