Power resides in who writes the acceptance criteria.
True influence in product work doesn’t live in meetings, it hides in definitions. A reflection on control, clarity, and how writing the rules quietly shapes the outcome.
Every project begins as possibility...until someone defines what ‘done’ means.
The Moment of Inspiration
The discussion started innocently enough:
“How do we define success for this feature?”
Everyone agreed on the purpose. The debates were around details: what to include, what to measure, what to leave flexible.
And then someone volunteered to “just write up the acceptance criteria.”
The meeting ended.
The document circulated.
The next sprint began.