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• Prajakta Pandit    -Posted on 05 Nov 15 - Writing a test summary report is a major task of evaluating exit criteria and reporting. - Test summary report is formal document that summarizes the results of all testing efforts for a particular testing cycle of a project or a module. - It gives the status of testing, it is nothing but daily report regarding testing. - It defines the overall status of the test cases.

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Which of the following is a MAJOR task of evaluating exit criteria and reporting?

Explanation: Evaluating exit criterion is the activity where test execution is assessed against the defined objectives. This should be done for each test level, as for each we need to know whether we have done enough testing. Writing a test summary report for stakeholders is a MAJOR task of evaluating exit criteria and reporting.

• A. Logging the outcome of test execution
• B. Writing a test summary report for stakeholders
• C. Repeating test activities as a result of action taken for each discrepancy
• D. Evaluating testability of the requirements and system

Answer: Option B

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How To Create A Test Summary Report?

The completion of the development cycle is followed by handing over the responsibilities of checking the quality and functions of the software to the testers. If we are in an organization or a startup, the project size tends to be bigger than what we would experience on an isolated individual project.

Those types of projects are easier to test and if I wish to make someone understand what I tested and how I tested, a one-hour Zoom call would suffice all the information and doubts. However, this is not the case in global projects in big organizations. With a large team of testers working on each release, defining their processes verbally is impossible.

The submission of technical documents used within the teams would prove to be highly complex for non-technical people. Then what would be the best method to solve this problem? Can we settle on a new system of documents that can be maintained as an industry standard and can provide all the essential details to technical as well as non-technical people?

This is where a test summary report plays its part and in this post, we will explore its definition, components, and relevance in the SDLC cycle.

Table Of Contents

• 1 What Is A Test Summary Report?
• 2 When to create a Test Summary Report?
• 3 Why Is a Test Summary Report Important
• 4 Test summary reports in Test Automation
• 5.1 Minimum coding requirements
• 5.2 Equipped with all the major testing domains
• 5.3 Great collaborative features
• 5.4 Preferably over the cloud
• 5.5 Excellent reporting features
• 5.6 How can Testsigma help in the test summary reports?
• 6.1 Step 1: Time and team
• 6.2 Step 2: Purpose and Prologue
• 6.3 Step 3: In-Scope and Out-scope
• 6.4 Step 4: Metrics and Measurements
• 6.5 Step 5: Conclusion and Closure
• 6.6 Step 6: Learnings and Epilogue
• 6.7 Step 7: Suggestions and Sign Off
• 7 Test summary report – A template
• 8 Sample Test Summary Report for an eCommerce application
• 10.1 What are the contents of the test summary report?
• 10.2 Who is responsible for the test summary report?

What Is A Test Summary Report?

The testing of software includes a lot of key domains that together conclude a successful testing phase. These include test cases, suites, scenarios, goals of testing, results, and everything else we can think of. Once everything is complete, we need to provide these details to higher management and stakeholders but in the most informative way possible. For example, if we start using technical terms like CI pipelines, etc, it may not fit well with people who are not technical. For example, this job runs on the GitLab platform:

A test summary report contains all this data documented in a summarised form and created only once during the testing phase i.e. at the end. It is an important document and is always expected whenever the testing team concludes testing. Due to this, a test summary report may also be referred to as a test closure report or quality report in different organizations.

When to create a Test Summary Report?

A test summary report must contain all the results and summaries related to each testing phase. Therefore, it is ideal to create the test summary report at the end of the testing cycle with all the findings and ship it with other testing materials.

Why Is a Test Summary Report Important

The test summary report is analyzed by a lot of people who take further decisions based solely on this report. For instance, if the test summary report has advised that the critical bugs are still present in this release, stakeholders make developers accountable for it based just on this report. It works as a bridge between the testers and the stakeholders to understand the current status of the software and its health. This makes this document a very important part of software release and the areas where its effect is seen the most are as follows:

• Test summary report provides the quality status of the software which is considered final and conclusive. It would also be safe to say that the test summary report plays an important role in shaping the future decisions of the software.
• Since the test summary report’s status is final, it helps in deciding whether the software can be released or not. If the test summary report has pointed out critical issues as unfixed, the release is postponed.
• The test summary report helps to understand the testing, how it is performed, how efficiently it was done, and its impact on the software to the stakeholders and other non-technical as well as technical people.
• The report helps testers reflect back on their work and retrospect their process.
• The test summary report is essential in analyzing the shortcomings of the developers through rigorous analysis and opens the scope for improvements for future releases.
• A test summary report is essential in tracking the defects between subsequent releases and if mapped for a long time, then it can also provide progress and defect tracking for historical data.

These important aspects make a test summary report an essential document to be delivered before release. However, these are generalized benefits that will be reaped no matter how we deliver the report. The test summary report can also be linked to test automation where some specific “automation” benefits would be advantageous to the team members.

Test summary reports in Test Automation

If we constrain the generic benefits that come with the implementation of test summary reports to a specific domain like test automation , we can see that similar benefits can magnify the impact of that domain in the overall testing phase. Test automation is inevitable. It will be adopted in the project for quicker and more efficient testing if not today then tomorrow. So, it is safe to say that whenever we adopt test automation, its impact will be visible in the test summary report as well. A test summary report when combined with test automation explores the efficiency or the defects of the automation tool. If for the maximum part of testing, you are dependent on the automation or an automation tool, the result of the report is effectively the result of the automation. It can affect how testing is conducted which is visible explicitly. This risk can be easily covered by choosing a good tool for test automation. If the tool is powerful, optimized, and careful enough to understand all the standards and best practices of test automation, we can bet on a good test summary report for release.

Test automation tools and test summary reports

If you are using test automation and want a good test summary report which needs minimum effort from the testing team, we need a good test automation tool. For this, we must look for specific qualities before shortlisting one for usage. If we generalize based on the popularity, the following top five choices are the ones that pop up first in the lists:

Minimum coding requirements

When surveyed about the issues in test automation tools, the third most challenging problem among responders was the programming skills required. The first two were cost and software changes that can be controlled by careful planning. So in a way, the most challenging and, on which we have no control over, problem is that we need to program the actions we need to be executed.

If we choose a tool with minimum coding requirements, this challenge can be tackled, and the testers can move their focus to high priorities tasks. In addition, the team can hire testers whose main strength is not programming but “being a good tester”.

In this domain, a lot of thought and research has been put through by individuals and organizations all around the world. As a result of that collective effort, today, we have tools that have “low-code” and “no-code” features. These minimalize the coding requirement while keeping in mind that the quality of testing is not affected and the tester should not feel helpless for not being able to do something that programming could have done.

Equipped with all the major testing domains

Testing today has expanded to various fields that focus on specific areas. If we start listing down each of them, we may get a long list of testing domains a lot of which we might never use in our projects. However, there are a few domains that have established their importance, and sometimes testing is not considered complete until each of them has applied their methods in their areas. These are (but may not restrict to) as follows:

• API testing.
• Data-driven testing.
• Regression testing.
• Cross-browser testing.
• CI/CD pipeline integration and support.

These domains have seen significant development which has contributed to the overall development of the testing phase that we see today. One may find one tool specific to each of these domains but then synchronization and maintenance of so many tools in a single project is a hectic job. This may affect the test summary report results and the risk of error increases. Shortlisting a single tool that supports all these testing domains is the best choice in this area.

Great collaborative features

The testing of an application is conducted by a team of testers which can sometimes expand to hundreds of members. It is extremely rare that a single tester is performing all the testing work. Maybe in small individual projects. But when it comes to businesses and large-scale applications, a collaboration between members is what makes quality testing possible.

If I could just highlight the most important advantages I have experienced due to good collaboration, the following would top the lists:

• Better decision-making.
• Early defect analysis and quick decision on the defect.
• Improved efficiency.
• Enhanced teamwork.
• A better quality of software.
• More innovative ideas among the team.
• Better learning experience.
• An enhanced customer satisfaction.

While these are just a few of the reasons, you would add your own when you start working on tools that provide collaborative features.

Preferably over the cloud

A technology that facilitates collaboration on top of providing its own features is when the infrastructure is moved to the cloud. Test automation tools that are on the cloud are accessible from anywhere by any system. But more than that, cloud-based tools do not ask you to develop, enhance or maintain the infrastructure used for testing.

Building up an infrastructure and maintaining it on-premise is a major challenge. It requires dedicated resources and a team that can cost a lot of money and time investment to the organization. Cloud-based tools rent out their own robust infrastructure along with devices already installed, set up, and ready to be used by the testers. It helps us accomplish all the testing tasks with the minimum team and costs , without the headache of infrastructure issues.

Excellent reporting features

Finally, a generalized feature expected in a test automation tool is its ability to document, report and present the data in a visually appealing form. The collection of the data is important to analyze the patterns and the effectiveness of the tasks we have performed.

However, if that data comes as a txt file or an Excel sheet with hundreds of rows, it may take additional time to analyze it further. Moreover, we cannot expect to put down such sheets in the test summary report which is viewed by higher management and stakeholders. We need to put data in a form that these hundreds of rows can be analyzed within a few seconds.

A tool that provides excellent reports is worth exploring due to various reasons. Firstly, reports are historical documents and a single report speaks about the complete testing results. If the tool can provide this analysis in graphs and pie charts, a couple of seconds are enough. Secondly, reports need to have as much data as possible for further analysis and decision-making. Only “test passed” and “test failed” would not work when it comes to large-scale projects.

Therefore, as a thumb rule, we always should look out for the sample reports and reporting features before selecting a test automation tool for test summary reports.

How can Testsigma help in the test summary reports?

Finding a tool that possesses all the above-mentioned features in its full glory is tough and teams generally do not have time to try out all the available tools just to check if they meet the requirements.

Testsigma is a test automation tool that can help you explore multi-dimensional test domains on the cloud for free. Let’s look at the tool’s capabilities along the lines of the most anticipated features as discussed in the previous section.

• English-based test scripting : The point of minimum coding requirement can be fulfilled through the “no-code” approach of eliminating the programming languages completely from the scene. Testsigma uses plain English text to create automation scripts which are then converted to actions using natural language processing.

• Equipped with all major testing domains : The tool provides support for API testing, data-driven testing, cross-browser testing, regression testing as well as integrations with CI/CD and other third-party tools.
• Collaboration : The tool has collaboration workflow built-in for testers and also comes with tons of integrations that include software developed specifically for collaborations. For instance, bug tracking tools help collaborate members from other teams as well, tracking the comments, and statuses, and transferring the bugs without communicating with the member.
• Cloud-based : Testsigma is completely based on the cloud. The testers do not need to worry about updating devices or OS installations or maintaining the connections between various devices. Everything comes pre-setup and ready to use when you sign up for free.
• Reporting : Testsigma comes with intelligent reporting features that create a report in a way it can be read and analyzed easily. A sample of the report is as follows:

It contains all the necessary information with conclusions and results that help in making decisions quickly.

While these are the features that could be most desirable for a better test summary report, other features such as being open-source, mobile test recorder, and self-healing capabilities make the case stronger to try Testsigma once. It is available for free and is just a sign-up away. Try Testsigma for an over-all improvement of your test automation processes

How to create a good summary report?

A good test summary report describes the most complex of steps in a concise and short manner. It should contain all the data in the most understandable way with good readability and easy analysis. To achieve this, before we can actually start creating the test summary report, we need to gather all the information that will fit into that document. The following steps would be the most apt way in this direction:

Step 1: Time and team

The first step is to gather information about the team and everything related to time. For instance, when the report is started for preparation, when was the last time a report was submitted, what was submitted in the previous report, etc.

Step 2: Purpose and Prologue

The second step is to define the purpose of the document and the prologue i.e. the overview or introduction of it. This can be written as simply as “This document is provided on the basis of the testing done on the application ABC for version X.Y.Z. The purpose of this document is to explore defects and other anomalies related to the application through various stages of testing.” You may also include an additional line here defining the product and what it does.

Step 3: In-Scope and Out-scope

The third step defines the scope of test cases or test suites that were executed in the testing phase. The scope is divided into in-scope and out-scope which defines the areas that were within the scope of the suites and the areas that were out of it respectively. This helps clear out a bigger picture of what the test summary report is all about.

Step 4: Metrics and Measurements

In this step, we gather all the metrics and measurements related to the testing, its execution, and the results once the execution was completed. This is an important and core step for creating the test summary report. A small example of the information written in this step is test environments, test frameworks, test cases, how many test cases passed, how many failed, and analysis on various parameters such as speed, loads, networks, etc.

As it is quite clear with the size of information we are gathering here, this step requires post-processing in the form of graphs, pictures, pie charts, and any other visual medium necessary. It helps analyze the metrics in a shorter time comparatively.

Step 5: Conclusion and Closure

In the next step, the test summary report should contain the conclusions and closure statements based on the previous step. If there have been many failures then why did they happen? What were the final conclusive results? Anything related to technical things should be put down here.

Step 6: Learnings and Epilogue

Once the technical steps are over, in this step, we can define our learnings based on the overall experiences. We can also define future expectations due to our new learnings such as a reduction in overall testing time etc.

Step 7: Suggestions and Sign Off

Finally, in the final steps, we start with the statement about whether or not the application is ready to be released according to the testers (or the lead tester). If it isn’t then the reasons are written down with the steps of improvements. Also, if there are any suggestions from the testing team, we should provide them here.

If these steps are carefully planned and the information is gathered as per requirements, the report will contain all the necessary aspects of testing and prove to be fruitful in the future decision-making process.

Test summary report – A template

Now that we have analyzed the corners of the test summary report and the elements involved in it, let’s see a template to understand its skeletal structure. Please note that this template will be along the same lines that are discussed in the previous section but in a formal way.

Introduction

The details of timestamps and team associated.

The purpose of the document and prologue (if any) can be simply described in a couple of lines as mentioned in the previous section.

Purpose of the document: The document is provided on the basis of testing performed on the application ABC……

The in-scope and out-scope list down the functionalities that are in the scope and out of the scope of this application. In-scope functionalities

• Functionality 1
• Functionality 2
• Functionality n

Out-scope functionalities

This is just a demo, the information may vary depending on the testing done.

Associated Metrics

This section will contain all the metrics and measurements done during the testing phase. It can be either tabular or graphic depending on the team’s needs.

Or graphically:

The conclusion of the application can be defined in a single line as per the team’s results while the closure can be achieved by describing the exit criteria of the system. The exit criteria would correspond to what criteria were met and what did not.

This section is purely optional and would completely depend on the team member’s experience of testing in general or testing this particular application. It can be defined in textual form as a paragraph of not more than five or six lines or in tabular form as a list.

Suggestions, if any can be listed as bullet points as follows:

• Suggestion 1
• Suggestion 2
• Suggestion n

Sign-off will require a single-line statement describing whether the application is approved for release from the testing team or not. The application is considered appropriate for release. This template can serve as a good guide to creating a test summary report. In the next section, we can make out things clearer by scanning through a sample template.

Sample Test Summary Report for an eCommerce application

Let’s create a sample report prepared by the testers for an application that deals in the eCommerce domain.

The test summary report corresponds to the ABC application. In this release, the modules under consideration are new payment systems, recommendation systems, previous release bug fixes, and coupon generation based on placed orders.

A brief summary of the previous reports is listed below:

The document is provided on the basis of testing performed on the application ABC which deals with item purchases listed by merchants from all over the country. This document deals with the modules developed for this release that includes:

• Order cancellation.
• New payment mechanisms.
• Recommendation systems.
• Coupon generation based on purchase.
• Price-locking for 20 minutes by the user.

Apart from this, the document also deals with issues and bugs occurring in previous releases.

Scope of the document

The scope of the document is as follows: In-scope:

• Registration of users.
• Order cancellation facility when the order has not been delivered.
• New payment method through Amazon Wallet for successful order placement.
• Item recommendation system to recommend new items for purchases based on other users’ activity.
• Coupon or gift card generation when an order is successfully placed.
• Price locking mechanism to lock the price of an item for 20 minutes.
• Multiple device testing.
• Verification of user information on multiple logged-in devices is out of the scope of this report.

The test cases executed on the application have resulted in the following metrics.

Test case execution:

Test case result:

Test case execution based on requirement:

Defect density:

Defect severity graph:

The exit criteria for the application with its final conclusion are as follows:

The team experienced the following learnings:

The application is suggested to be released to the end-users as all the requirements, quality standards are met. The application also shows no defects in the newly developed modules.

A test summary report is a bridge that connects the testing phase to the phase that releases the software. Since the process of testing is too technical, it may create misunderstandings between stakeholders if testers start to explain everything on a call. To narrow down this gap, we create a test summary report that provides every detail of the testing phase in a form that everyone can understand.

For a complete and effective test summary report, we need to understand various sections of it and the steps we need to follow for the same. This post helped us understand these steps and the relevance of them when people from other backgrounds go through the report.

In the end, we are able to create a test summary report that is easy to understand, provides all the knowledge, and is inclusive of test automation results for better decision-making that includes whether the application is fit for release or not.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the contents of the test summary report.

A test summary report follows a sequential pattern starting from the introduction and ending with the sign-off. It contains the following sections inclusive of the two mentioned above:

• Introduction.

Who is responsible for the test summary report?

The test summary report is prepared at the end of the testing cycle by the test leader or the test project manager.

Harish Rajora

A senior software engineer by profession who likes to contribute to the world by sharing knowledge through my writings. Loves reading books and implementing ideas into reality through a computer.

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How to Write QA Test Summary Report Sample? [13 Easy Steps]

Adepu Bindu

The whole QA testing is attaining great prominence like never before – A reliable, quality-guaranteed tech procedure. Have you ever thought about how to write a QA test summary report sample?

Meanwhile, how you report your insights is also paramount. Recording details from the fundamentals to the results you think are overwhelming. That’s untrue. It can be accessible, competent, and understandable at the same time.

If you are wondering how to write a comprehensive final test summary report, you are googling it at the right place.

What Is A QA Test Summary Report Sample?

Alright, it does something beneficial. But, wondering what? 

A test summary report is a detailed overview containing every important detail identified and discovered from different testing stages. The undeniable reason is to deliver the high/low performance of the software test to the respective stakeholders. So, the basic idea is to add value to their decision-making on whether to go live or not.

And it indeed enables the project manager to assess the effective test plan execution, ensuring transparency and accountability.

The report would include the product quality of the software in different environments, the quality of testing efforts, and statistics obtained from incident reports.

What Makes A Good QA Test Summary Report Sample?

The following are the bases of a solid test summary report:

• Specification: You don’t have to produce a lengthy test report summary. It should include all of the efficient test result parameters concisely and clearly.
• Standard: The test summary report should stick to a consistent template since it is simple for stakeholders to study and understand.
• Clarity: The test report should provide correct information. The report should be brief and understandable.
• Detail: Wherever possible, the final report should provide detailed information regarding the testing efforts. Even though it is brief, the information doesn’t have to be abstract because that won’t allow the stakeholders to understand it clearly.

What Should A Test Summary Report Include?

A test report summary that is instructive should be concise and relevant. There are numerous examples of test summary report templates online, but not all of them may be suitable for your case. Therefore, it is crucial to adjust the report after doing a thorough study following the features of our test project.

Here is a list of what should be included:

• Test Objective: Specify the testing objectives; doing just that shows the team members understood the test objective and the requirement.
• Areas Covered: Include the tested product areas and features. Although it doesn’t have to cover every test scenario in great detail, it should at least cover all the major ones.
• Areas Not Covered: It is crucial to document the product features that were not tested. Any areas not tested can cause concern on the client’s end. So, you need to ensure that anything untested is highlighted and that expectations are set appropriately. Be careful to provide a reason for your main points, such as a limitation on access or a shortage of devices.
• Testing Approach: This is crucial to discuss because it explains what was tested and how it was done. Make sure to describe in detail the corrective action taken and the different testing strategies used to complete the task.
• Defect Report: Although a defect report is typically included in a bug report, having one in the test summary report can offer your test report an edge.
• Platform Details: Products are currently tested on a variety of platforms. Due to the increased demand, not only a testing process now includes various device setups and browsers but also various software releases. Let’s be sure to provide information about each platform and environment in which the product was tested in.
• Overall Summary: The purpose is to offer feedback on the overall state of the application under test. For the customer to determine how near they are to ship the product to them, it should notify them of any critical issues that were found and how many are still outstanding.

How To Create An Outline Of The Test Report?

Generally, this may differ from company to company based on your testing exercises. However, below are the few traditional essentials of a test summary report.

• A short evaluation of how well the testing is performed.
• Quality of testing effort.
• Quality assessment of the software.
• The recordings should also include the factors like time taken, and different environments tested.
• The incident reports included statistics.
• A brief on the final test results.

1. Project And Product Info

Mention the chunks of information about the project and product. For instance, the project name, official/preferred product name, and version of the particular product.

Mention a short explanation of the objective behind making the report. Example: The following report is a brief of all the insights uncovered during the different testing phases of the ABC project.

3. Software/Product Overview

Consider it as a short intro to the product. You can follow the below example as a reference.

Productimize is a web-based product customization platform catering to e-commerce businesses worldwide. It helps the clients to design their products increasing business sales by 40%. Bountiful features like 3D visualization, text input, image rendering, social sharing, and product personalization are revolutionary. Industries like furniture, Jewellery, Home goods, print and promotions, and sporting goods are benefited from this product.

4. Objective And Testing Scope

This segment allows the stakeholders to understand the functions in and out of scope for testing—information on items not tested and also why aren’t they tested. Restrictions, hurdles, and learnings in each stage are also mentioned.

Example: A verification that compels third-party connectivity wasn’t possible. It happened due to some technical problem and should be resolved soon.

5. Magical Metrics

So far, the most interesting and important one. The critical metrics in visual representation allow a requisite understanding of some complex data. The graphics, in general, are the best for a better understanding of anything.

Metrics like:

• A number of test cases passed vs. failed.
• Cases planned vs. executed.
• Total defects found, their severity, and their status.
• Module-wise defects distribution.

6. Types Of Testing

The information on prolific testing was performed for a specific project. It is to make sure that all the testing is conducted as agreed earlier in the strategy. Prime examples are as follows.

• Smoke Testing
• Regression Testing
• System Integration Testing

a) Smoke Testing : This testing is done if a build is received to ensure the crucial functionalities are working fine. First, accept the build and further can start the testing.

b) Regression Testing : This testing is carried out every time the build is established for testing. It contains defect fixes and new improvements if available. It is performed on the complete software, not just on a specific functionality or defect fixes.

It works amazingly to ensure rich functionality after the new defect fix, and further improvements are attached to the existing software. New test cases of the new feature can be added and executed.

c) System Integration Testing: This testing is done to rectify if the whole software performs well, basing the requirements without any errors. When the business scenarios are tested, it ensures that the essential functions are performing as planned.

7. Testing Environments

The various details of the testing environments should be recorded here, with accurate data. Follow the below format:

• Application URL
• Tools used example: Quality Centre ( HP ALM )

8. Lessons Learned

This is a non-fancy section for lessons learned, not for the stakeholders. Post the problem faced and solutions found, and crucial decisions made throughout. These recorded mistakes can be avoided in the next testing encounter. Examples: The issue faced – Manual testing is a problem in the smoke test cases. Solution – The number of test cases was automated, and the scripts executed saved time.

9. Recommendations And Improvements

Any recommendations you feel can add strength to the testing of the software can be made here. Example: Better test management tools with valuable integrations can be used for quick and swift testing.

10. Test Results

A detailed inventory of all functionalities checked and the defects found.

• Details about test case results also should include links to issues of only failed and blocked test cases.
• No. of bugs found.
• Status of bugs. (opened, resolved, and depending)
• List it by severity and priority.

11. Exit Criteria

It’s more of a yes or no section with the most predominant details. It is defined as completing testing by meeting all the planned requirements. Examples are as follows:

• Plan the number of test cases executed – Yes
• The defects and all kinds of severity are entirely verified and closed – Yes

Again this may differ from project to project and company to company.

12. Conclusions

This segment mentions whether the team members stand to go live. If the software testing didn’t meet the exit criteria, say it as follows.

The application/software is not suggested to go live.

If the software meets the exit criteria by fulfilling all the requirements, then suggest it as follows.

The application/software met the exit criteria satisfying the requirements mentioned in section 9, so we suggest the software/application go live.

13. Definition, Abbreviation, And Acronyms

A QA test summary report is to communicate the complex test process and its outcome to the stakeholders.

Sometimes the stakeholders may not be familiar with all the terms used in the report. It is better to give them that knowledge in the report itself. Making communication easy is as important as the testing process itself. Also, please don’t make a report full of engineering terms; not every stakeholder is an engineer to understand them.

Stakeholders, upper management staff, and concerned clients will view this artifact document. It is crucial to provide the facts and information about the software testing done, its performance, and its conclus ions.

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How To Write An Effective Test Summary Report

Test summary report in software testing is a crucial deliverable of the testing process. A well-written testing summary report explains various details about testing cycles, project quality, and project situations to product managers and stakeholders. Based on this report, the stakeholders decide if the application is ready for release.

However, if your summary report doesn’t effectively portray the end-to-end testing process or fails to report existing bugs, stakeholders won’t be able to understand the product situation. As a result, releasing a faulty product would lead to a bad reputation and loss of stakeholders’ trust.

So, you understand how important it is to write an effective test summary report. However, summarizing the entire testing process can become overwhelming. To help you, we have explained the process in a detailed manner along with a template you can follow to write efficient summary reports.

What Is A Test Summary Report?

Test summary report in software testing is a formal document that summarizes the results of all testing efforts for a particular testing cycle of a project/module or a sub-module. It acts as a quality gate for the product or application to determine if it’s ready to be released.

Ideally, a test summary report should be prepared after the completion of each test cycle so that a correct summary of the entire testing effort & health of the application can be presented to relevant stakeholders. 

All relevant stakeholders of the project are able to see the health of AUT from this report. It will also help them to take necessary steps proactively if required. More importantly, it will justify the testing effort the testing team is putting into the project.  

Types of Testing Reports

Test reports ensure effective communication between QA team members, the product manager, and stakeholders. There are mainly 3 types of test reports. 

• Test Incident Report

Test incident report mainly includes the bugs & issues found during the testing process so that they can be fixed by relevant team members. The bug or defects are reported as incidents and added to a defect repository. Each incident has a unique id to identify it.

The most severe incidents or defects are highlighted so that they can be resolved first. Additionally, major incidents are added to the test summary report.

• Test Cycle Report

The test cycle report is essentially a summary of everything that occurs throughout a single cycle. It describes the tests that will be executed and the builds that will be tested in this cycle.

Additionally, includes new bugs discovered during that cycle, bugs resolved, and outstanding bugs that have yet to be fixed. You’ll also need to report on progress made in this cycle as well as any schedule changes that occurred.

• Test Summary Report

The test summary report is prepared at the end of each cycle or at the very end of the project. It gives a verdict on whether the software is ready for release or not. It is a formal document that summarizes the results of all testing efforts for a particular product.

Why Is a Test Summary Report Important

Test summary report works as a means of communication between the testing team & the stakeholders. This report allows the stakeholders & upper management to understand the quality of the product, as well as the effort the testing team had to put in to get it to this shape.

If test summary reports are not detailed & informative, the stakeholders wouldn’t understand the current position of the software. As a result, they can end up sending a defective product into production or releasing it to the public. This will lead to massive loss of money & company image. 

When stakeholders face such loss, they won’t trust your QA team anymore. As a result, you’d lose potential clients too.

Therefore, writing an effective test summary report is of utmost importance. This ensures good product quality and trust between stakeholders & QA team.

Benefits of Test Summaries

• Testing summary reports allows the stakeholders to understand the actual quality of the AUT.
• With a better understanding of the product, stakeholders can take necessary steps quickly when required. 
• This report also helps justify the enormous effort the testing team puts in.
• The lessons learned from the summary allow the testing team to apply more effective tests in the future.
• Data from test reports also helps developers create more mature software.
• Test report prevents the release of faulty software to the public.
• The most important benefit of a test summary report is that based on this report stakeholders decide if the product will go into production or not.
• As the test summary report ensures only quality products get released, brand recognition & reliability get improved.

Guide To Writing An Effective Test Summary Report

To write an effective testing summary report you need to include all the necessary parts in it. We’ve given a brief explanation of how to write an effective test report including the must-have parts:

Step 1: Document Control

You have to include two main points in Document Control: Revision History and a Distribution List. The revision history includes information about when the test summary report was prepared, when it was last updated, what was updated, etc.

Distribution list should contain all the people involved in the testing process such as the test manager, test leads, and test engineers. It must also contain the name of stakeholders or product managers who have reviewed the test summary report.

Step 2: Introduction

In this step, you have to provide the necessary project information like name, version, etc. Also, give a brief description of what the product is about and what features it entails. 

Additionally, you have to state the purpose of creating the testing summary report. The main purpose of creating this report is to summarize the testing efforts, as well as list the test environment, results, and bug reports.

Step 3: Test Scope

List the functions that are inside the scope of your testing plan. Also, write down modules that are out of scope, as well as areas that haven’t been tested and the reason behind excluding them.

Step 4: Test Summary

This section contains a summary of everything required for test execution such as metrics used, test environments, types of tests performed, etc. Graphs and charts can be used for better and clear portrayals of the metrics. 

Also, include test suite data like the number of test suites planned, executed, and test suites not executed. Moreover, include test case data such as the no of test cases planned, implemented, passed, and failed.

Make tables for listing the different tests performed on the product such as Smoke, Regression, and Integration testing. This ensures the stakeholders that the application has been tested as per the test strategy.

Step 5: Software Quality

In this step, describe the major challenges encountered and the remedies adopted to overcome those issues during testing. Important aspects that must be included in this step are:

Test Results

Summarize the test results of all the testing executed in each cycle of the STLC. You can add the Execution Report for more clarity. Additionally, insert snapshots of manual and automation test results.

Defect Matrix 

Categorize bugs found during testing by status. Add a defect report if necessary. Also, make a defect matrix based on defect priority or severity. Include details about total open bugs, new bugs found, open bugs of previous release, reopened bugs, bugs marked as “Not a Bug”, and bugs marked as “Deferred”.

Outstanding Issues

During testing, often it is not possible to fix every defect identified. Describe such defects that are still present in the application along with why it’s not been fixed.

• Exit Criteria

Define the exit criterion for each test and offer an assessment to determine whether the product meets the exit criteria. Be specific about criteria that weren’t satisfied.

Step 6: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

Mention any lessons you learnt throughout testing, as well as any issues that required special attention. Also, emphasize the testing team’s outstanding work in ensuring the product’s quality.

Make a list of enhancements that could be included in future testing initiatives. Also, include any remarks or suggestions for the stakeholders.

Step 7: Sign Off

Finally, in this step reveal if you think the application is ready for deployment or not. As a test manager or test lead, state your opinion on whether the application needs further improvement or it can be released to stakeholders.

What to include in a Test Summary Report?

Introduction:

• Name of project
• Release No.
• Reference documents: <Reference can be given of test planning document or test strategy document or project plan>
• Target Audience: <Who all will be the recipients of this report>
• Test Cycle:

Testing Type / Level: <Mention testing type / level like unit testing or system testing or integration testing or it may be a functional testing or performance testing etc>

Test Suite Data:

• Number of test suites planned.
• No of test suites executed
• No of test suites could not be executed <Categorize it in two types: Due to some show stopper or due to some other reasons>

Test Case Data:

• Number of test cases planned.
• Number and percentage of test cases implemented.
• Number and percentage of test cases executed.
• Number and percentage of test cases passed.
• Number and percentage of test cases failed (total and by severity).

Defect Data:

• Total open bugs
• New bugs found
• Open bugs of previous release
• Reopened bugs
• Bugs marked as “Not a Bug”
• Bugs marked as “Deferred”

Risks / open issues / support required: <Mention here all potential risks and current open issues with assignment of action items to specific stakeholder. Mention the details of support required, if any.>

Deviations from signed off test plan: <if any>

Some other information can be part of test summary report:

• Testing team details.
• Testing dates
• Test team locations (if working from different remote locations)
• Traceability matrix can also be attached in test summary report
• Mention the test tracking tool used, test results location etc.

Test Summary Report Template

Here’s a sample template for writing an effective testing summary report. Use it to write your application’s test summary report.

Document Control

• Revision History
• Distribution List

Introduction

• Project Details

Test Summary

• Tests Executed
• Snapshot of Test Results
• Defect Matrix

Tips For Writing An Effective Test Summary Report

• You should publish a test summary report after closing each test execution cycle. 
• Follow the standard template while writing your test summary report.
• Describe all of the testing cycles in detail to ensure the stakeholders understand the test team’s effort.  
• Information in the report must be to the point & easily understandable. 
• Make sure your report includes evaluation metrics such as Test case effectiveness, test case adequacy, cost of defect identification, schedule variance, effort ratio, test efficiency, schedule slippage, etc.
• Do not include lengthy technical jargon as the testing summary report needs to be understandable by non-tech stakeholders & product managers too.  
• Store the test summary reports in a document repository system for better maintenance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is responsible for the testing summary report.

Mainly the test manager or test lead is responsible for the testing summary report. However, the entire testing team helps in preparing the report effectively.

How Many Types Of Test Summary Report Are There?

There are two types of test summary report: Phase-specific report and Conclusive report. The former detects targeted areas of the application life cycle areas for referral, whereas the latter is a document of fitness for the application.

What Is Requirement Traceability Matrix?

Requirements Traceability Matrix is a document that proves that requirements defined for a product are verified in the testing process. It also assures that they have been thoroughly tested in terms of test parameters and methodologies.

Wrapping Up

The testing summary report is a crucial communication tool for test managers and stakeholders. It should be detailed, clear, standard, and specific. Moreover, it must explain test activities in a way that non-technical recipients can also understand them.

This report is evidence of test engineers’ efforts during the testing phase. It helps the stakeholders in deciding whether or not to release the product.

Once the test summary report is ready, they must also be shared with the testing team. An effective test summary report provides team members with an overview of the complete testing cycle, allowing them to improve further.

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