Test readiness review
A test readiness review is a checkpoint before a test phase begins, where the team confirms that the conditions for starting are met: the build is stable, the test environment and data are in place, the test cases are reviewed and blocking defects are cleared. It ends in a decision to start, to wait, or to start with named exceptions.
The longer version
The review checks entry criteria against reality. The criteria were agreed in the test plan, and the meeting asks for evidence that each holds today. The attendees are whoever can answer for an item: the test lead, the developer lead for the build, the owner of the environment and often the product owner, who may be asked to accept a known gap.
Evidence counts for more than assurance in the room. The build is shown deployed with its version number, a test account is signed into rather than merely listed, integrations with third parties are confirmed to point at sandboxes, and each tester confirms access to the tracker and the tools. Each item is marked met, not met or accepted with a risk, and the answer to every unmet one names an owner and a date.
A phase started before it is ready fills the tracker with reports that are not product defects: a payment step that fails because the sandbox key was never set, a page that errors because the test data was loaded for the previous release's schema. Each costs a developer an investigation before anyone sees that the setup was the cause. The review costs a short meeting and records why testing began when it did. It sits at the opposite end of the phase from release readiness, which asks whether the product may ship once testing is done.
Common questions
What is a test readiness review?
A test readiness review is a checkpoint before a test phase where the team verifies that the conditions for starting are met and decides whether testing can begin.
Who attends a test readiness review?
The test lead, the developer responsible for the build and the owner of the test environment attend, usually with the product owner or project manager. Each person answers for the part of the checklist they own.
What does a test readiness review check?
The review checks the entry criteria set for the phase: a stable and deployed build, a ready environment, test data and accounts, reviewed test cases, working tools and no open defects that would block execution.
What happens if the review finds the team is not ready?
The start is delayed until the unmet items are fixed, or the team agrees to start with named exceptions and an owner for each. Either outcome is written down so the reason is on record.
How is a test readiness review different from release readiness?
A test readiness review happens before testing and asks whether testing can start. Release readiness happens after testing and asks whether the product can ship.
Bug reports that arrive ready to triage.
Collect replay, console, network and browser context with the Free plan.