Acceptance criteria are a set of predefined requirements that a product or feature must meet to be considered complete and acceptable by stakeholders. They act as a pass/fail checklist that defines the success of the product or feature from an end-user perspective¹. These criteria help ensure that everyone involved has a shared understanding of what "done" looks like, reducing ambiguity and aligning expectations².

Importance of Acceptance Criteria

Acceptance criteria play a crucial role in project management and software development. They help in defining expectations, facilitating effective communication, ensuring quality assurance, controlling scope, and providing guidelines for testing¹. By clearly outlining what needs to be accomplished for a user story or feature to be considered done, acceptance criteria prevent misunderstandings and minimize defects².

Types and Structure of Acceptance Criteria