Acceptance criteria: examples and best practices

What is acceptance criteria?

Acceptance criteria are the conditions that a product, user story, or increment of work must satisfy to be complete. They’re a set of clear, concise, and testable statements that focus on providing positive customer results. Acceptance criteria don’t focus on how you reach a solution but rather on the final desired outcome of the task.

Acceptance criteria vs. user story

Acceptance clarifies the distinction between acceptance criteria and user stories. Though interrelated, the two concepts serve distinct purposes.

User stories epitomize the why behind a product backlog item, which is essential for backlog grooming. They encapsulate the customer's needs, outline the desired functionality or feature, and express the rationale for the development effort.

Acceptance criteria establish conditions to fulfill for the item to be complete. These criteria measure the success of the development process, ensuring that the delivered functionality aligns with the user's requirements.

Consider a user story that states, "As a customer, I want to search for products by name so that I can easily find the items I'm looking for." The corresponding acceptance criteria might include the following:

• The search function should return results that exactly match the entered product name.
• The search function should also return results that partially match the entered product name.
• The search results should be displayed in a clear and organized manner.

User stories describe the functionality or feature from a user-centric perspective. Acceptance criteria provide a more technical and measurable definition of a successful implementation.

Characteristics of good acceptance criteria

Effective acceptance criteria share several key characteristics that ensure clear communication and a smooth development process. Here's a breakdown of these essential components:

1. Clarity and conciseness: Write acceptance criteria in plain language that all stakeholders, including developers, product owners, and testers, can easily understand. Avoid technical jargon or ambiguous phrasing. State the criteria concisely and directly, focusing on specific outcomes.
2. Testability: Well-written acceptance criteria are demonstrably verifiable. Each criterion should translate into one or more clear tests that determine whether the implemented functionality meets the defined requirements. This allows for objective evaluation and eliminates room for misinterpretation.
3. Outcome: Focus on the desired result or user experience rather than the technical implementation details. The criteria should define the feature's goal, not how to build it. This empowers developers while ensuring the final product aligns with user needs.
4. Measurability: Whenever possible, express the criteria in measurable terms. This allows for a clear pass/fail determination during testing. For example, instead of stating, "The search results page should have visual appeal," a better criterion might be, "The search results page should display product images with a minimum resolution of 300x300 pixels."
5. Independence: Ideally, each acceptance criterion should be independent of others. This enables you to test and evaluate in isolation, streamlining the testing process.

Why do you need acceptance criteria?

Acceptance criteria foster clear communication, reduce ambiguity, and ensure successful project delivery. Here's a closer look at the key benefits:

• Alignment and shared understanding: By explicitly defining the requirements for a feature or user story, acceptance criteria create a shared understanding among all stakeholders, including developers, product owners, and testers. This alignment minimizes misinterpretation and ensures everyone is working toward the same goal.
• Reduced ambiguity and rework: Acceptance criteria provide a concrete definition of done (DoD), eliminating subjectivity and potential misunderstandings. This clarity helps prevent rework caused by features that don't meet user expectations.
• Improved testing efficiency: Well-defined acceptance criteria translate directly into clear and testable requirements, facilitating efficient testing by providing a roadmap for evaluation.
• Enhanced project management: Acceptance criteria are valuable tools for project managers. They enable better progress tracking, as each completed criterion is a step closer to delivering a functional feature.
• Increased stakeholder satisfaction: Acceptance criteria increase stakeholder satisfaction by ensuring features meet user requirements. Clear communication and well-defined expectations lead to a higher-quality product that delivers value to end users.

Acceptance criteria bridge the gap between vision and delivery. They promote a collaborative environment where everyone understands the goals and works together to achieve them.

Who should write acceptance criteria?

Writing acceptance criteria in Agile workflows and Agile methodology environments is a collaborative effort rather than an individual one. Here's a breakdown of the typical roles:

• Product owner: The product owner, who possesses a deep understanding of customer needs and product vision, plays a crucial role in initiating the discussion and outlining the desired functionality.
• Development team: With their technical expertise, the development team contributes valuable insights into the feasibility and testability of the criteria. They can suggest appropriate ways to frame the criteria for clear evaluation.
• Scrum master (if applicable): The Scrum master is a facilitator who guides the team discussion and ensures everyone has a voice. They can also help ensure that the criteria adhere to best practices.

While the product owner may initiate the process, the final criteria should be a collective effort that integrates all stakeholder perspectives. This collaborative approach fosters a shared understanding and increases the likelihood of delivering a successful product.

How to write acceptance criteria

Crafting well-defined acceptance criteria is essential for successful software development. Here are some key steps and tips for guidance:

1. User story: Refer to the user story connected to the acceptance criteria. This ensures that the criteria tie to the desired functionality.
2. Outcomes: Express the user experience and expected outcomes criteria. What should the feature achieve for the user? Avoid getting bogged down in technical implementation details.
3. Clarity and concision: Strive for clear and concise language everyone can understand. Technical jargon or ambiguous phrasing can lead to confusion.
4. Testability: Ensure each criterion translates into a clear and verifiable test. This allows for an objective evaluation of whether the feature meets the requirements.
5. Measurability: Whenever possible, quantify the criteria using measurable terms. This facilitates a clear pass/fail determination during testing.
6. Independence: Aim for independent criteria that you can test in isolation. This streamlines the testing process and avoids dependencies.
7. User acceptance testing (UAT): Consider incorporating UAT criteria alongside the development team's criteria. UAT criteria focus on ensuring the feature meets expectations from a usability standpoint.
8. Collaboration: Encourage collaboration during the creation process. Involve the product owner, development team, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure a comprehensive set of criteria that reflects all perspectives.
9. Review and refinement: Don't be afraid to revisit and refine the acceptance criteria throughout development. As understanding evolves, consider adjusting the criteria to reflect the latest information.

These steps and tips help develop acceptance criteria that promote clear communication, efficient testing, and a successful project outcome.

Examples of acceptance criteria

Here are a few well-written acceptance criteria examples:

Example 1

User story: As a customer, I want to search for products by name to find certain items easily.

• Acceptance criteria:
  • The search function should return results that exactly match the entered product name.
  • The search function should also return results that partially match the entered product name (with at least three matching characters).
  • Search results should be displayed clearly and organized, including the product name, image, and price.
  • The search results page should allow pagination to display a maximum of 20 items per page.

Example 2

User story: As a registered user, I want to edit my account information to keep my profile updated.

• Acceptance criteria:
  • Users can access an Edit Profile section within their account settings.
  • Users can edit their first name, last name, email address, and phone number.
  • All changes to user information must be saved successfully upon clicking the Save button.
  • The system displays a confirmation message upon successful update of user information.

Example 3

User story: As an administrator, I want to generate reports on user activity and track user engagement.

• Acceptance criteria:
  • The system provides a dedicated reports section within the admin dashboard.
  • Administrators can generate reports on various user activities, such as logins, product views, and purchases.
  • The user can filter reports by date range and user type.
  • The user can download reports in various formats (e.g., CSV, PDF).

These examples showcase how acceptance criteria translate user stories into specific, measurable, and testable conditions. By following this structure, companies can create clear and concise acceptance criteria that ensure the successful development and delivery of features that meet user needs.

Write clear acceptance criteria with Jira

Effective acceptance criteria are the cornerstone of successful software development. They bridge the gap between user needs and technical implementation, ensuring everyone is on the same page and the final product delivers value.

Clear, concise, and testable acceptance criteria are crucial to project success. Well-defined criteria foster smooth communication, streamline testing, and ultimately lead to a more successful project.

Use Jira to optimize acceptance criteria for Agile project management teams. Jira enables custom fields for acceptance criteria within issues, allowing you to sort these criteria and keep them readily accessible to all stakeholders.

By leveraging Jira's custom fields and the practices outlined above, teams can ensure that acceptance criteria remain clear and effective throughout the development life cycle, contributing to a more efficient and collaborative development process.

Acceptance criteria: Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between acceptance criteria and definition of done?

Acceptance criteria and DoD are crucial for project success, but they serve distinct purposes. Acceptance criteria focus on the specific functionalities a user story must fulfill to be complete for the end user. DoD establishes a broader set of quality standards for all development work. These encompass non-functional aspects such as code quality and documentation. Acceptance criteria define what must happen for a user story, while DoD outlines the overall quality standards for how a team completes development work.

When should you write acceptance criteria?

The ideal timing can vary, but there are a few key windows to consider. One option is identifying initial criteria during backlog refinement sessions, where the team discusses and fleshes out user stories. Another suitable time is during sprint planning when the team collaboratively finalizes the acceptance criteria for user stories slated for the upcoming sprint. This ensures the criteria are current and reflect the latest understanding. Define acceptance criteria before development begins to ensure clear expectations and a smooth development process.

What are some challenges of writing acceptance criteria?

One common challenge teams face is ambiguity in the criteria, which can lead to misinterpretation. Teams may also struggle to strike a balance between overly specific and too vague criteria. Disagreements among stakeholders on what constitutes done can hinder the process. It can also be tempting to cover every detail, which can lead to cumbersome and ultimately ineffective acceptance criteria.