Acceptance criteria are business requirements that an implementation must satisfy before a user story or use case can be accepted. They make expectations concrete by connecting rules to observable examples. section 2.3.3
Example Mapping provides a practical way to discover acceptance criteria collaboratively. Begin with a stakeholder-provided user story or use case, then discuss the concrete situations that clarify what the implementation must do. EventStorming can supply useful constraints, but it is not required. section 2.3.3
A simple Example Mapping discussion organizes the conversation into:
- The user story or use case that defines the moment under discussion. section 2.3.3
- Known business rules and constraints governing that story. section 2.3.3
- Concrete examples that test and clarify each rule, such as applying “Only 1 ticket per seat” to specific reservations. section 2.3.3
Seat reservation
For a seat-reservation story, the group records the rule “Only 1 ticket per seat,” adds concrete reservation examples, and explores related constraints such as adjacent seats for a single reservation. The discussion can reveal further rules and concepts, including a corridor. section 2.3.3
