10 Practical Examples For

ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA

Examples

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 Example of
Functional Acceptance Criteria

User story: “As a registered user, I want to reset my password so that

I can regain access to my account if I forget my password.”

Acceptance The system must provide a "Forgot Password" link on the login
Criteria: page.

The user must receive a reset password link via email.

The link must expire after 24 hours.

The system must allow the user to set a new password that
meets the security requirements (minimum of 8 characters,
including letters and numbers).

Functional acceptance criteria specify what the system should do

and how it behaves, focusing on user functionality.

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 Example of
Non-Functional Acceptance Criteria

User story: “As a user, I want the website to load quickly so that I can
navigate through it without delay.”

Acceptance
Criteria: The homepage must load within 2 seconds for users with a
5Mbps connection.

All images must be compressed without losing quality to ensure

faster loading.

The website must support up to 1,000 concurrent users without

performance degradation.

Non-functional criteria focus on how well the system performs,

addressing issues like speed, reliability, and scalability.

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 Example of
UI/UX Acceptance Criteria

User story: “As a user, I want to see a visual indication when I hover
over a button so that I know it's clickable.”

Acceptance
Criteria:
Buttons must change to a blue shade when hovered over.

The hover effect must occur within 0.3 seconds of the user’s
mouse hovering over the button.

The text inside the button should remain centered even during
the hover state.

These criteria focus on the design and user interface experience to

ensure consistent and intuitive interactions.

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 Example of
Boundary Condition Acceptance Criteria

User story: “As an admin, I want to set a character limit for usernames
to prevent overly long or short usernames.”

Acceptance
Criteria: The system must allow usernames between 5 and 20
characters.

An error message must appear if the user tries to input a

username shorter than 5 characters or longer than 20
characters.

The allowed characters include only alphanumeric and

underscores.

Boundary condition criteria focus on testing the limits or boundaries

of the functionality to prevent invalid inputs.

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 Example of
Business Rule Acceptance Criteria

User story: “As a customer, I want to receive a discount when my order

exceeds a certain amount so that I feel incentivized to
purchase more.”

Acceptance
Criteria: A 10% discount must automatically be applied to the cart if the
order total exceeds €100.

The discount must not apply to items on sale or clearance.

The system must notify the user that a discount has been
applied.

Business rule criteria ensure the product follows specific rules or

policies, such as discounts or pricing.

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 Example of
Security Acceptance Criteria

User story: “As a user, I want my account to be locked after multiple

failed login attempts to prevent unauthorized access.”

Acceptance
Criteria: The system must lock out the user after 5 consecutive failed
login attempts.

The system must notify the user via email when their account is
locked.

The user must be able to unlock their account by answering a

security question or requesting a password reset.

Security criteria focus on safeguarding user accounts and data,

ensuring the system prevents unauthorized access.

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 Example of
Error Handling Acceptance Criteria

User story: “As a user, I want to receive helpful error messages if

something goes wrong so that I understand how to resolve
the issue.”

Acceptance
Criteria: If the user enters incorrect login credentials, the system must
display an error message: "Incorrect username or password."

If there is a network issue, the system must show a

"Connection error. Please try again later" message.

All error messages must appear in red text, above the form field
in question.

Error-handling criteria define how the system should behave when

something goes wrong, ensuring users are informed about the issue.

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 Example of
Data Acceptance Criteria

User story: As an admin, I want to export user data into a CSV file so
that I can analyze it in Excel.

Acceptance
Criteria: The exported CSV must include the following columns: First
Name, Last Name, Email, Signup Date.

The system must allow filtering by signup date range before

export.

The CSV file should be downloadable within 30 seconds.

Data criteria focus on the proper handling, storage, and display of

data, making sure that the correct information is captured and
presented.

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 Example of
Cross-Platform Acceptance Criteria

User story: As a user, I want to access the platform from my

smartphone so that I can manage tasks while on the go.

Acceptance
Criteria: The platform must be fully functional on devices with screen
sizes between 4.7 inches and 7 inches.

The app must support iOS 12 and above and Android 8.0 and
above.

All features, including task creation, updates, and notifications,

must be available on the mobile app.

Cross-platform criteria ensure the product works seamlessly across

different devices, operating systems, or browsers.

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 Example of
Performance Acceptance Criteria

User story: As a system admin, I want the system to process large

batches of data without slowing down so that operations
remain smooth.

Acceptance
Criteria:
The system must process up to 10,000 records in under 30
seconds.

CPU usage must not exceed 80% during batch processing.

The system should provide a progress indicator for operations

taking longer than 5 seconds.

Performance acceptance criteria help ensure that the system

performs efficiently, especially under heavy workloads or high user
traffic.

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 Example of
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