What is exit criteria of testing? / When to stop testing?

It is not possible to ensure that an application is 100% free of defects. At some point the testing should be stopped and we have to give a sign off so that the application can be released. The exit criteria of testing will be mentioned in the Test Plan before testing itself. We consider a lot of criteria to decide when to stop the testing given below.

• All the logged defects are addressed
• All the test cases are executed
• Timelines are reached
• Budget is reached. These are some of the common factors which are considered for stopping the testing.