Testing Artifacts

An artifact is one of many kinds of tangible by-product produced during the development of software. Some artifacts (e.g., use cases, class diagrams, and other UML models, requirements and design documents) help describe the function, architecture, and design of software. Other artifacts are concerned with the process of development itself—such as project plans, business cases, and risk assessments.

The term artifact in connection with software development is largely associated with specific development methods or processes e.g., Unified Process. This usage of the term may have originated with those methods

Software testing artifacts are anything related to software testing that has been recorded, logged or documented -- written down on hardcopy or recorded electronically -- that may be used and reviewed by a third party at a later date as evidence.

They may provide evidence that something should have been done; examples include:
* Test Plans
* Test Cases
* Test Procedures documents

They may provide evidence that something was done; examples include:
* Test Results/Findings
* Software Bug/Error/Defect records and logs