Activity 01
Think-Pair-Share: Measurable vs. Vague Criteria
Show students a list of potential success criteria for a student grade-tracking app (e.g., 'easy to use,' 'loads quickly,' 'teachers like it'). Partners identify which are measurable and which are vague, then rewrite two vague criteria to be specific and testable. Class compares rewrites and identifies patterns in what makes a criterion measurable.
Explain how to define clear and measurable criteria for project success.
Facilitation TipDuring Think-Pair-Share, assign roles: one student finds measurable language, the other finds vague language, then switch.
What to look forProvide students with a brief description of a hypothetical app (e.g., a simple to-do list app). Ask them to write two technical success criteria and two user satisfaction criteria for this app. Ensure criteria are specific and measurable.
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Activity 02
Success Criteria Workshop
Groups define success criteria for a hypothetical project (e.g., a lost-and-found app for the school). They must write at least three technical criteria and three user satisfaction criteria, each measurable. Groups swap criteria with another group, who attempts to evaluate whether the criteria are clear enough to test against.
Differentiate between technical success and user satisfaction as success metrics.
Facilitation TipIn the Success Criteria Workshop, give each pair a large sticky note to draft one criterion in two versions and post them side by side.
What to look forStudents draft a set of success criteria for a small project they are working on. They then exchange their criteria with a partner. Partners use a checklist to evaluate if each criterion is specific, measurable, and clearly distinguishes between technical and user-focused goals.
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Activity 03
Gallery Walk: What Does Success Look Like?
Post descriptions of four completed student software projects around the room. Students rotate and write one success criterion that each project either clearly met or clearly missed based on the description. Class debrief focuses on what information was missing that would have helped evaluate success more precisely.
Design a set of success criteria for a hypothetical software project.
Facilitation TipFor the Gallery Walk, display draft criteria anonymously so students critique the language itself rather than the authors.
What to look forPresent students with a list of vague project goals (e.g., 'Make the app easy to use,' 'Ensure the app is fast'). Ask students to rewrite each goal as a specific, measurable success criterion, explaining their reasoning.
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Activity 04
Case Study Analysis: Technical Success vs. User Satisfaction
Students read a one-page scenario: a project that works perfectly technically but users hate it (e.g., a navigation app that gives correct but confusing directions). Individually, students write a paragraph explaining how better-defined success criteria at the start could have prevented the outcome. Paragraphs are shared and class synthesizes the key lesson.
Explain how to define clear and measurable criteria for project success.
Facilitation TipDuring the Case Study discussion, ask one student to play the developer and another the end user to surface hidden assumptions about what ‘done’ means.
What to look forProvide students with a brief description of a hypothetical app (e.g., a simple to-do list app). Ask them to write two technical success criteria and two user satisfaction criteria for this app. Ensure criteria are specific and measurable.
AnalyzeEvaluateCreateDecision-MakingSelf-Management
Generate Complete Lesson→A few notes on teaching this unit
Teachers should avoid letting students leave criteria as broad statements; force them to attach numbers or tests. Research shows that measurable criteria reduce later conflict by up to 40 percent. Provide sentence stems like ‘The system will… within ___ seconds when…’ to guide specificity.
By the end of the activities, students will produce success criteria that are specific, measurable, and split between technical and user outcomes. They will be able to explain why criteria written before development prevent later disputes and rework.
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
During Think-Pair-Share: Measurable vs. Vague Criteria, some students may argue that vague criteria are acceptable if everyone on the team agrees.
During the activity, circulate and ask each pair to write both versions on the board, then have the class vote on which version would survive a disagreement three months later.
During the Success Criteria Workshop, students might believe that technical functioning alone satisfies the project.
During the workshop, provide a checklist that forces pairs to add at least one user-satisfaction criterion before they move to the next step.
During Gallery Walk: What Does Success Look Like?, students may assume that any written criterion is acceptable as long as it is positive.
During the Gallery Walk, ask students to mark two criteria that they believe are still open to interpretation and explain why in one sentence on their feedback sheet.
Methods used in this brief