Agile Best Practices

Acceptance Criteria Templates: The Complete Guide for Agile Teams

Master the art of writing clear, testable acceptance criteria with proven templates and real-world examples. Learn how well-defined acceptance criteria improve user story quality and keep your team aligned.

September 24, 2025
15 min read
DevAgentix Team

Clear Criteria = Better Stories

What Are Acceptance Criteria?

Acceptance criteria are specific conditions that must be met for a user story to be considered "done." They define the boundaries of a user story and serve as a shared understanding between the development team, product owner, and stakeholders about what needs to be delivered.

Well-written acceptance criteria eliminate ambiguity, reduce back-and-forth discussions, and ensure everyone has the same definition of "done" before development begins.

💡 Key Benefits of Good Acceptance Criteria

  • • Clear expectations: Everyone knows exactly what to build
  • • Testable outcomes: QA can create test cases directly from criteria
  • • Reduced rework: Less confusion means fewer bugs and revisions
  • • Better estimates: Developers can size stories more accurately

Top 5 Acceptance Criteria Templates

Here are the most effective templates used by successful Agile teams, with examples for each:

1
Given-When-Then (BDD Format)

The most popular format, borrowed from Behavior-Driven Development (BDD). Perfect for scenarios with clear preconditions and expected outcomes.

Template:

Given [initial context/precondition]
When [action/event occurs]
Then [expected outcome]

Example:

Given I am a logged-in user with items in my cart
When I click the "Checkout" button
Then I should be redirected to the payment page with my cart total displayed

2
Scenario-Based Format

Great for complex features with multiple user paths and edge cases.

Template:

Scenario 1: [Happy path description]
Scenario 2: [Alternative path description]
Scenario 3: [Error/edge case description]

Example:

Scenario 1: User successfully logs in with correct credentials
Scenario 2: User enters wrong password and sees error message
Scenario 3: User account is locked after 3 failed attempts

3
Rule-Based Format

Ideal for features with business rules, validation logic, or compliance requirements.

Template:

Rule: [Business rule description]
Example: [Concrete example of the rule]
Exception: [Any exceptions to the rule]

Example:

Rule: Discount codes can only be used once per customer
Example: If customer already used "SAVE20", they cannot use it again
Exception: Admin users can override this restriction

4
Checklist Format

Perfect for straightforward features where you need to verify multiple requirements.

Template:

☐ [Requirement 1]
☐ [Requirement 2]
☐ [Requirement 3]
☐ [Requirement 4]

Example:

☐ User can upload files up to 10MB
☐ Only PDF, DOC, and DOCX files are accepted
☐ Progress bar shows during upload
☐ Success message appears after upload completes

5
User Journey Format

Best for multi-step processes or workflows that span multiple screens.

Template:

Step 1: [User action and system response]
Step 2: [Next user action and system response]
Step 3: [Final action and completion state]

Example:

Step 1: User clicks "Forgot Password" and enters email address
Step 2: System sends reset email and shows confirmation message
Step 3: User clicks email link, enters new password, and gets success confirmation

Best Practices for Writing Acceptance Criteria

✅ Do This

  • • Write from the user's perspective
  • • Use simple, clear language
  • • Make criteria testable and verifiable
  • • Focus on the "what," not the "how"
  • • Include both positive and negative scenarios
  • • Keep criteria independent of each other

❌ Avoid This

  • • Vague or ambiguous language
  • • Technical implementation details
  • • Too many criteria (>7-10 max)
  • • Overlapping or duplicate requirements
  • • Non-functional requirements (use Definition of Done instead)
  • • Assumptions without clear context

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Mistake: Too Technical

Bad Example: "API should return HTTP 200 status with JSON payload"

Better: "User sees confirmation message when form is submitted successfully"

❌ Mistake: Too Vague

Bad Example: "System should be fast and user-friendly"

Better: "Page loads within 3 seconds and displays clear error messages for invalid inputs"

❌ Mistake: Not Testable

Bad Example: "User should have a good experience"

Better: "User can complete the checkout process in 3 steps or fewer"

How DevAgentix Helps with Acceptance Criteria

Writing acceptance criteria manually can be time-consuming and inconsistent across team members. DevAgentix's Scribbles tool helps automate this process by analyzing meeting transcripts and generating well-structured user stories with acceptance criteria.

🚀 Automated Acceptance Criteria Generation

What Scribbles Does:

  • • Extracts requirements from meeting discussions
  • • Identifies edge cases mentioned by stakeholders
  • • Formats criteria using proven templates
  • • Ensures consistent language across stories

Benefits for Your Team:

  • • 70% faster story creation
  • • Reduced ambiguity and rework
  • • Better team alignment
  • • Direct integration with Jira

Real-World Examples by Feature Type

🔐 User Authentication Feature

User Story:

As a returning customer, I want to log into my account so that I can access my order history and saved preferences.

Acceptance Criteria:

Given I am on the login page

When I enter valid email and password and click "Login"

Then I should be redirected to my account dashboard


Given I enter an incorrect password

When I click "Login"

Then I should see "Invalid credentials" error message


Given I fail to login 3 times in a row

When I attempt a 4th login

Then my account should be temporarily locked for 15 minutes

🔍 Product Search Feature

User Story:

As a shopper, I want to search for products by name so that I can quickly find what I'm looking for.

Acceptance Criteria:

☐ Search results appear as user types (after 3+ characters)

☐ Results show product name, price, and thumbnail image

☐ No results found shows "No products match your search" message

☐ Search handles typos and suggests corrections

☐ Results are sorted by relevance (exact matches first)

☐ Search works with partial product names

Master Acceptance Criteria for Better User Stories

Well-written acceptance criteria are the foundation of successful user stories. They create shared understanding, reduce ambiguity, and help your team deliver exactly what users need. Start with the Given-When-Then template for most scenarios, and adapt other formats based on your specific requirements.

Remember: the goal isn't perfect acceptance criteria on the first try, but rather clear, testable requirements that improve with each iteration. Your team's velocity and quality will improve as you establish consistent patterns for writing acceptance criteria.

🚀 Ready to Automate Your Acceptance Criteria?

Let Scribbles help you generate consistent, well-structured acceptance criteria from your meeting transcripts.

Start Free Trial

Quick Reference: Template Cheat Sheet

📝 Given-When-Then

Best for: Login, payments, form submissions

🎭 Scenario-Based

Best for: Complex workflows, multiple paths

⚖️ Rule-Based

Best for: Business rules, validations

✅ Checklist

Best for: Simple features, UI requirements

🗺️ User Journey

Best for: Multi-step processes, onboarding

🤖 AI-Generated

Best for: Consistent formatting, faster creation

💡 Pro Tips:

  • • Mix and match templates based on story complexity
  • • Keep criteria under 7-10 items per story
  • • Include positive and negative test cases
  • • Review criteria with the whole team during refinement
  • • Use tools like DevAgentix to maintain consistency