Acceptance criteria builder
Describe the task. Get a short list of checks that say "yes, this is done."
What acceptance criteria are
They are the list of things that must be true for the work to count as done. Not "it looks good." Instead: "the price is shown in dollars," "it fits on one page," "the link opens the signup form."
Engineers have used them for years. Everyone else should too. They stop the "I thought you meant" conversation before it starts.
Example
Task: "A one-page PDF handout for the sales team about the new pricing." For: Sales reps on calls with customers. Kind: Document.
The builder wrote:
- The three plans are listed with the monthly and yearly price for each.
- Prices match the pricing page as of today.
- It fits on one page when printed on US Letter.
- The most common customer question, "what happens if we go over?", is answered.
- The file name follows our pattern:
pricing-handout-2026-06.pdf. - Dana has approved it in writing.
The designer now knows exactly what "done" means. So does the reviewer. If check 4 is missing, nobody has to argue about whether the work is finished.
A good check is
- Testable. Someone can answer yes or no.
- About the result. Not about how hard someone worked.
- Short. One sentence each.
- Few. Three to six. If you need twenty, split the task.
Use the checks when the work comes back
In M-Tracker, the checks live with the task. When the work is marked done, the review reads the brief, the checks, and the work, then says which checks are met and which are not. The person fixes the gap first. You review less, and approve more.
Start free · Guide: How to agree what "done" means before work starts
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Questions people ask
Is this the same as a definition of done?
Close. Acceptance criteria are for one task. A definition of done is the standing list for every task of a type, like "every blog post has a meta description." Use both.
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