Statuses

Each test should be given one of the following statuses: 

1. Not Started - The test has not started and should be the default status for planned tests at the very start of test execution.
   
2. Passed - The expected result defined in the test step matches the actual result experienced by the tester.
   
3. Failed - The expect result defined in the test step does not match the actual result experienced by the tester.

It is important to state that even though the failure of the test step may be suspected at that moment in time (e.g., a suspicion a requirement has been changed), whilst the root cause of the unexpected behavior is still unknown the test step / test must be marked as failed.

It is the responsibility of the test lead (with the assistance of the testing manager) for that test phase to communicate the test execution summary on a regular basis throughout the project. Details on how regular and what test metrics will be reported should be described in the lower-level test plan as different Projects / Changes may require differing levels of reporting.

Key metrics that should be reported include:

• Volume of tests that have been executed that day / week / custom period;
  
• Volume of tests successfully passed;
  
• Volume of tests failed;
  
• Volume of tests that could not be started or completed i.e. blocked by an existing issue;

Details of defects discovered including:

• Volume of defects found;
  
• Volume of defects closed;
  
• Volume of defects currently open;
• Defects should be categorized by severity (High Impact, Medium Impact, Low Impact) and types of defects (hardware,

 code, configuration, requirements).