Acceptance Criteria

Biological Parallel

Flowers have acceptance criteria for pollinator visits: bee must contact anthers (pollen transfer), deposit previous pollen on stigma (cross-pollination), and avoid nectar robbery (no hole-chewing that bypasses reproductive structures). Flowers enforce these criteria through architecture—deep nectar spurs require long tongues that force anther contact. Acceptance criteria in product development serve the same function: defining testable conditions that ensure work delivers intended value, not just surface completion. Like flowers that evolved to prevent 'shipping' nectar without achieving the reproductive outcome, good acceptance criteria prevent marking work complete that fails to achieve business goals.