A useful acceptance checklist

Before delivery starts, agree what must be true for the work to be accepted. Describe the important user journeys, the data involved and the expected result. Include empty states and failures, not only the ideal path.

Use examples that the team can reproduce. For an enquiry form, check required fields, invalid input, successful storage and the notification route. For an automation, include duplicate records, missing data and a service outage. Decide who reviews each result.

Keep the checklist close to the brief. When the scope changes, update both together. This makes the final review a comparison against agreed evidence rather than a debate about memory.