Acceptance Criteria

Acceptance Criteria are essentially the conditions that a product or a deliverable must meet to be accepted by stakeholders or customers. These are vital for validating that the solution meets the business needs as specified in the requirements.

The Nature

Acceptance criteria are concrete and demonstrable. They serve as a checklist for evaluating the deliverables and determining whether or not they fulfill the stated requirements.

Alignment with Requirements

The acceptance criteria should be in complete alignment with the requirements and other relevant product information. This is crucial because the criteria form the basis for acceptance testing or any other evaluation methods employed to validate the solution.

Definition of Done

The "definition of done" is included as a part of the acceptance criteria. This provides a clear end-state that describes what completion looks like, offering an additional layer of clarity and understanding for what must be achieved.

Levels of Definition

Acceptance criteria can be defined at various levels such as:

Requirement Level: Specific to a single requirement.
Iteration Level: Pertaining to an iteration in the project.
Release Level: Concerning the entire release.
Solution Level: For the overall solution.
Product or Business Objective Level: These are high-level criteria that align directly with business objectives.

Context Sensitivity: Adaptive vs Predictive Approaches

In an adaptive approach, acceptance criteria often pertain to individual user stories. Multiple criteria might need to be satisfied for a single user story to be deemed acceptable. They provide a concise way to articulate requirements.

In a predictive approach, the acceptance criteria are typically higher-level and related to a release or the overall solution.

Role in Validation Activities

During validation, these criteria are cross-referenced against all requirements and product information. If there's a mismatch, it indicates that the particular item (requirement, iteration, release, or solution) is not on track to be accepted.

By understanding and utilizing acceptance criteria effectively, Business Analysts can ensure that the deliverables meet stakeholder expectations and fulfill the requirements, thereby increasing the likelihood of project success.

Sample Format

Below is a sample format for Acceptance Criteria using the Given-When-Then syntax, which is commonly used in Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) and aligns well with PMI practices.

User Story:

As a [type of user], I want [an action] so that [benefit/value]

As a customer, I want to be able to reset my password so that I can regain access to my account when I forget my password.