# Success Criteria Template

Use this to draft the success criteria for **Criterion A: Problem specification**. Aim for 5–8 criteria that, taken together, fully describe a functional product. The 2027 guide does not prescribe a count -- fewer, stronger criteria are better than many vague ones.

## The SMART check

Each criterion should be:

- **S**pecific — names one clear feature or behaviour
- **M**easurable — passing or failing is unambiguous
- **A**chievable — realistic within 35 hours, your skill level, and your tools
- **R**elevant — maps to a requirement in the problem scenario
- **T**estable — you can describe the test data and expected result

## Success criteria

| No. | Success criterion | Requirement it maps to | Specific? | Measurable? | Achievable? | Relevant? | Testable? |
|-----|-------------------|------------------------|-----------|-------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|
| 1 | _[Describe what the product must do]_ | | | | | | |
| 2 | | | | | | | |
| 3 | | | | | | | |
| 4 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | | | | | | | |
| 7 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | | | | | | | |

## Writing guide

### Strong examples

- "The user can add, edit and delete recipes, each with a name, cuisine tag, and ingredient list with quantities."
- "The system generates a shopping list aggregating ingredients across all planned recipes."
- "The user can export the shopping list as a plain-text file."

### Weak examples (avoid)

- "The system should be fast." — Not specific or measurable.
- "The system should improve efficiency by 50%." — Implies a baseline that usually does not exist.
- "The system should look good." — Subjective, not testable.
- "The system should have many features." — Vague.

## How your success criteria connect to the rest of the IA

| Success criterion | Criterion B (plan) | Criterion C (testing strategy) | Criterion D (video) | Criterion E (evaluation) |
|-------------------|--------------------|--------------------------------|----------------------|---------------------------|
| 1. | Phase(s): ___ | Test #: ___ | Timestamp: ___:___ | Met / Partially / Not met |
| 2. | | | | |
| 3. | | | | |
| 4. | | | | |
| 5. | | | | |
| 6. | | | | |
| 7. | | | | |
| 8. | | | | |

## Notes

- Each criterion should be **independent** -- meeting one should not automatically mean another is also met.
- Revisit and refine as you learn what is actually feasible. Re-issuing a cleaner set at the end of the planning phase is fine.
- These criteria will be referenced in every later section of the IA -- getting them specific here saves work in C, D and E.