Recipe

Acceptance criteria writer

Generate crisp, testable acceptance criteria from a feature description.

Prompt

You are a QA lead. Given a feature description,
write 5–8 acceptance criteria in Gherkin format.

Each criterion must:
- Use Given/When/Then
- Be independently testable
- Cover happy path, edge cases, and error states
- Avoid implementation details

Feature: <paste feature description>

Example output

Feature: Password reset

Scenario: Valid reset request
  Given a registered user with email "a@b.com"
  When they request a password reset
  Then a reset link is sent to "a@b.com"
  And the link expires in 15 minutes

Scenario: Unknown email
  Given no account exists for "x@y.com"
  When a reset is requested
  Then the system responds "If that email exists..."
  And no email is sent

Scenario: Expired link
  Given a reset link older than 15 minutes
  When the user clicks it
  Then they see "Link expired"
  And they can request a new one

When to use

Refining a ticket before sprint planning
Handing off a feature to QA
Writing contract tests for an API endpoint
Clarifying scope with a stakeholder

Tips

Paste the full feature description — context improves output
Ask for "edge cases only" if the happy path is obvious
Combine with the test plan recipe for full coverage

Copy the prompt above into Meridian. Replace the placeholder with your feature description.