PPD Acceptance criteria - your best PRINCE2 friend

How do you know when your project is completed and can be closed? Does it drag on and on? The acceptance criteria, and the project product description (PPD) in the Project Brief and Project Initiation Document (PID), should be your best PRINCE2 friend.

Spend some extra time on this chapter in the start up, and you will benefit later. So what are examples of acceptance criteria? Maybe you have some of these:
- Technical requirements verified by the test lab.
- User requirements confirmed by executing a validation protocol at the beta sites
- 10 successful sales transactions validated.
- Internal users are trained and have been granted access.
- Operation and maintenance documentation has been reviewed and approved.

The PRINCE2 definition of acceptance criteria is a prioritized list of criteria that the project product must meet before the customer accept it, i.e. measurable definition of the attributes required for the set of products to be acceptable to key stakeholders.

It is amazing how many projects keep running with endless tails. A common mistake is to not be sufficiently specific when listing acceptance criteria. Having clear acceptance criteria can help you prevent ending up in never ending stories. If the acceptance criteria are fulfilled, and something more needs to be done, start a new project or do it in maintenance mode! 

Related articles:
PRINCE2 Project Brief Template

PRINCE2 Project Brief – Scope vs PPD

A Brief PRINCE2 Project Brief Template

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