Scribe
A scribe is the participant in a formal review who records review findings, decisions, and action items during the review session.
“A person who records information at a review meeting.”
(Definition reproduced from the ISTQB Glossary. Copyright belongs to ISTQB.)
View the complete ISTQB GlossaryWhat is Scribe?
The scribe ensures that identified defects and follow-up activities are documented accurately for later tracking.
Documentation role: Records findings and decisions.
Supports traceability: Maintains an accurate review record.
Administrative responsibility: Allows reviewers to focus on technical discussions.
Real World Example
A regulated product team is preparing a release where Scribe appears in reviews, test design conversations, or defect triage rather than as an isolated glossary word.
The risk is that the team treats Scribe 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 Scribe and similar ideas.
The page becomes useful in practice because Scribe is connected to a specific testing decision, not memorized as a detached definition.
Practice Questions
Question 1
Which statement BEST describes Scribe in the context of ISTQB terminology?
Question 2
A tester needs to explain Scribe to a non‑technical stakeholder. Which approach is MOST appropriate?
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