Specific conditions that must be met for a user story to be considered complete.
Acceptance Criteria define the specific conditions under which a User Story is considered complete. They create a shared understanding between the Product Owner, the development team, and stakeholders about what exactly needs to be delivered. Without clear Acceptance Criteria, the scope of a story remains open to interpretation, leading to rework and conflicts.
In practice, the Given-When-Then format from Behaviour-Driven Development has proven effective. An example: Given the user is logged in and on the product overview. When they set the price filter to 0-50 euros. Then only products under 50 euros are displayed. This format enforces precision and makes criteria directly testable. The team can write automated tests from the criteria, and the Product Owner can objectively verify during acceptance whether the story is fulfilled.
The concept goes back to Dan North’s work on Behaviour-Driven Development and frequently uses Gherkin syntax. It is important not to confuse Acceptance Criteria with the Definition of Done: while the DoD defines team-wide quality standards, Acceptance Criteria describe the functional requirements of an individual story.
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