Test Result
A test result is the recorded outcome produced after executing a test case or test procedure.
“The consequence/outcome of the execution of a test.”
(Definition reproduced from the ISTQB Glossary. Copyright belongs to ISTQB.)
View the complete ISTQB GlossaryWhat is Test Result?
Test results document whether the software behaved as expected and provide evidence for defect reporting, quality assessment, and release decisions.
Outcome recording: Captures actual execution results.
Comparison: Actual results are compared with expected results.
Evidence: Supports quality and defect analysis.
Real World Example
A tester executes a batch of 50 regression test cases overnight for a banking app, and the CI dashboard shows "38 passed, 12 failed" the next morning.
A new team member treats each failure as automatically meaning there's a defect in the app, and starts filing 12 separate bug tickets without investigating further — but a Test result is just the recorded outcome of running the test, not proof of a real product defect on its own.
An experienced tester reviews each of the 12 failed Test results individually: checking actual versus expected output, the environment state, and any error logs captured at execution time, before deciding whether each one reflects a genuine defect, a test data issue, or an environment problem.
Investigation shows 9 of the 12 failures were caused by an expired test environment certificate, 2 were genuine defects, and 1 was a flaky timing issue — treating raw Test results as automatically meaning "defect found" would have created 9 false bug tickets and wasted the development team's time.
Practice Questions
Question 1
An overnight regression run reports 12 failed test cases out of 50. A new tester immediately files 12 defect tickets without further investigation. What has the tester misunderstood about a test result?
Question 2
Which piece of information is MOST essential to include as part of a recorded test result?
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