Why do Acceptance Criteria Matter to a Scrum Team?

Being the core of the development process, it makes sense that the Scrum Team would need to know when a task is finished. However, each role on a Scrum team has a different responsibility for acceptance criteria. If any link fails, it can cause issues toward the final product.

Analysts

Analysts are primarily concerned with bridging the gap between acceptance criteria and functional or technical specifications. They turn the “what” of an acceptance criteria into the “how” of a spec. The importance of this is making sure that the “how” properly covers the “what.” They must make sure that everything in the spec leads toward the acceptance criteria being met. If there are cases not covered in the spec, developers are working against an impossible goal.

Developers

When a task is in the hands of developers, acceptance criteria are more of a test case. The spec serves as instructions, but acceptance criteria give a definite test of whether the feature will meet customer requirements. Developers might take some liberties with the spec in order to create a better or more efficient software, but those details can be fleshed out by discussions with analysts. The acceptance criteria ultimately dictates what software must be capable of.

Recommended Further Reading

The following materials may assist you in order to get the most out of this course: