Note ·
Writing acceptance criteria teams actually read
Criteria fail when they describe intent instead of observable behavior.
Vague lines like “the system should be user-friendly” never get tested. Useful criteria name actors, actions, and visible results—including failure paths.
A practical habit: write the happy path, then force one edge case and one permission failure. If QA cannot script it, rewrite it.
In our Requirements & Acceptance Writing program, peer review catches the soft language before it reaches engineering.
