The deliverable is complete, but the customer will not accept it. What should we check?
Completion-acceptance mismatchCompare the delivered result with agreed acceptance criteria and the customer's stated objections. Separate genuine nonconformance, missing evidence, ambiguity, and newly requested scope.
What to do now
- Review the agreed acceptance basis
- Demonstrate the delivered result
- Classify each objection with evidence
- Agree correction or change decisions
When to escalate
Escalate when
Acceptance disagreement affects material payment or contractual commitments.
Who decides
The acceptance authority and relevant quality owner
Example
A report is finished technically, but its agreed reconciliation evidence is missing.
Mistake to avoid
Treating internal completion as automatic customer acceptance.
Prevent a repeat
Check that closure evidence proves the agreed outcome instead of relying only on a completion percentage.
Suggested ApprovedFlow setup
- Tasks
- Documents
- Approvals
Attach acceptance criteria and test evidence to the deliverable or task, then record the authorized review decision. See the platform
Related cases
- The team marks tasks complete without evidence. What should change?Evidence-free completion
- The customer signs off a demo but rejects real use. Why?Demonstration-acceptance gap
- Can a sponsor accept every project risk?Risk authority overreach
- How do we forecast the final project cost?Incomplete cost-to-complete forecast