Write Acceptance

Write Acceptance Criteria Command

Generate clear, testable acceptance criteria in Given-When-Then format for user stories.

Process

Step 1: Parse User Story

Accept input as:

• Complete user story text
• User story ID (US-001) - look up in docs
• File path to story specification

Extract the user story format:

As a [role]
I want to [action]
So that [benefit]

Step 2: Load Skills

Invoke the test-strategy:acceptance-criteria-authoring skill for BDD patterns.

Step 3: Identify Scenarios

For the user story, identify:

1. Happy Path: Primary success scenario
2. Alternate Paths: Valid variations
3. Error Scenarios: What can go wrong
4. Edge Cases: Boundary conditions
5. Security Scenarios: Access control, validation

Step 4: Write Scenarios

Use Given-When-Then format:

Feature: [Feature name from story]

  Background:
    Given [common precondition]
    And [another common setup]

  @happy-path
  Scenario: Successfully [action] as [role]
    Given [specific context]
    And [additional context]
    When [action taken]
    Then [expected outcome]
    And [additional verification]

  @error-handling
  Scenario: Fail to [action] when [condition]
    Given [error-inducing context]
    When [action taken]
    Then [error handling behavior]
    And [system state preserved]

  @edge-case
  Scenario: [Action] with boundary condition
    Given [edge condition]
    When [action at boundary]
    Then [expected boundary behavior]

Step 5: Apply INVEST Validation

Check scenarios against INVEST:

• Independent: Can run alone
• Negotiable: Details can be discussed
• Valuable: Delivers user value
• Estimable: Can be sized
• Small: Fits in sprint
• Testable: Clear pass/fail

Step 6: Generate SpecFlow (Optional)

For .NET projects, create step definition stubs:

[Binding]
public class [Feature]Steps
{
    [Given(@"I am logged in as a (.*)")]
    public void GivenIAmLoggedInAs(string role)
    {
        // TODO: Implement step
    }

    [When(@"I (.*)")]
    public void WhenI(string action)
    {
        // TODO: Implement step
    }

    [Then(@"I should see (.*)")]
    public void ThenIShouldSee(string expected)
    {
        // TODO: Implement step
    }
}

Step 7: Output

## Acceptance Criteria Created

**User Story**: [Story ID/Title]

### Scenarios Generated
| Scenario | Type | Priority |
|----------|------|----------|
| Successfully checkout | Happy Path | P1 |
| Payment declined | Error | P1 |
| Cart expires | Edge Case | P2 |

### Files Created
- `features/[feature].feature` - Gherkin scenarios
- `steps/[Feature]Steps.cs` - Step stubs (if .NET)

### Coverage Checklist
- [x] Happy path covered
- [x] Validation errors covered
- [x] Authorization failures covered
- [x] Boundary conditions covered
- [ ] Concurrency scenarios (if applicable)

### Notes
- [Any assumptions made]
- [Questions for product owner]

Examples

From story text:

/test-strategy:write-acceptance "As a customer, I want to checkout with saved payment so I can complete purchases quickly"

From story ID:

/test-strategy:write-acceptance US-042

From file:

/test-strategy:write-acceptance docs/stories/checkout.md

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