Artifact

Acceptance Criteria

Overview of Acceptance Criteria:

Understanding Acceptance Criteria (AC) is essential for anyone involved in product development. These criteria serve as a documented agreement between stakeholders and developers to ensure that everyone has a shared understanding of what must be delivered. They act like a checklist that outlines the conditions a software product must fulfill to be approved by the end-users.

Importance of Acceptance Criteria:

At its essence, Acceptance Criteria provide clarity and structure to the project scope. They help reduce misunderstandings and misinterpretations between the team and stakeholders. By establishing a clear set of criteria, development efforts become aligned with customer expectations. Moreover, acceptance criteria support quality assurance by guiding testing processes, ensuring the final product is dependable and user-friendly.

Defining Acceptance Criteria:

Acceptance Criteria are specific, measurable conditions or attributes that a software product should demonstrate to be approved by the customer, user, or other stakeholders. They consist of a series of statements that describe what a product must accomplish to meet the needs of its users. Often articulated in straightforward language, they should be comprehensible for non-technical stakeholders.

Steps to Create Acceptance Criteria:

Creating effective Acceptance Criteria requires collaboration among developers, testers, and stakeholders. Here’s a straightforward guide:

Define the User Story: Ensure the user story is very clear. What functionality is necessary?
Engage Stakeholders: Collect input from users, customers, and other stakeholders to understand their expectations.
Use Clear Language: Write the criteria in easily understandable terms, avoiding technical jargon.
Ensure Measurability: Criteria should be testable. If it can’t be assessed, it may not serve well as a criterion.
Review and Adjust: Share the drafted criteria with stakeholders and modify them based on their input.

Sample Acceptance Criteria:

For an E-commerce Website: "The checkout page must include a summary of the order, showing total cost before the order is finalized."
For a Mobile App: "The app should open within 3 seconds of launching on devices with at least 2GB RAM."

FAQs

What distinguishes Acceptance Criteria from Requirements?

Requirements pertain to the broad features or functionalities a product must include, while Acceptance Criteria provide more specific details outlining the conditions that must be met for those requirements.

How do you assess Acceptance Criteria?

Acceptance Criteria are evaluated through methods like unit testing, integration testing, or user acceptance testing to verify that the product performs as intended.

Who is responsible for writing Acceptance Criteria?

Typically, product owners draft ACs, often incorporating feedback from developers, testers, and stakeholders to ensure comprehensive perspectives are included.

Can Acceptance Criteria be modified during a project?

Yes, they can be adjusted as new information arises or as stakeholders’ priorities evolve, but any changes should be managed carefully to prevent scope increases.

What is the ideal number of Acceptance Criteria for a user story?

There is no definitive number, but it should be sufficient to address all necessary conditions without being excessively detailed. Generally, each user story has around 3-5 criteria.

Are Acceptance Criteria always essential?