Article:Acceptance Plan Project Management Template

Template Tips: How to document an “Acceptance Plan” Project Management Template
The key to a successful project is gaining acceptance from the customer that each deliverable produced meets (or exceeds) his/her requirements. To clarify the criteria used to judge each deliverable for customer acceptance, an Acceptance Plan is produced. The Acceptance Plan provides the criteria for obtaining customer acceptance, a schedule of acceptance reviews within which customer acceptance will be sought and a summary of the process used to gain acceptance of each deliverable from the customer. An Acceptance Plan should include:
A list of the milestones to be achieved and deliverables to be produced
A set of criteria and standards for the acceptance of deliverables by the customer
A plan outlining how the deliverables will be reviewed to determine whether or not they meet the criteria and adhere to the standards set by the customer
A process for gaining customer acceptance once the deliverables have been produced.
To request the formal acceptance of a particular project deliverable, an Acceptance Form should be used. An Acceptance Plan is a form of Project Management Template. An Acceptance Form should include:
Details of the deliverable, requester and request date
A list of acceptance criteria / standards to be met
A summary of the results of the acceptance testing undertaken to determine whether or not the deliverable meets the criteria and standards specified
A section allowing customers to approve deliverables.