When reviewing the many articles and information out there about writing good acceptance criteria, I wanted to provide more of a quick reference, or short checklist of things, that you can quickly use to scan your acceptance criteria. I hope this is practical and useful. Don’t overthink it too much. Here are five good signs to watch for to help you stay on track when writing acceptance criteria:
5 Signs of Good Acceptance Criteria
- Each criteria can be easily tested with a simple pass/fail result
- Boundaries are clear so developers and testers don’t do more or less than they should
- Desired intent is explained well (not the specifics of how)
- Work can be started confidently by the team
- Non-functional requirements are included (or the team actually has a working “definition of done” that is followed and that includes them)