Purpose
When a story needs clear checkpoints before implementation, it sharpens expectation and scope together. It sorts work by value, risk, and delivery ability. The result is captured as Acceptance Criteria and a Story Update.
Agile Workshop method
Acceptance Criteria Workshop
The acceptance criteria workshop clarifies a small story through rules, concrete examples, and open questions until scope and acceptance are shared.
The workshop uses a Three Amigos perspective and Example Mapping: story, rules, examples, and questions remain distinct. Acceptance criteria describe observable business behaviour rather than premature UI steps.
Which rules and examples must hold for this story to be accepted from a business perspective?
- Participants
- 3-6
- Time
- 20-40 min pro Story
Keep story, rules, examples, and questions distinct. Many rules or red questions indicate a need to slice or clarify.
Story
Frame story and value
Select a small story with audience, value, and clear scope boundary.
Rules
Expose acceptance rules
Name the business rules and constraints that govern the story.
Examples
Challenge rules with concrete cases
Explore happy path, boundaries, negative cases, and relevant exceptions.
Decide
Make a readiness decision
Decide together whether the story is small and clear enough to implement.
Run short workshops frequently; assign owners to questions, then update criteria and examples after answers.
A good fit when
Useful shortly before implementing a small story. Many rules or unanswered questions indicate that the story needs slicing or further discovery.
Ideal for
- Refinement
- Story handoff
- Cross-functional teams
Not good for
- Very simple, clear stories
Outputs
Acceptance Criteria Map
Small story with business rules, typical and boundary examples, and open questions.
Explicit readiness decision
Ready, Rework, or Defer with owners, story slices, and clarification dates.
Acceptance Criteria Map
Fictional worked example
Keep story, rules, examples, questions, and readiness decision as distinct information types.
Story and value
Who wants to achieve what, why, and what is outside scope?
As a customer, I cancel an appointment online so I can plan without a phone call.
Acceptance rules
Which business rules and constraints apply?
Cancellation is free until and including 24 hours before start; later cancellation costs €20.
Concrete examples
Which typical, boundary, and negative cases illustrate each rule?
25h before: full refund. Exactly 24h: full refund. 23:59h: €20 fee.
Open questions
Which outcome is undecided, and who resolves it?
Which timezone applies to international appointments? Owner Product, due 18 June.
Readiness decision
Ready, rework, or defer? Which slices or follow-ups result?
Rework: resolve timezone and update criteria before implementation.
Questions are not acceptance criteria. They stay open until an authorised person makes the business decision.
First step
Start with the core question: Which rules and examples must hold for this story to be accepted from a business perspective?
Good to do first
Deep dive
How it works
It condenses business expectations into unambiguous criteria and records them so that testing and implementation share the same reading. This makes handoff clearer and rework rarer, without locking down scope too early.
In detail
The Acceptance Criteria Workshop is a focused follow-up format to Example Mapping and Specification by Example. For each story, the moderator guides rounds that produce concrete, testable criteria, often in Given-When-Then format. The result bridges discovery and implementation and reduces follow-up questions.
Facilitation
Write the criteria where everyone can see them. Keep each round focused on one story. Do not accept vague criteria such as fast or simple.
The method guide walks execution through 4 phases, timing, 4 pitfalls, and clear stop criteria.
Open method guideYour perspective
Does this method help with your work?
Your feedback helps shape the next improvements to methodatlas.
Sources and topics
Artifact templates
Acceptance Criteria Workshop: WorksheetPlan Acceptance Criteria Workshop with real scope, suitable roles, and a clear decision objective.markdown
Acceptance Criteria Workshop: WorksheetPlan Acceptance Criteria Workshop with real scope, suitable roles, and a clear decision objective.
markdownacceptance-criteria-workshop-working-template.md
Plan Acceptance Criteria Workshop with real scope, suitable roles, and a clear decision objective.
Acceptance Criteria Workshop: Worksheet
Question
To be confirmed
Desired outcome
To be confirmed
Scope
Plan the full workshop Time: 25–40 minutes per small story
Complete this worksheet on paper or in your own document during the work.
Preparation for this scope
Method setup
- Materials: Story card, four card colours for story/rule/example/question, timer, and backlog access.
- Roles: Product/domain · developer · tester · optional facilitator
- Advance information: Select one story, gather known rules and incidents, and invite the relevant Three Amigos.
- Overall time needed: 25–40 minutes per small story
- Setup: Place story at top, rules below, concrete examples under each rule, and unanswered questions separately.
Prepare for the work steps
Story: Frame story and value
- Candidate story
- Product goal and user context
- Three Amigos
Rules: Expose acceptance rules
- Focused story
- Domain knowledge
- Existing policies
Examples: Challenge rules with concrete cases
- Rule set
- Real incidents and data
- Product, development, and test perspectives
Decide: Make a readiness decision
- Example map
- Open questions
- Team readiness criteria
Acceptance Criteria Map
Story and value
Who wants to achieve what, why, and what is outside scope?
...
Acceptance rules
Which business rules and constraints apply?
...
Concrete examples
Which typical, boundary, and negative cases illustrate each rule?
...
Open questions
Which outcome is undecided, and who resolves it?
...
Readiness decision
Ready, rework, or defer? Which slices or follow-ups result?
...
Complete story, rules, examples, questions, and decision separately.
Cucumber: Introducing Example Mapping
Story: Frame story and value
Expected artifact: Focused story
Who · goal · value · scope
Entry:
...
- Can the group discuss the whole story in a short workshop?
Rules: Expose acceptance rules
Expected artifact: Rule set
Story · rules · scope
Entry:
...
- Does each rule describe business behaviour or a constraint?
Examples: Challenge rules with concrete cases
Expected artifact: Example map
Rules · examples · questions
Entry:
...
- Does every example have concrete input and expected outcome?
Decide: Make a readiness decision
Expected artifact: Readiness decision
Status · questions · owners · sliced scope
Entry:
...
- Do Product, Development, and Test share the acceptance understanding?
Open questions and next steps
...
Method guide: https://methodatlas.meierhoff-systems.de/en/methods/acceptance-criteria-workshop/run-sheet
Alternatives and neighbors
Fitting alternatives with decision guidance, followed by other related methods.
Agile
Example Mapping
Instead of Acceptance Criteria Workshop, choose Example Mapping when rules, examples, and open questions should be sorted together before criteria are formulated.
Agile
Three Amigos
Brings business, development, and testing together before implementation to clarify a story's examples, rules, and edge cases.
Agile
Story Splitting
Splits stories that are too large into smaller testable slices while keeping value, dependencies, and interfaces in view.
Agile
Ideal Days
Moves backlog, sprint work, and team flow toward a concrete result through "explain the ideal day unit", "calibrate with a reference item", and "do not confuse it with calendar days".
Agile
ROAM Board
Moves backlog, sprint work, and team flow toward a concrete result through "create a board with the four columns Resolved, Owned, Accepted, Mitigated", "carry over risks from earlier stages such as Risk Storming", and "update the board at every review".
Agile
T-Shirt Sizing
Sorts backlog items roughly by reference sizes and flags early on which items will later need splitting or clarification.
Constraints and origin
LowWorkshop20-40 min pro Story
Profile
- Method form
- Workshop method
- Participants
- 3-6
- Time
- 20-40 min pro Story
- Maturity
- Established
- Origin
- Agile Community
Next up: Planning Poker