Acceptance Criteria Writing

Acceptance Criteria Writing

Definition

Write criteria that prove the feature outcome has been achieved. Acceptance criteria describe observable behavior, not private implementation steps.

Questions To Ask

• What must be true for the feature to count as done?
• What user actions and system responses must be observable?
• What rules, permissions, validations, and state changes matter?
• What should happen when inputs are invalid or state changes?
• Which criteria can become tests?

Existing Project Comparison

• Compare criteria with existing tests, UI copy, route behavior, and business rules.
• Flag criteria that assert implementation order instead of user-visible behavior.
• Add missing criteria for failure states and permissions.

Suggestive Plan

1. Write happy-path criteria.
2. Add validation and permission criteria.
3. Add persistence and state criteria.
4. Add user feedback criteria.
5. Mark each criterion as unit, integration, or end-to-end test candidate.

Example

Given a pending request, when a receptionist saves a valid new preferred window, then the request shows the new window and remains pending.

Vocabulary

• Acceptance criterion: condition that proves feature completion.
• Observable behavior: result visible through UI, API, data state, or testable output.
• Given-when-then: format for behavior criteria.
• Done criteria: checks required before the feature is complete.

Expected Outcome

Produce acceptance criteria covering happy path, validations, permissions, persistence, errors, and test mapping.