Everything you need to know about acceptance criteria

During software development, a crucial aspect is the proper and timely preparation of requirements for the future product. Currently, there are many tools, methods, and approaches to requirements preparation, such as drafting a Product Requirements Document (PRD), creating a Software Requirements Specification (SRS) that includes descriptions of functional and non-functional requirements, and documenting functionality in the form of User Stories, Use Cases, and others.

When delivering a completed project or a part of the functionality to the client for User Acceptance Testing (UAT), the development team must ensure that what they have developed aligns with the client’s expectations. An excellent tool for this purpose is Acceptance Criteria.

Acceptance Criteria are the conditions that must be met for the current iteration, user story, or product as a whole to be accepted by the client, product owner, or other stakeholders.

Unlike other project requirement documents, Acceptance Criteria must be clear and concise. Essentially, they are a set of statements that can only be marked as “yes” or “no,” indicating whether the statement is fulfilled or not—there’s no room for “partially fulfilled.” In addition, Acceptance Criteria should be:

• Clear and unambiguous, ensuring that all team members interpret them the same way;
• Focused on results that satisfy the client.

Although Acceptance Criteria are most actively used during the acceptance testing phase, they should be prepared much earlier—at the requirements preparation stage. They serve as markers for the team to ensure the technical implementation of the task is moving in the right direction.

Acceptance Criteria can be prepared by the client or the Product Owner, but most often, the Project Manager handles this task in consultation with the client or other stakeholders. Final approval of the criteria with the stakeholders is mandatory.

The value of Acceptance Criteria lies in the fact that they:

• Provide a unified understanding of the conditions for successful completion of work among developers, the client, and end users;
• Can be created quickly compared to detailed documentation;
• Help during product testing.

At WebbyLab, we frequently use this tool to maintain the quality of our work, complementing other types of documentation.