Verify acceptance criteria

Acceptance Criteria Verifier

When to Use

Use this skill to evaluate acceptance criteria quality. It's most valuable when:

• Reviewing criteria before development starts (catch issues early)
• Auditing existing criteria that have caused confusion or rework
• Ensuring criteria align with product standards
• Converting vague requirements into precise, testable statements
• Preparing criteria for team handoff to engineering

Input Format

The skill accepts acceptance criteria in multiple formats:

• Plain text: A list pasted directly into the message
• Markdown: Bullet points or numbered lists
• CSV/Excel: Uploaded spreadsheet files
• JSON: Structured data
• Mixed: Any combination of the above

Example inputs:

Given the user is logged in
When they navigate to the dashboard
Then they should see a list of their recent items

Or:

- Display loads within 2 seconds
- All product images render correctly
- User can filter by category

Evaluation Framework

Each acceptance criterion is evaluated against five dimensions of quality:

1. Clarity & Conciseness

• Is the language plain and unambiguous?
• Can all stakeholders interpret it the same way?
• Is it free of jargon or unexplained terms?
• Does it say exactly one thing, clearly?

Critical Issues: Ambiguous terms with multiple interpretations
Major Issues: Vague language; jargon without definition
Minor Issues: Wordy phrasing that could be tightened

2. Testability

• Can this criterion be objectively verified?
• Can it be mapped to one or more executable tests?
• Is there a clear pass/fail outcome?
• Would a QA engineer know exactly how to test it?

Critical Issues: No way to objectively verify the criterion
Major Issues: Testability requires subjective judgment; unclear success state
Minor Issues: Testable but the test path is not obvious

3. Outcome-Focused

• Does it describe the result, not the recipe?
• Does it focus on what the user experiences?
• Is it free of implementation details?
• Does it avoid prescribing the "how"?

Critical Issues: Criterion specifies technical implementation steps
Major Issues: Mixes outcome with technical approach
Minor Issues: Slight hints of implementation preference

4. Measurability

• Are expectations quantified where possible?
• Is there a definitive pass/fail threshold?
• Can success be objectively verified with data?
• Would different teams measure it the same way?

Critical Issues: No quantifiable metrics; purely subjective
Major Issues: Quantification is vague ("fast", "many", "some")
Minor Issues: Could be more precise (e.g., "300px" instead of "large")

5. Independence

• Does this criterion stand alone?
• Would it make sense without the others?
• Does it depend on other criteria to be meaningful?
• Can it be tested in isolation?

Critical Issues: Cannot be understood or tested without multiple other criteria
Major Issues: Requires significant context from other criteria
Minor Issues: Minor reference to another criterion for context

Output Format

The skill generates a structured JSON report:

{
  "summary": {
    "total_criteria": 5,
    "passed": 2,
    "failed": 3,
    "critical_issues": 2,
    "major_issues": 4,
    "minor_issues": 1,
    "overall_score": 65
  },
  "evaluations": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "criterion": "The page should load fast",
      "status": "failed",
      "issues": [
        {
          "dimension": "Measurability",
          "severity": "critical",
          "description": "The term 'fast' is not quantified. What constitutes fast? 1 second? 5 seconds?"
        },
        {
          "dimension": "Testability",
          "severity": "major",
          "description": "Without a specific metric, QA cannot objectively verify this criterion."
        }
      ],
      "rewritten_option": "The page loads and displays all content within 2 seconds on a standard 4G connection"
    }
  ],
  "recommendations": [
    "Add specific metrics to 3 criteria that currently use vague descriptors",
    "Clarify technical dependencies between criteria 2 and 4",
    "Consider breaking criterion 5 into two independent criteria"
  ]
}

How the Skill Works

Step 1: Parse Input

The skill first identifies and extracts all acceptance criteria from the input, regardless of format.

Step 2: Evaluate Against Five Dimensions

For each criterion, the skill evaluates it against:

• Clarity & Conciseness
• Testability
• Outcome-Focus
• Measurability
• Independence

Step 3: Identify Issues

The skill identifies specific issues for each criterion and assigns a severity level:

• Critical (~45% of score): Issues that prevent testing or create ambiguity
• Major (~35% of score): Issues that make the criterion harder to interpret or test
• Minor (~20% of score): Issues that could be improved but don't block delivery

Step 4: Calculate Scores

• Individual criterion score: (5 dimensions - issues) / 5 * 100
• Overall score: average of all criteria
• Pass threshold: 80+ is considered "good" quality

Step 5: Suggest Improvements

For each failed criterion, the skill proposes a rewritten version that addresses the identified issues.

Step 6: Generate Report

Output is structured JSON that can be:

• Reviewed directly in the chat
• Saved as a file for documentation
• Integrated into your workflow tools
• Used as the basis for discussions with your team

Bonus: Rewrite to User Story Format

After generating the report, you can ask the skill to convert the improved acceptance criteria into full user story format:

As a [user type],
I want to [action],
So that [benefit].

Acceptance Criteria:
- [Criterion 1]
- [Criterion 2]
...

This provides context for engineering teams and helps them understand the "why" behind each criterion.

Pro Tips

1. Start with high-level scenarios: If your input is very technical or vague, ask the skill to first help you write clear Given-When-Then scenarios.

2. Review one criterion at a time: For complex features, don't try to perfect all criteria at once. Review, implement, then move to the next.

3. Use this before planning: Run this evaluation during backlog refinement, not during sprint planning—catching issues early saves days of rework.

4. Involve your QA team: The testability dimension is often where QA engineers catch gaps. Use this report as a conversation starter.

5. Iterate with stakeholders: If the skill identifies ambiguity, use the report to drive a quick discussion with product and engineering about what you actually mean.

Example: From Vague to Good

Before (Failed):

"The user should be able to search easily and find results quickly"

Issues:

• Measurability (critical): "easily" and "quickly" are subjective
• Testability (major): No clear way to verify
• Clarity (minor): What is "search"? Database search, full-text, autocomplete?

After (Passed):

"The search results page displays at least 10 matching products within 1.5 seconds of the user typing their search query"

This version is measurable, testable, clear, and outcome-focused.

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How to Trigger This Skill

Ask your assistant to verify acceptance criteria by saying things like:

• "Review these acceptance criteria and tell me if they're good"
• "Check if these ACs will cause problems during testing"
• "Audit our user story criteria against quality standards"
• "Are these acceptance criteria testable?"
• "Rewrite these acceptance criteria to be clearer"
• "Do we have enough detail in these ACs for the team to start work?"

This skill will automatically and generate a structured evaluation report.