The Genesis of Test and Accept
How a high-stakes UAV project revealed the critical importance of clear, testable requirements
The Critical Moment
"The antenna had to move 270 degrees. Not 'a lot' or 'sufficiently'—exactly 270 degrees. When it only moved 268 degrees, we grounded the entire system. That level of precision saved lives."
John Doe
Founder, Test and Accept
It Started with a High-Stakes Problem
Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
It all began with unmanned aerial vehicles—armed ones. Our founder was part of a team developing control systems where the stakes couldn't have been higher. If control was lost, an armed payload would be flying rogue, with potentially catastrophic consequences.
In this environment, there was no room for ambiguity or misinterpretation. Lives literally depended on precise requirements and testing.
Rigorous Testing Protocol
The team developed a rigorous end-to-end testing plan that had to be executed anytime a change was made to the system. Once the system passed all tests, missions could proceed—but any changes, no matter how small, triggered a complete retest.
Crystal Clear Criteria
The power was in the precision of the tests. They were crisp, published, and crystal clear. Each test had specific criteria and procedures, with no room for interpretation—you either passed or you didn't.
Precise, measurable requirements saved lives in high-stakes environments
The Critical Insight
The Commercial Software Reality
Later, when our founders moved into commercial software development, they encountered a frustrating pattern. Developers would repeatedly ask to see the tests that were part of the "full regression" or "smoke test" suite, only to discover that the testing was inadequate or inconsistent.
"What was most annoying was when we showed them our tests, only to have them take those tests and claim they tested the system," recalls our founder. "We knew they weren't testing properly because we were seeing the same bugs over and over."
The UAV Testing Approach
In the high-stakes world of armed UAVs, tests were determined first, visible to everyone, and non-negotiable. The criteria for success was clear before a single line of code was written.
The Key Insight That Changed Everything
"It's not just about the requirements—it's about how you're going to determine if the requirement was met."
This fundamental realization became the cornerstone of the Test and Accept platform: requirements without clear acceptance criteria are not really requirements at all.
From Concept to Platform
The Solution
Clear Requirements
This realization led us to develop Test and Accept—a system to help clarify requirements and force everyone to define not just what they want, but how they'll determine if the requirement was met.
Transparent Testing
"As developers, we would be told they wanted one thing, only to build it and have the requirements creep," explains our founder. "So we built this system to help clarify requirements from the start and make testing criteria transparent to everyone."
Collaborative Validation
The beauty of the system is that it marshals a small army around validating system performance. From automation to peer review, everyone can see the tests and contribute to improving them. This creates a massive system for improving outcomes—before a single line of code is written.
The Unexpected Benefit
Traceability emerged as a critical benefit that we hadn't initially anticipated.
By documenting not just the requirements and tests, but the thinking behind decisions, teams gain unprecedented insight into why systems were built the way they were—something that becomes invaluable as projects evolve and team members change.
Regulatory Compliance
Audit-ready documentation for regulated industries
Knowledge Preservation
Reduced dependency on tribal knowledge
Better Maintenance
Easier system evolution with clear context
Business Continuity
Resilience against team turnover
Timeline of Evolution
Initial project failure and realization of the problem
First draft of the Test and Accept methodology
Pilot projects with early adopters
Development of the AI-powered weasel word detection
Discovery of traceability as a key benefit
Launch of the full Test and Accept platform
Enterprise adoption and industry recognition
Continued expansion and refinement
The Future of Requirements
What We Are
We are a testing acceptance, design, and planning platform. We are built to support everyone from developers to testers to product owners to management—and now even to support your AI agents.
What We're Not
We are not a task management platform. There are plenty of those, and we do not want to dilute what we do. We have no interest in becoming yet another project management tool or issue tracker.
Our Future Vision
We're expanding our platform to leverage AI for detecting ambiguity, suggesting clearer alternatives, and helping teams create more precise requirements and tests.
Our Unwavering Mission
Our focus remains singular: ensuring that requirements are clear, testable, and traceable. We'll never lose sight of our core mission: bringing clarity to the requirements process and ensuring everyone knows exactly what success looks like.
Ready to End Requirement Ambiguity?
Join us on this journey. We're still writing the story of Test and Accept, and we'd love for you to be part of it.
"Test and Accept transformed how our team approaches requirements. We've cut our development time by 30% and drastically reduced change requests. The traceability aspect alone has been worth the investment."
Jane Doe, CTO at Enterprise Solutions