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QA & testing

"Insert a graph," the template said. And stopped.

A redesign of the UAT results section from the UK government's official Test Completion Report template — the same document used in Case Study #2, this time its test-execution and coverage sections.

Same official DDTS template as Case Study #2, a different section. Illustrative example data — the template has no real project attached.

The pattern

UAT sign-off is often the moment a non-technical stakeholder decides whether to accept a system. A template that says "insert a graph or table" and gives no further guidance leaves that decision-critical summary entirely to whoever happens to be writing the report — with no shared bar for what a healthy result should look like.

Exhibit F

Sections 4.1 and 4.3: test execution and coverage

Test Completion Report (TCR) Template
Digital, Data & Technology Services (DDTS), published via Contracts Finder, UK Government.
Before

"Insert a graph or table to show test script execution... This should include all tests including test that were not executed, removed, deferred and reasoning."

"Insert a graph or table to show Requirements Coverage."

After
94% pass rate — ready for sign-off
142 passed 6 failed 3 deferred
97% requirements coverage — 2 requirements untested, both low priority
PDF ↗ Read the full template

Case Study #2 covers this same template's exit criteria section — together they show the pattern runs through the whole document, not one isolated section.

What changed
  • 01

    A verdict replaces an instruction

    "94% pass rate, ready for sign-off" is the actual reading a stakeholder needs, not a blank prompt to fill in.

  • 02

    One proportional view, not a guess

    Passed, failed, and deferred tests are shown as parts of a whole, removing the ambiguity of "insert a graph."

  • 03

    Coverage gets context, not just a number

    97% coverage means little without knowing what the remaining 3% is — so it's stated.

Why this matters

A blank instruction isn't a standard

"Insert a graph or table" tells an author what medium to use, not what a good result looks like. Two teams following this template in good faith could produce reports of very different quality — the fix isn't more instructions, it's a worked example of the bar to hit.

Have a report like this?

Send the page. I'll show you what it could look like.

If you've got a UAT summary, test report, or sign-off document where the results are solid but the write-up isn't landing, I'll take one section and redesign it — no cost, no obligation — the same way as above.