What is a User Story?

A user story succinctly outlines a feature or product from the user's viewpoint, detailing what the user desires.

Essential Components of a User Story: - Who is the user? - What are their needs? - Why are these needs important?

A common format for user stories is: “As a (user), I (want to), (so that).”

For instance, in a recipe application, users might struggle to locate their favorite recipes when cooking. A user story could be: "As an amateur cook, I want to save my favorite recipes, so I can easily access the required ingredients."

Here’s how this breaks down: - User: An amateur cook, defined through user research and personas. - Desire: To save favorite recipes. - Reason: To quickly identify necessary ingredients.

Why are User Stories Necessary?

User stories ensure all agile team members share a unified understanding of the project, aligning their efforts toward a common goal.

What are Acceptance Criteria?

Acceptance criteria delineate the requirements a user must meet to utilize a feature. They serve as a mutual agreement between the user and the development team regarding user needs and expected deliverables.

Reflecting on our earlier example: - User Story: "As a young family, we want to rent a new house because we've relocated to a new city." - Acceptance Criteria:

• The house must have at least three bedrooms.
• It should be near a metro station.
• Proximity to the city center is required.
• The property must include two bathrooms.

Why are Acceptance Criteria Important?

Acceptance criteria help the team maintain focus and prioritize their work. They clarify what needs to be delivered and provide insight into the expected functionality of the feature.

• They assist in estimating the effort and time required (for developers, designers, and testers).
• They help assess if the feature aligns with user needs.
• They guide testers in validating that the feature operates correctly.

Distinguishing Between User Stories and Acceptance Criteria

User stories and acceptance criteria serve different purposes. User stories identify the user, their wants, and the reasons behind those wants, while acceptance criteria provide detailed requirements that define the feature’s functionality.

How to Create Acceptance Criteria

Two prevalent methods for writing acceptance criteria are Rule-oriented and Scenario-oriented (also known as Behavior Driven Development). This guide will focus on the Rule-oriented method, which I prefer as a product designer.

Rule-oriented acceptance criteria consist of a straightforward list of essential user needs that deliver value.

Referring back to our recipe app: - User Story: "As an amateur cook, I want to save my favorite recipes, so I can easily access the necessary ingredients."

Acceptance Criteria might include: - Users should be able to add recipes from any relevant source. - Users must have the option to delete recipes from their collection. - The recipe list must be accessible throughout the application.

Best Practices for Writing Acceptance Criteria

1. Use Concise Sentences: Keep explanations brief and to the point.
2. Employ Simple Language: Utilize clear vocabulary that everyone on the team can comprehend.
3. Ensure Measurability: Formulate criteria that can be easily validated.
4. One Criterion per Line: Streamline each line to focus on a single criterion.
5. Clarify the Rationale: Each criterion should have a clear purpose that answers “Why is this criterion necessary?”
6. Consider Splitting User Stories: If a user story becomes too complex, break it into smaller, prioritized stories.
7. Avoid Over-Specification: Leave room for design flexibility; avoid detailing specific actions too closely.

Out of Scope

It's crucial to outline what is outside the scope of the project. Clarity here prevents unnecessary complexity.

For example, in the recipe app: - Users will only be able to create one list, not multiple. - Sharing of lists will not be permitted.

Examples of Acceptance Criteria

Here are several examples of user stories paired with acceptance criteria to illustrate effective writing:

Example 1 - User Story: "As a vendor, I want to use email templates to save time." - Acceptance Criteria:

• Vendors should be able to create templates.
• Vendors can incorporate templates into emails.
• Vendors must be able to edit templates post-insertion.

Example 2 - User Story: "As a client, I want to purchase products via the mobile app for convenience." - Acceptance Criteria:

• Clients can add products to their cart.
• Clients have the option to remove products from their cart.
• Clients must be able to pay using a credit card.
• Clients should be able to set a default delivery address.

Example 3 - User Story: "As an amateur runner, I want to set goals to enhance my running skills." - Acceptance Criteria:

• Runners must be able to select a single goal.
• Runners should be able to adjust their goals.
• Upon achieving a goal, the app should propose a new one.
• If a goal is not met, the app should suggest a new goal.

Who is Responsible for Writing Acceptance Criteria?

Typically, the product manager or product owner is responsible for drafting the acceptance criteria. However, collaboration with the designer is vital. This partnership allows them to glean insights about user needs and collaboratively develop foundational mockups, ensuring a shared understanding of the problem and solution.

When Writing Acceptance Criteria

Acceptance criteria should be established before the design phase. Without them, the design process lacks direction. The most effective approach is to articulate the idea first, then refine it through product comparisons, prototyping, and team feedback. Collaborating with the product manager during this phase fosters a common understanding of the challenges and solutions before the design process begins.

Additional Tips

• Adjust Criteria as Needed: If the scope expands during design, modify the acceptance criteria accordingly.
• Review with the Team: Before each sprint, revisiting the user stories and acceptance criteria ensures everyone understands the scope.
• Document Everything: Keep a record of acceptance criteria in your project management tool for future reference.

Conclusion

Utilizing acceptance criteria allows for a detailed description of the requirements necessary for a feature or product, facilitating the design of user-centered solutions. This guide has highlighted the significance of acceptance criteria in aligning product owners, managers, designers, development teams, and QA testers. It also presented best practices for writing them clearly and effectively. Ultimately, we underscored the necessity for product managers and designers to collaborate on these criteria before initiating the design phase.

Resources

For further reading on acceptance criteria, consider the following sources: - https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/business/acceptance-criteria-purposes-formats-and-best-practices/ | AltexSoft - "Clear Acceptance Criteria for User Stories with Examples" by Maryna Z. and Dmitriy G. - "How to Craft Strong Acceptance Criteria for a User Story" by Uroosa Hippargi - "User Stories: A Beginner’s Guide to Acceptance Criteria" by Courtney

Thank you for engaging with this article. I hope it clarifies the concept of acceptance criteria. Feel free to share it with colleagues, and don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.

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