ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA Meaning and
Definition
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Acceptance criteria refers to a set of predefined conditions or requirements that a product, service, or deliverable must meet in order to be considered acceptable, complete, and satisfactory. These criteria are commonly used in project management, software development, quality assurance, and other fields to establish objective benchmarks against which the final outcome can be evaluated.
Acceptance criteria are typically developed during the initial planning phase of a project or the design phase of a product. They are used to define the specific functionalities, features, or characteristics that must be present or achieved for the project or product to be considered successful and meet the expectations of the stakeholders. These criteria serve as guidelines to measure the performance, functionality, usability, and quality of the end result.
They are often expressed in specific and measurable terms, such as desired outcomes, boundaries, limitations, performance parameters, or user expectations. Acceptance criteria may include both functional requirements, which define what the product or service should do, as well as non-functional requirements, which cover aspects like reliability, performance, security, and user experience.
During the testing and validation phase, acceptance criteria are used to verify and validate the work carried out against the established requirements. If the product or service meets all the acceptance criteria, it is considered approved and ready for deployment or delivery. If any of the acceptance criteria are not met, the work may be considered incomplete or defective, and further refinement or corrections may be required before acceptance can be granted.
Etymology of ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA
The word "acceptance criteria" is a compound word consisting of "acceptance" and "criteria".
The term "acceptance" comes from the Latin word "acceptantia", which means "favorable reception or approval". It is derived from the Latin verb "acceptare", meaning "to take, receive, or approve".
The word "criteria" comes from the Greek word "kriterion", which means "means of judging" or "standard for comparison". It is derived from the Greek verb "kritein", meaning "to judge or decide".
When combined, "acceptance criteria" refers to the set of conditions or standards that a product, service, or deliverable must meet to be considered acceptable or approved.
