"It's done when…": criteria and checks

This lesson is still being tested: it improves with learners' feedback. If something is unclear, it is the lesson that needs fixing, not you.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to

write checkable criteria, for the project and for each step;
choose the right check for each step;
check before ticking off, without relying on the AI’s opinion of its own work;
know what to do when a check fails.

Why it matters to you

“It’s almost finished” is the most dangerous sentence in a project. Without a criterion, you are never done; without a check, you think you are done. With AI, the risk is double: it quickly produces a result that looks finished, and it can declare it successful with confidence. This lesson puts a simple check behind every step.

Before you start


You need	Your assistant, free account, or Claude Code; your broken-down project sheet (lesson 2)
Cost	€0 with a free account; Claude Code, if you use it, requires a subscription
Duration	35 minutes
Reminder	To have someone test your work, don’t show them anything confidential

Understand it in 3 minutes

A checkable criterion is checked with a yes or no. “Clear”, “good”, “complete” can’t be checked. “One page”, “reviewed by one person”, “every task has a date” can.

Four checks, depending on the step:

Check	What it’s for	Example
The checklist (module 3, lesson 6; if you haven’t done it, ask yourself the four questions in the last column)	A document produced from notes or sources	Nothing made up, nothing forgotten, contradictions flagged, clear actions
The real trial	Whatever has to work for real	Following the guide yourself like a new volunteer
The opinion of someone concerned	Whatever is made for someone	Having someone from the association read the guide
Checking at the source (module 2, lesson 4)	A fact, a price, a rule, a date	Comparing the opening hours in the guide with those posted by the association

The AI helps prepare the check, it doesn’t replace it. It can suggest criteria, play the role of a reader to spot questions, or do a first read-through with the checklist. But it can be wrong with confidence: you do the check, and you tick it off.

The definition of “done” for a step: “Step finished when [the check] has been passed.” Write it in the sheet, next to the step.

Do it together

We pick up the made-up example from lesson 2: the welcome guide for new volunteers.

1Step 1: Checkable criteria for the project

Here are the success criteria for my project: [paste them]. For each one, tell me whether it can be checked with a yes or no. Rewrite the vague ones so they become checkable, without adding any.

2Step 2: One check per step

For each step in my sheet, suggest one check from: the verification checklist, a real trial, the opinion of someone concerned, a check at the source. For each, write: "Step finished when…".

Keep what seems doable to you. A check you won’t do is useless: choose the simplest one that is enough.

3Step 3: Prepare a trial with the AI

For the guide, the AI can play the reader before the real test:

Play the role of a new volunteer discovering this guide. Read it and tell me the three questions you still have after reading. Don't correct anything.

Fix what’s missing. Then do the real check: have a real person read the guide. The trial with the AI prepares, it doesn’t replace.

4Step 4: If a check fails

Write in the sheet what failed, fix it, and redo the same check. Don’t change the criterion to make it pass.

Your turn

On your project:

make your success criteria checkable;
write “Step finished when…” for each step;
do the check for your next step before ticking it off;
if a check fails, write it down, fix it, and redo it.

Check your work

It worked if:

each of your criteria is checked with a yes or no;
each step in your sheet has its “Step finished when…” sentence;
your last ticked-off step was ticked off after its check, not on the AI’s opinion;
at least once, you had a real person read or try your work.

Common mistakes:

ticking off a step because the AI says it succeeded;
checks that are too heavy, that you never do: choose the simplest one that is enough;
changing the criterion when the check fails;
replacing the opinion of a real person with that of an AI playing a role.

Keep it and pick it up later

In your sheet, each ticked-off step keeps its “Step finished when…” sentence: later, it tells you how you checked.
If you did module 3, the checklist is kept in your request library: it serves for every document.

Going further

optional

For a document, ask the AI for two read-throughs with two different roles (“a new volunteer”, “the president of the association”): they don’t see the same things. It remains a preparation for the real check.

New words

3 words explained

Word	What it means
Checkable criterion	A condition that is checked with a yes or no
Check	What you do to verify that a step is finished: the checklist, a trial, someone’s opinion, the source
“Step finished when…”	The sentence that says, for a step, which check has to be passed