Operating index
clarify · operating skill
Scope & Acceptance Criteria
Make an AI-assisted task reviewable before implementation by separating in-scope behavior, non-goals, evidence, and stop conditions.
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When to reach for it
- A request is broad, ambiguous, or likely to expand during execution.
- Multiple people or agents need the same definition of done.
- A release, review, or handoff needs observable evidence.
Do not use when
- The goal is intentionally exploratory and no commitment is being made yet.
- The acceptance decision belongs to an authority or policy not available in the current context.
Inputs
- Desired outcome
- Known constraints and exclusions
- Stakeholders or intended users
- Available evidence and verification surfaces
Outputs
- In-scope behavior
- Explicit non-goals
- Observable acceptance criteria
- Evidence plan and stop conditions
What it does
Scope & Acceptance Criteria turns an intention into a bounded, reviewable work packet. It makes the desired outcome, exclusions, evidence, and stop conditions explicit before implementation begins.
When to reach for it
Use it when a request can be interpreted in several ways, when more than one agent or person will touch the work, or when approval depends on evidence rather than a persuasive summary.
What one run does
- Restate the desired outcome in user-observable terms.
- Separate committed scope from assumptions and follow-up ideas.
- Name explicit non-goals and boundaries.
- Write acceptance criteria that can be checked.
- Identify evidence, dependencies, and a stop condition.
Common failure modes
- Writing implementation tasks before agreeing on the outcome.
- Hiding out-of-scope work in vague acceptance language.
- Using “looks good” as the only verification criterion.
- Continuing after a missing dependency or authority should have stopped the work.
It’s working if
A different agent can execute or review the work packet without inventing missing scope, and every acceptance criterion points to an observable result.
Where it fits
This is a Clarify-phase skill. It follows source extraction or a handoff when needed and creates the boundary that Execute and Verify work can rely on.
Verification
- Another person can tell what is in scope and what is not.
- Each acceptance criterion has an observable check or explicit limitation.
- The next action is small enough to execute without reopening the whole request.
Guardrails
- Do not turn assumptions into acceptance criteria without labeling them.
- Keep non-goals visible so scope cannot silently expand.
- Prefer observable evidence over subjective completion language.
- Stop when required authority or evidence is unavailable.