Acceptance:

Pass: Build completes with exit code 0
Fail: Any TypeScript errors or build failures

Linting

Requirements:

ESLint passes with no errors
ESLint warnings reviewed and addressed
Prettier formatting applied consistently
No disabled rules without justification

Commands:

npm run lint
npm run format:check  # if configured

Acceptance:

Pass: Zero lint errors, warnings reviewed and justified
Fail: Any lint errors or unaddressed critical warnings

Testing

Requirements:

All tests passing
No skipped tests without justification
Coverage meets minimum thresholds
E2E tests pass for critical paths

Commands:

npm test
npm run test:e2e
npm run test:coverage

Acceptance:

Pass: 100% test pass rate, coverage > 80% for core features
Fail: Any failing tests or coverage below threshold

Functionality

Routing

Criteria:

All routes accessible and render correctly
Dynamic routes handle all expected params
404 pages show for invalid routes
Navigation works without page refresh
Deep linking works (URLs are shareable)

Verification:

Manual testing of all routes
E2E tests covering navigation flows
Browser back/forward buttons work correctly

Data Fetching

Criteria:

All data displays correctly on initial load
Loading states show during data fetch
Error states display for failed requests
Stale data invalidated appropriately
No unnecessary re-fetches

Verification:

Test with slow 3G network simulation
Test with offline mode
Verify caching behavior
Check Network tab for request patterns

Interactivity

Criteria:

All forms submit successfully
Form validation works correctly
Buttons and links respond to clicks
Loading indicators during async operations
Success/error feedback after actions

Verification:

Test all user flows
Verify form validation messages
Test keyboard navigation
Test with JavaScript disabled (where applicable)

Performance

Core Web Vitals

Requirements:

Metric	Target
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)	< 2.5s
First Input Delay (FID)	< 100ms
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)	< 0.1
First Contentful Paint (FCP)	< 1.8s
Time to Interactive (TTI)	< 3.8s

Verification:

Lighthouse audit score > 90
PageSpeed Insights check
WebPageTest.org analysis
Real-world testing on 3G networks

Bundle Size

Criteria:

Initial JavaScript bundle < 200KB (gzipped)
Total page weight < 1MB
No duplicate dependencies in bundle
Large libraries loaded dynamically

Verification:

Bundle analysis with @next/bundle-analyzer
Check Network tab in DevTools
Verify code splitting working

Caching

Criteria:

Static assets cached appropriately
API responses cached with correct strategy
Stale-while-revalidate for dynamic content
Cache invalidation works after updates

Verification:

Check Response headers (Cache-Control)
Verify cache behavior in Network tab
Test cache invalidation scenarios

Accessibility

WCAG Compliance

Criteria:

WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance
All images have alt text
Proper heading hierarchy (h1-h6)
Sufficient color contrast (4.5:1 for text)
Keyboard navigation works completely
Screen reader friendly

Verification:

Lighthouse accessibility audit > 95
axe DevTools scan with 0 violations
Manual keyboard navigation test
Screen reader test (VoiceOver/NVDA)

Focus Management

Criteria:

Focus visible on all interactive elements
Tab order logical and predictable
Focus trapped in modals
Skip links for keyboard users

Verification:

Tab through entire page
Verify focus indicators visible
Test modal focus behavior

SEO

Metadata

Criteria:

Unique title for each page
Meta descriptions for all pages
Open Graph tags for social sharing
Twitter Card metadata
Canonical URLs set correctly
Robots.txt configured
Sitemap.xml generated

Verification:

View page source for each route
Test social share previews
Check robots.txt and sitemap.xml
Google Search Console validation

Structured Data

Criteria:

Schema.org markup where appropriate
JSON-LD for structured data
Valid structured data (no errors)

Verification:

Google Rich Results Test
Schema markup validator

Security

Authentication

Criteria:

Protected routes require authentication
JWT tokens stored securely (httpOnly cookies)
Session timeout implemented
Logout clears all auth data

Verification:

Test accessing protected routes without auth
Verify token storage method
Test session expiration

API Security

Criteria:

Input validation on all API routes
SQL injection prevention (parameterized queries)
XSS prevention (sanitized output)
CSRF protection for mutations
Rate limiting on public endpoints
API keys in environment variables

Verification:

Penetration testing
Input fuzzing
Check .env not committed
Verify CORS configuration

Headers

Criteria:

Content-Security-Policy header set
X-Frame-Options set to DENY or SAMEORIGIN
X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS) for HTTPS

Verification:

Security headers check (securityheaders.com)
Verify headers in Response

Mobile

Responsive Design

Criteria:

Works on screen sizes 320px - 2560px
Touch targets minimum 44x44px
No horizontal scrolling on mobile
Font sizes readable on mobile (16px minimum)
Images scale appropriately

Verification:

Test on actual devices (iOS, Android)
Chrome DevTools device emulation
Test in portrait and landscape

Performance

Criteria:

LCP < 2.5s on 3G
First load < 3s on 3G
Total page weight < 500KB for mobile

Verification:

Lighthouse mobile audit
Test on 3G throttled connection

Browser Compatibility

Support

Criteria:

Last 2 versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge
Safari iOS latest 2 versions
Chrome Android latest 2 versions
Graceful degradation for older browsers

Verification:

BrowserStack testing
Manual testing on major browsers
Check caniuse.com for feature support

Error Handling

User Experience

Criteria:

Error boundaries catch all React errors
User-friendly error messages
Recovery options provided (retry, go back)
Errors logged to monitoring service

Verification:

Simulate various error conditions
Verify error tracking in monitoring service
Check error messages are non-technical

Monitoring

Production Readiness

Criteria:

Error tracking configured (Sentry, etc.)
Performance monitoring active
Analytics tracking implemented
Health check endpoint available
Logging configured appropriately

Verification:

Verify errors appear in tracking service
Check analytics events firing
Test /api/health endpoint

Deployment

Configuration

Criteria:

Environment variables documented
Production .env.production configured
Database migrations applied
CDN configuration verified
Domain SSL certificate valid

Verification:

Review .env.example completeness
Verify all environment variables set in production
Check SSL certificate expiration

Rollback Plan

Criteria:

Rollback procedure documented
Previous version can be restored quickly
Database migrations are reversible

Final Sign-Off

Required Approvals

Developer self-review completed
Peer code review approved
QA testing passed
Product owner acceptance
Security review completed (for sensitive features)
Performance benchmarks met
Accessibility audit passed

Documentation

Release Notes

CHANGELOG updated
Breaking changes documented
Migration guide provided (if needed)

Acceptance

Go/No-Go

Pass Criteria:

All critical tests passing
No critical bugs open
Performance meets requirements
Security review complete
Accessibility standards met

Blockers:

Any critical security vulnerabilities
Core functionality broken
Performance regression > 20%
Accessibility violations
Data loss scenarios

nextjs-deliverable-criteria

Next.js Deliverable Quality Gates

Pre-Deployment Checklist

Compilation