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Planning & Processnoun · /əkˈsɛptəns kraɪˈtɪəriə/

acceptance criteria

In simple English

Acceptance criteria are a critical part of agile development and software project planning. They define what success looks like for a specific piece of work before development begins. These criteria are typically written during the planning phase and agreed upon by the product owner, developers, and testers. In practice, acceptance criteria transform vague requirements into concrete, testable conditions. For example, instead of saying a login feature should 'work well,' acceptance criteria would specify: 'Users can log in with email and password, error messages appear within 2 seconds if credentials are invalid, and sessions expire after 30 minutes of inactivity.' Acceptance criteria serve as the bridge between business needs and technical implementation, ensuring everyone understands what will be delivered.

Find out what acceptance criteria are and how to write them for agile user stories.

At a glanceCEFR B2
Commonness5/5
Versatility5/5
FormalityCasualFormalFormal
Spoken ↔ WrittenSpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ DiplomaticDirectDiplomaticDirect
RegionUS and UK
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Say it like this

✓Does this feature meet the acceptance criteria?
✓We need to define clear acceptance criteria before development starts.
✓The QA team will verify against the acceptance criteria.

Real examples

in sprint planning

"The product owner listed three acceptance criteria for this user story: users must be able to upload files under 10MB, the upload should complete within 30 seconds, and a success message must appear."

in code review

"This pull request does not satisfy all the acceptance criteria we agreed on—the search function still lacks sorting functionality."

in a standup

"We finished the payment module yesterday, but we are still testing it against the acceptance criteria to ensure it handles edge cases."

Don't say this

Handle with care. Often confused with 'definition of done' — acceptance criteria are specific to a single user story, while definition of done applies to all work. Do not use interchangeably.

✕We will acceptance criteria this feature after launch.
✓We will verify this feature meets the acceptance criteria before launch.— Acceptance criteria is a noun, not a verb. You verify things against acceptance criteria, not acceptance criteria something.
✕The acceptance criteria says the button should be blue.
✓One of the acceptance criteria is that the button should be blue.— Criteria is plural; use 'is' with the singular 'one criterion' or use 'are' with 'criteria.'
✕We will write the code, then define acceptance criteria.
✓We will define acceptance criteria first, then write the code.— Acceptance criteria should be established before development begins to guide implementation, not after.

Other forms

noun (plural)

acceptance criteria

"The acceptance criteria for this feature are listed in the requirements document."

noun (singular)

acceptance criterion

"One acceptance criterion is that the response time must be under 500 milliseconds."

Often used with

define acceptance criteriaTo establish or write the criteria at the start of a project or sprint.
meet acceptance criteriaTo satisfy or fulfill all the conditions specified in the criteria.
acceptance criteria are clearThe criteria are well-written and unambiguous.
verify against acceptance criteriaTo test and confirm that work matches the specified criteria.
document acceptance criteriaTo record the criteria formally so the team can reference them.

Similar words

requirementsBroader term; requirements can include technical, business, and user needs. Acceptance criteria are specific conditions tied to a single user story.
success criteriaVery similar; sometimes used interchangeably, though success criteria may be broader in scope.
definition of doneApplies to all work items and defines general quality standards, while acceptance criteria are specific to one story or feature.

Opposites

rejection criteriafailure conditions

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Practice

Try it

4 quick exercises

Complete the sentence

1. We must _______ acceptance criteria before we start coding.

Spot the mistake

2. Which sentence uses acceptance criteria correctly?

Pick the most natural phrasing

3. Your QA team found a bug. How would you say it relates to acceptance criteria?

Rewrite naturally

4. Rewrite this in professional tech English: 'We need to say what counts as good before we start building.'

Questions

Quick poll

Have you said "acceptance criteria" in a standup this week?

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