deliver-acceptance-criteria
Generates structured Given/When/Then acceptance criteria for a user story or feature slice, covering the happy path, key failure scenarios, and non-functional expectations in testable form. Use when turning requirements into verifiable scenarios for engineering handoff and QA sign-off. For a dedicat
By product-on-purpose · 911 installs
npx skills add product-on-purpose/pm-skills --skill deliver-acceptance-criteria
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<! PM Skills https://github.com/product on purpose/pm skills Apache 2.0
Acceptance Criteria
Acceptance criteria define the observable behavior that must be true for a story or feature to be considered done. This skill turns feature context into concise, testable Given/When/Then scenarios that engineers and QA can verify without guessing intent.
When to Use
After a user story, PRD section, or feature slice is defined
When a team needs clear pass/fail conditions for implementation
When writing QA ready criteria for sprint planning or handoff
When a story has edge cases, error paths, or non functional expectations that should be explicit
When NOT to Use
You need the user stories themselves use deliver user stories ; this skill deepens a story that already exists
You need systematic failure coverage across a whole feature use deliver edge cases ; this skill stays story scoped
There is no story or slice to bind criteria to yet use deliver prd or deliver user stories first
You are defining success metrics for an experiment, not done ness for a story use measure experiment design
Instructions
When asked to create acceptance criteria, follow these steps:
1. Confirm the story or feature scope
Identify the exact slice of work. If the scope is unclear, ask for the user story, PRD section, or feature description before drafting criteria.
2. Separate the happy path from exceptions
Start with the primary success flow, then add edge cases and error states that are likely or costly if missed.
3. Write each criterion as an observable scenario
Use Given/When/Then language only. Keep each criterion independently testable and avoid implementation details.
4. Cover recovery and failure behavior
Describe what the user sees or can do when validation fails, a dependency is unavailable, or a save action cannot complete.
5. Include non functional expectations
Add criteria for performance, accessibility, security, reliability, or auditability when they matter to the story.
6. Avoid duplication and overlap
Each criterion should test one outcome. If two criteria describe the same behavior, merge or split them until the intent is clear.
7. Review for testability
Ensure a reviewer can pass or fail each criterion without interpretation. If a statement is subjective, rewrite it into a measurable outcome.
Output Contract
Use references/TEMPLATE.md as the output format. A complete response should:
Restate the feature or story context
Group criteria into happy path, edge cases, error states, and non functional criteria
Use explicit Given/When/Then statements for each criterion
Note assumptions or open questions when context is incomplete
Quality Checklist
Before finalizing, verify:
[ ] The criteria map to a specific story or feature slice
[ ] The happy path is covered first
[ ] Edge cases are explicit, not implied
[ ] Error states include user visible recovery behavior
[ ] Non functional criteria are included when relevant
[ ] Each criterion is testable and has one clear outcome
[ ] No implementation details leak into the acceptance criteria
Examples
See references/EXAMPLE.md for a completed example based on a realistic e commerce checkout flow.