Acceptance Criteria

aid: acceptance-criteria
url: >-
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/acceptance-criteria/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
name: Acceptance Criteria
type: Index
image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
tags:
- Agile
- Behavior Driven Development
- Gherkin
- Quality Assurance
- Requirements
- Testing
- User Stories
description: >-
  Acceptance criteria are predefined conditions that a product, feature, or user story
  must meet to be considered complete and acceptable by stakeholders. These criteria
  establish clear, testable requirements that guide development, validate when work
  is done, and serve as the foundation for automated testing through frameworks like
  Cucumber, SpecFlow, and Behave. APIs in this space support requirements management,
  behavior-driven development (BDD), test execution tracking, and agile project management
  workflows.
created: '2025-01-01'
modified: '2026-04-19'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
- aid: acceptance-criteria:github-issues-api
  name: GitHub Issues API
  description: GitHub Issues API enables teams to create, manage, and track user
    stories and acceptance criteria as structured issue records with labels, 
    milestones, and custom fields. Commonly used to attach acceptance criteria 
    directly to issues using body text or checklists in Markdown.
  humanURL: https://docs.github.com/en/rest/issues
  baseURL: https://api.github.com
  tags:
  - Issues
  - User Stories
  - Requirements
  - Project Management
  properties:
  - url: https://docs.github.com/en/rest/issues
    type: Documentation
  - url: 
      https://docs.github.com/en/rest/authentication/authenticating-to-the-rest-api
    type: Authentication
  - url: 
      https://docs.github.com/en/rest/overview/resources-in-the-rest-api#rate-limiting
    type: RateLimits
- aid: acceptance-criteria:jira-issues-api
  name: Jira Issues API
  description: Jira REST API provides access to issues, user stories, epics, and
    acceptance criteria stored in custom fields. Teams use Jira to define, link,
    and track acceptance criteria against development work items throughout the 
    sprint lifecycle.
  humanURL: https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/platform/rest/v3/
  baseURL: https://your-domain.atlassian.net/rest/api/3
  tags:
  - Issues
  - User Stories
  - Sprint
  - Project Management
  properties:
  - url: https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/platform/rest/v3/
    type: Documentation
  - url: 
      https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/platform/basic-auth-for-rest-apis/
    type: Authentication
  - url: https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/platform/rate-limiting/
    type: RateLimits
- aid: acceptance-criteria:azure-devops-work-items-api
  name: Azure DevOps Work Items API
  description: Azure DevOps Work Items REST API enables management of user 
    stories, acceptance criteria, and test cases in Azure Boards. Acceptance 
    criteria are stored as a rich text field on Product Backlog Items and User 
    Story work item types, accessible and updatable via REST.
  humanURL: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/azure/devops/wit/
  baseURL: https://dev.azure.com/{organization}/{project}/_apis/wit
  tags:
  - Work Items
  - User Stories
  - Azure
  - Project Management
  properties:
  - url: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/azure/devops/wit/
    type: Documentation
  - url: 
      https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/integrate/get-started/authentication/
    type: Authentication
- aid: acceptance-criteria:linear-api
  name: Linear API
  description: Linear GraphQL API provides access to issues, projects, and 
    cycles used by engineering teams to track features and acceptance criteria. 
    Linear supports structured issue descriptions with Markdown, enabling teams 
    to embed acceptance criteria checklists directly on issues.
  humanURL: 
    https://developers.linear.app/docs/graphql/working-with-the-graphql-api
  baseURL: https://api.linear.app/graphql
  tags:
  - Issues
  - Project Management
  - GraphQL
  - Requirements
  properties:
  - url: https://developers.linear.app/docs/graphql/working-with-the-graphql-api
    type: Documentation
  - url: 
      https://developers.linear.app/docs/graphql/working-with-the-graphql-api#authentication
    type: Authentication
- aid: acceptance-criteria:testrail-api
  name: TestRail API
  description: TestRail REST API provides access to test cases, test runs, test 
    plans, and results. Teams use TestRail to formally document acceptance 
    criteria as test cases with preconditions, expected results, and 
    step-by-step validation criteria that map directly to user stories.
  humanURL: 
    https://support.testrail.com/hc/en-us/articles/7077792415124-Introduction-to-the-TestRail-API
  baseURL: https://your-instance.testrail.io/index.php?/api/v2
  tags:
  - Test Cases
  - Test Management
  - Quality Assurance
  - Requirements
  properties:
  - url: 
      https://support.testrail.com/hc/en-us/articles/7077792415124-Introduction-to-the-TestRail-API
    type: Documentation
  - url: 
      https://support.testrail.com/hc/en-us/articles/7077792415124-Introduction-to-the-TestRail-API#authentication
    type: Authentication
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: [email protected]
common:
- type: Website
  url: https://www.agilealliance.org/glossary/acceptance-criteria/
- type: GettingStarted
  url: 
    https://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/blog/clarifying-the-relationship-between-definition-of-done-and-conditions-of-satisfaction
- type: SpectralRules
  url: rules/acceptance-criteria-spectral-rules.yml
- type: NaftikoCapability
  url: capabilities/requirements-management.yaml
- type: Vocabulary
  url: vocabulary/acceptance-criteria-vocabulary.yaml
- url: openapi/acceptance-criteria-management.yaml
  type: OpenAPI
- url: json-schema/acceptance-criteria-management-user-story-schema.json
  type: JSONSchema
- url: 
    json-schema/acceptance-criteria-management-acceptance-criterion-schema.json
  type: JSONSchema
- url: json-schema/acceptance-criteria-management-scenario-schema.json
  type: JSONSchema
- url: json-schema/acceptance-criteria-management-test-run-schema.json
  type: JSONSchema
- url: json-structure/acceptance-criteria-management-user-story-structure.json
  type: JSONStructure
- url: 
    json-structure/acceptance-criteria-management-acceptance-criterion-structure.json
  type: JSONStructure
- url: json-structure/acceptance-criteria-management-scenario-structure.json
  type: JSONStructure
- url: json-structure/acceptance-criteria-management-test-run-structure.json
  type: JSONStructure
- url: json-ld/acceptance-criteria-management-context.jsonld
  type: JSON-LD
- url: examples/acceptance-criteria-management-user-story-example.json
  type: Example
- url: examples/acceptance-criteria-management-acceptance-criterion-example.json
  type: Example
- url: examples/acceptance-criteria-management-scenario-example.json
  type: Example
- url: examples/acceptance-criteria-management-test-run-example.json
  type: Example
- type: Features
  data:
  - name: Gherkin Syntax Support
    description: Structured Given/When/Then format for writing human-readable 
      acceptance criteria that can be directly executed as automated tests
  - name: BDD Workflow Integration
    description: Behavior-driven development workflows connecting acceptance 
      criteria to automated test suites via Cucumber, SpecFlow, or Behave
  - name: Acceptance Criteria Checklists
    description: Structured checklist format for breaking down complex 
      acceptance criteria into discrete, verifiable conditions
  - name: Requirements Traceability
    description: Linking acceptance criteria to user stories, epics, test cases,
      and defects for end-to-end traceability
  - name: Automated Acceptance Testing
    description: Executing acceptance criteria as automated test suites that 
      verify implementation correctness on each code change
  - name: Stakeholder Collaboration
    description: Shared definition of acceptance criteria between product 
      owners, developers, and QA engineers using accessible, plain-language 
      formats
  - name: Definition of Done Integration
    description: Incorporating acceptance criteria verification into team 
      Definition of Done checklists and sprint completion gates
  - name: Test Coverage Reporting
    description: Tracking which acceptance criteria have passing automated tests
      and which remain untested or failing
- type: UseCases
  data:
  - name: User Story Validation
    description: Define measurable, testable conditions that must be satisfied 
      before a user story is accepted as complete
  - name: Automated BDD Testing
    description: Convert Gherkin-formatted acceptance criteria into executable 
      test scenarios using Cucumber or SpecFlow
  - name: Sprint Review Preparation
    description: Use acceptance criteria as the basis for demonstrating 
      completed work to stakeholders during sprint reviews
  - name: Regression Prevention
    description: Maintain automated acceptance test suites that run on every 
      pull request to prevent regressions
  - name: API Contract Verification
    description: Use acceptance criteria to define and verify API behavior 
      contracts between producers and consumers
  - name: Requirements Handoff
    description: Communicate precise feature requirements from product managers 
      to engineers using structured acceptance criteria templates
  - name: Quality Gate Enforcement
    description: Block deployments or story completion when acceptance criteria 
      tests are failing in CI/CD pipelines
- type: Integrations
  data:
  - name: Cucumber
    description: Open-source BDD testing framework that executes 
      Gherkin-formatted acceptance criteria as automated tests
  - name: SpecFlow
    description: BDD framework for .NET that maps Gherkin feature files to C# 
      step definitions for automated acceptance testing
  - name: Behave
    description: Python BDD testing library that runs Gherkin acceptance 
      criteria scenarios against Python application code
  - name: Jira
    description: Project management platform with dedicated Acceptance Criteria 
      field on user story issue types
  - name: GitHub Issues
    description: Issue tracking with Markdown checklist support for embedding 
      structured acceptance criteria on feature issues
  - name: Azure DevOps Boards
    description: Microsoft project management with Acceptance Criteria rich-text
      field on User Story and Product Backlog Item work items
  - name: TestRail
    description: Test management platform for formalizing acceptance criteria as
      structured test cases with expected outcomes
  - name: Linear
    description: Modern issue tracker supporting Markdown acceptance criteria on
      issues with checklist rendering