Lesson 3 of 6
Quality gates
10 min
Acceptance criteria describe the end. Quality gates control the journey. Each test phase has entry criteria (what must be true before it starts) and exit criteria (what must be true before it ends). A gate is the decision point where someone checks those criteria and says go or no-go.
Test phases in SAP Activate
SAP Activate places most testing in the Realize phase: unit tests and string tests (informal), then business role tests, end-to-end process tests, integration and data migration tests, and user acceptance testing (formal and documented). Regression testing continues into Run, every time the system changes. Activate also uses quality gates at phase transitions, and SAP Cloud ALM provides a quality gates capability for recording gate checks and approvals.
- Realize, earlyUnit and string testConfiguration and developments work in isolation and in short chains
- Realize, middleIntegration test (SIT)End-to-end processes across modules and interfaces, with migrated data
- Realize, lateUser acceptance test (UAT)Business users confirm processes meet the acceptance criteria
- DeployCutover rehearsal and go/no-goReadiness confirmed; decision to go live
- RunRegressionEvery upgrade, feature pack and change re-proves what matters
Entry and exit criteria by phase
| Phase | Entry criteria (examples) | Exit criteria (examples) |
|---|---|---|
| Unit / string | Design approved; configuration transported to QAS client 100 | All unit tests executed; no open defects that block integration |
| Integration | Unit exit met; interfaces connected; migrated test data loaded; roles assigned | 100% of integration scenarios executed; 0 open critical; high defects fixed or accepted |
| UAT | Integration exit met; testers trained; acceptance criteria approved; UAT data ready | All UAT scenarios executed with evidence; 0 critical and 0 high open unless formally accepted; process owner sign-off |
| Regression | Change scope known; regression set selected by risk | Selected set passed; deviations explained; release approved |
Two things make these criteria work. They are numeric or binary wherever possible: 100% executed, 0 critical open. And entry criteria are enforced. Starting UAT before integration has exited means business users find integration defects, which wastes their time and their goodwill.
Entry criteria also cover the environment, not just the previous phase. Before integration testing at Contoso, Priya checks that the QAS client 100 has the right transports, that interfaces to the bank and the carrier are connected to test endpoints, that migrated master data from the latest mock load is present, and that testers have the business roles they will have in production. A missing role or a stale data load can invalidate days of testing, so these checks are worth the hour they take.
Exit criteria should also say what happens to the test assets: test cases and results saved, defects linked, and the regression candidates marked. That turns each phase into input for the next release, not just a hurdle for this one.
Severity definitions
Exit criteria about defects only work if everyone uses the same severity scale. Agree it in the test strategy:
| Severity | Definition | Contoso example |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Process cannot run; no workaround; or legal or financial misstatement | Billing posts revenue to the wrong company code |
| High | Major function fails; workaround is costly or risky | Credit block does not trigger for one customer group |
| Medium | Function fails; reasonable workaround exists | Delivery note prints without the customer PO number |
| Low | Cosmetic or minor inconvenience | A field label is misspelled on a custom form |
A shared severity scale.
What would you do?
Contoso's integration test is 85% executed, but the program wants to start UAT next Monday as planned. What is the best course?
- Every test phase has entry and exit criteria; a gate is the decision to move on.
- In SAP Activate, most testing is in Realize; regression continues in Run.
- Make criteria numeric or binary and enforce entry criteria.
- Agree a shared severity scale so defect-based exit criteria mean the same thing to everyone.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. What do entry criteria describe?
2. In SAP Activate, in which phase does most testing take place?
3. Why enforce integration exit before UAT entry?
4. Which defect fits the critical severity definition?