# Certify Stage — Elaboration

## Criteria Guidance

### Good criteria — concrete and verifiable

- "Certification report confirms all exit criteria from the test strategy are met with evidence for each criterion"
- "Known issues list documents every unresolved defect with risk acceptance rationale signed by the product owner"
- "Release readiness checklist covers functional quality, performance benchmarks, security scan results, and regression status"

### Bad criteria — vague (no clear check)

- "Quality is certified"
- "Release is ready"
- "Sign-off is obtained"

