Conditions of satisfaction

In the context of somebody doing what somebody else wants, the Conditions of Satisfaction are a list of things that need to be true or in place in order to demonstrate that what has been done is complete and satisfactory. In commercial settings these can be expressed in terms of acceptance criteria or completion criteria. Their content is generally similar but there is a significant difference in terms of how they are applied and where the onus of proof sits. For completion criteria, the supplier declares completion (and the customer may assert that they have not). For acceptance criteria, the supplier asserts completion (and the customer then may declare that they agree – or not). [See Speech Act Theory for a deeper dive into the terms ‘declare’ and ‘assert’]

In practice, the balance of power in the “negotiation” regarding completeness may over-ride these distinctions of language – but the difference is enough that for one consulting company I worked for, it was a disciplinary offence to put acceptance criteria into a contract rather than completion criteria.