Acceptance Criteria
Acceptance criteria define how you prove a requirement is satisfied. They are concrete, verifiable, written in behavior terms, and often expressed as scenarios or rules.
Common Formats
Rule-based
Given X, system shall do Y.
Scenario-based (Given / When / Then)
Given a valid batch recipe, When the user starts execution, Then the system shall validate parameters before proceeding.
Key Properties
- Binary outcome — pass or fail, no ambiguity
- Focus on observable behavior — not implementation details
- Directly usable for testing — a tester can derive test cases
Relationship to Requirements
| Requirements | Acceptance Criteria |
|---|---|
| What is needed | How we know it works |
| The goal | The proof |
| Can be abstract | Must be concrete |
Think of acceptance criteria as the test contract for a requirement. Every requirement should link to one or more criteria.