oplevercriteria

Oplevercriteria, literally "handover criteria" in Dutch, refer to the set of conditions that must be met for a project deliverable to be accepted and transferred from the supplier to the client or operations. They define what "done" means for the deliverable and are typically included in the project contract or plan.

Purpose: to provide an objective basis for acceptance, guide testing and verification, and formalize the transfer of ownership, responsibilities, and risks. They help align stakeholder expectations and reduce disputes at handover.

Typical criteria: functional criteria (the delivered system performs required tasks), non-functional criteria (performance, reliability, usability, security, compatibility), quality criteria (defects below threshold, pass rate), regulatory and standards compliance, documentation (user guides, runbooks, as-built drawings), training and support readiness, data migration and integrity, and deployment readiness (installation, configuration, rollback plans).

Process: criteria are defined during project initiation and refined in design and testing phases. They should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Verification is performed via acceptance tests, inspections, reviews, or pilots, with sign-off by authorized stakeholders when criteria are met.

Context examples: in software projects, acceptance criteria specify features, performance targets, and security requirements; in construction, they may cover quality of works, compliance with drawings, and completion of commissioning tests.

Challenges: changing requirements, difficult measurement, or insufficient criteria can lead to disputes; good practice includes clear governance, change control, and traceability from requirements to criteria to test results.