Quality Gate
A required set of checks or criteria that must pass before work advances to the next stage.
Plain English
The change cannot move forward until these quality checks pass.
In context
Quality gates automate or formalize important release standards such as tests review security and performance.
Example
“The deployment quality gate blocks releases with failing tests.”
When you'll hear this
- continuous integration
- release review
- governance
Common misunderstanding
A gate is only useful when its checks are relevant reliable and actionable.
Also known as
release gate
Commonly used by
Related terms
Updated: 2026-08-25
