Acceptance Criteria and Definition of Done Flashcards

What is the primary purpose of acceptance criteria in Agile Business Analysis?

Answer: To specify the conditions a user story must meet to be accepted as complete

Acceptance criteria define the specific conditions that a user story must satisfy for it to be considered done and accepted by the product owner.

Which format is most commonly used to write acceptance criteria in Agile?

Answer: Given-When-Then (Gherkin syntax)

The Given-When-Then format (Gherkin syntax) is widely used for acceptance criteria because it clearly defines context, action, and expected outcome in plain language.

Who is primarily responsible for defining acceptance criteria for user stories?

Answer: The product owner in collaboration with stakeholders

Acceptance criteria are primarily defined by the product owner in collaboration with stakeholders and the development team to ensure shared understanding of requirements.

When should acceptance criteria be written for a user story?

Answer: Before the sprint begins, ideally during backlog refinement

Acceptance criteria should be written before development begins, typically during backlog refinement, to provide clear guidance to the development team before they start work.

Which of the following is a characteristic of well-written acceptance criteria?

Answer: They are testable, specific, and focused on user outcomes

Well-written acceptance criteria are testable, specific, and focused on what the user needs to accomplish, not on how the system implements the solution.

What is the relationship between acceptance criteria and the Definition of Done in Agile?

Answer: Acceptance criteria are story-specific while the Definition of Done applies to all stories team-wide

Acceptance criteria are unique to each user story defining specific conditions for that story, while the Definition of Done is a team-wide quality standard applied consistently to every story.

A business analyst notices that a user story entering sprint planning has no acceptance criteria. What is the BEST course of action?

Answer: Postpone the story until acceptance criteria are added during backlog refinement

Stories without acceptance criteria should be refined before entering a sprint, as criteria are essential for the team to understand what 'done' means and to verify the story properly.