What is the purpose of exit criteria?

The purpose of exit criteria is to determine when to stop testing. Exit criteria are specific conditions or set of conditions agreed upon to declare that a particular test level or a test activity is completed. These criteria are used to ensure that the testing process has reached a certain level of coverage and quality before it is considered complete. Typical exit criteria include achieving a certain level of code coverage, passing a specified number of tests, or fixing a certain number of defects. Reference: ISTQB CTFL Syllabus V4.0, Section 5.1.3 .