When should the acceptance criteria be written during the requirements gathering process?

Acceptance criteria should be written at the same time as the business requirement to ensure that both elements are aligned. This concurrent approach facilitates a clearer understanding of what is expected from the implementation of the requirement. By defining acceptance criteria alongside the business requirements, stakeholders can immediately clarify what success looks like for that particular requirement, which helps to prevent miscommunication and ensures that everyone involved has a shared understanding of the deliverables.

Creating acceptance criteria simultaneously allows requirements to be specific and measurable, providing a foundation for testing and validation later in the process. It effectively supports agile practices, where iterating and adapting requirements based on ongoing feedback is essential for delivering value to the stakeholders.