Mastering the Requirements Process, 4th Edition

29

Acceptance Criteria

Acceptance criteria are a way to set a benchmark, a standard, that any delivered solution must meet. Naturally, it must be clear and binary. Clear in that the customer agrees that she is willing to accept a solution that meets the criteria, and binary in that either the delivered solution meets the criteria or it is rejected.

In Chapter 27, we looked at fit criteria. Acceptance criteria are more or less the same thing: Both are concerned with making requirements measurable and testable. The difference is mainly in how you write them.

Stories are written to describe something—some functionality or non-functional attributes—that the customer needs to be included in the delivered product. The acceptance criterion looks in ...