Project Manager Identifying Acceptance Criteria
Project Manager Identifying Acceptance Criteria
Definition
To ensure that there is a consistent understanding of the term ‘acceptance’ within the project, you should formally define term. We define acceptance as follows:
“Acceptance is defined as gaining agreement from the customer that the deliverables produced by the project meet the criteria defined by the customer”.
Milestones
List the project milestones and deliverables for which customer acceptance will be sought:
| Milestone | Deliverable | ||
| Name | Description | Name | Description |
| Financial System Upgraded | Implement the project management software package on new hardware and provide access to the internet | Software Package installed | Implementation of General Ledger (GL), Accounts Payable (AP) and Accounts Receivable (AR) software |
Project Planning: Acceptance Milestones Table
Criteria
Identify the criteria and standards to be met to achieve final customer acceptance for each deliverable.
| Deliverable | Criteria | Standards |
| Software Package installed | System functionality:· GL tested & installed· AP tested & installed· AR tested & installedSystem Performance· System up-time· System response-time· Data transferred | System functionality:· GL operational with no errors· AP operational with no errors· AR operational with no errorsSystem Performance· 99.9% system uptime· < 1 second response times· 100% data accuracy |
Project Planning Templates: Acceptance Criteria Table
The criteria and standards listed must convince the customer that the deliverables produced can be sufficiently measured to ensure that their requirements are fully met. Although the criteria listed primarily address ‘product’ quality, other types of criteria may be used such as:
- The quality of new processes delivered by the project manager
- The timeliness of the products and processes delivered
- The ability of the project to produce the deliverables within budget.
