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In software development, acceptance criteria are the conditions that software must meet to be accepted by the internal or external customer requesting the software Specific acceptance criteria can vary widely, but usually refer to a result that happens when the user performs a particular action Acceptance criteria are often paired with user stories, which explain how the software will be used in real life
Given this description, some might ask whether acceptance criteria are the same as requirements They are similar, but they are not the same While acceptance criteria are the measures by which completed projects are evaluated, requirements are all the software features and functions requested by the client
In the following sections, we explore more about acceptance criteria including who the acceptance criteria document is written for, what should be on an acceptance criteria checklist, acceptance criteria examples, and how to write effective acceptance criteria
The primary benefit of using acceptance criteria is that doing so helps you understand what you’re working toward before you start the project This benefit may sound simple, but think about the possible outcomes of not understanding what you are working toward You may waste countless time and money developing something that is not at all what your client wants
The implications of understanding your clients’ needs include having clearer communication between you and your client as well as between you and your team, minimizing risks and protecting the reputation of your company, ensuring that you know what skills are needed by team members to make the project a success, and limiting the scope of the project The following video identifies additional benefits of using acceptance criteria
To ensure the highest quality acceptance criteria, it makes sense to ask, “Who are acceptance criteria written for?” The answer is a variety of stakeholders, which will be different depending on whether the customer is internal or external
If you are a software engineer working within a company and creating software for that company, the stakeholders include the department requesting the software as well as managers within that department and yours If you are an engineer working in a firm to provide software to clients, the stakeholders include those clients as well as your own internal managers
It also makes sense to ask who is responsible for creating the acceptance criteria The answer here is that it can be anyone who understands the process well enough to write the criteria Ideally, it is someone not directly involved with the development process, such as a manager The person or persons best able to clearly define the acceptance criteria are who should create them
To be sure you are creating high-quality acceptance criteria, consider referencing the following acceptance criteria checklist Acceptance criteria must:
Be as simple as possible so every stakeholder can understand them
Remember that a variety of people, including everyone from engineers to managers to investors, may be reading the acceptance criteria document
Reflect a pass or fail structure
In other words, stakeholders must be able to answer the question of whether the criteria are met with a “yes” or a “no
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Be measurable
These requirements determine when a project is complete, so they must be easily testable
Be flexible
That is, they can be accommodated in more than one way
Work regardless of the technology or operating system of the user
A software project is not truly complete until it has been tested on all possible systems
Focus on end users and what they want to accomplish with the software
Remember that acceptance criteria may be written for people within your organization or your client’s organization but should always be from the standpoint of the end user
As mentioned above, acceptance criteria are used in conjunction with user stories The user stories are typically identified first, and the acceptance criteria are created from them User stories are often formatted using the following structure: “As a [specific user], I want to [specific action] so I can [achieve a goal] ” For example, “As a budget-minded grocery shopper, I want to search across grocery stores so I can find the best prices on the products I want to buy ” Acceptance criteria commonly use the following structure: “[Scenario] Given [the current situation], when [action is taken], then [outcome resulting from action] ” One acceptance criterion resulting from the story above might be, “The shopper searches across local grocery stores and finds the best prices on desired products Given that the shopper has entered 2 or more stores and one product, when the shopper clicks the Find Best Deal button, prices on the product are sorted from lowest to highest ”
Finally, here are some tips for writing effective acceptance criteria
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