What are acceptance criteria?

Acceptance criteria are specific conditions that a product or feature must meet in order to be considered acceptable by users, stakeholders, or product owners. These criteria are essential in the development process as they help set clear expectations for what needs to be delivered. They outline the particular requirements that define what "done" looks like for a feature, ensuring that the development team and stakeholders have a shared understanding of the expected outcomes.

By establishing acceptance criteria, teams can create a clear benchmark for testing and validation of the product. This focus on user needs and stakeholder requirements plays a crucial role in ensuring that the final product aligns with the desired functionality and quality, thereby enhancing satisfaction and usability.

The other options, while related to different aspects of software development, do not accurately characterize acceptance criteria. Guidelines for writing bug reports focus on the process of identifying and documenting defects, standards for code quality pertain to maintaining technical excellence, and metrics for evaluating team performance relate to assessing the effectiveness of team collaboration and productivity.