What are acceptance criteria?

Acceptance criteria are specific conditions or standards that must be fulfilled for a requirement to be considered complete and accepted by stakeholders. They serve as a clear and agreed-upon guideline that outlines what the expected outcomes of a project or deliverable are, ensuring that the developed product meets the agreed-upon specifications and fulfills the stakeholders' needs.

These criteria help communicate expectations to both the development team and stakeholders, reducing ambiguity and aligning everyone involved around a common understanding of what success looks like. This is essential in business analysis as it governs the validation process and ensures that what has been delivered aligns with what was wanted.

The other options refer to different concepts within project management and business analysis. For example, measures of team performance assess how well the team is performing against its goals, while budget limits pertain to financial constraints of the project phases. Feedback from project trials is focused on gathering insights to improve future iterations rather than defining conditions for acceptance.