Success Criteria

Purpose

Success Criteria forces a team to agree on what "done and good" looks like before work begins. By defining measurable, observable outcomes upfront, the group avoids the common trap of finishing work only to discover that stakeholders had different expectations. It creates accountability and a shared finish line.

At a glance

How to run

1. Frame the initiative (3 min): State the project, feature, or sprint the team is defining success for.
2. Brainstorm criteria (8 min): Each participant silently writes what success looks like on sticky notes. Think across dimensions: user outcome, business metric, quality, timeline.
3. Share and cluster (5 min): Post all notes, group related criteria, and remove duplicates.
4. Sharpen (6 min): For each cluster, agree on a specific, measurable criterion. Replace "good performance" with "page load under 2 seconds at p95".
5. Commit (3 min): Review the final list. The team and stakeholders confirm these are the criteria they will evaluate against.

Materials needed

• Sticky notes and markers
• Whiteboard or digital board
• The project brief or initiative description

Pitfalls & common mistakes

• Vague criteria: "Users are happy" is not measurable. Insist on specificity.
• Too many criteria: 5–7 criteria is manageable; 20 is a wishlist.
• Missing stakeholder input: If the person who will judge success is absent, the criteria may not stick.
• Never revisiting: Review criteria at project end to close the loop.

Inclusion & accessibility

• Silent brainstorming gives everyone a voice.
• Share criteria in writing afterward so absent stakeholders can review.
• Use simple language — avoid technical jargon unless the whole group shares it.

Variations

• OKR-style Criteria: Frame as Objectives and Key Results.
• Definition of Done: Agile-specific version focused on sprint or story completion.
• Pre-Mortem + Success Criteria: Run a Pre-Mortem to surface risks, then define criteria to mitigate them.

When NOT to use this

• When the initiative is purely exploratory with no fixed target — define learning goals instead.
• When success is already defined by contract or regulation.
• When the team is too early in discovery to know what outcomes are possible.

Source & further reading

• SMART goals framework (Doran, 1981)
• John Doerr, *Measure What Matters* (2018)
• Agile Alliance: Definition of Done