Acceptance Criteria

Feature Snapshot

Summary:
Acceptance criteria are a set of upfront validation rules applied to every lead to confirm that required fields (such as email, phone, and date) contain correctly formatted data, while filtering applies later in the flow using enhanced or additional data to block leads that would otherwise be rejected.

Key Benefits:

• Saves processing costs by blocking unqualified leads before expensive enhancements are invoked
• Enhances data quality by ensuring that only leads with critically valid information enter the flow
• Allows for tailored validation by applying universal (flow-level), vendor-specific (source-level), or rapid (ping-level) rules
• Provides clear, actionable feedback to sources for troubleshooting data submission errors

Typical Use Cases:

• Campaigns that mandate the presence and correct formatting of key data elements (e.g., valid email, phone number, and date fields)
• Flows where different vendors require customized data checks through source-level acceptance criteria
• Real-time bidding scenarios where minimal, quickly evaluated criteria (ping-level) determine bid eligibility
• Systems that combine upfront rejection with mid-flow filtering based on enhancement outcomes

How the Acceptance Criteria and Filtering Distinction Works?

Acceptance criteria operate at the very beginning of a lead flow. They are applied on three levels:

• Flow-Level Acceptance Criteria: Universal rules that every lead must pass, such as checking that required fields are not blank and properly formatted.
• Source-Level Acceptance Criteria: Customized rules specific to individual lead vendors or partners, tailoring validations (like mandatory campaign IDs) to their unique data submission patterns.
• Ping-Level Acceptance Criteria: Lightweight rules used in real‑time bidding scenarios to quickly determine if a lead qualifies for triggering a bid, based solely on minimal submitted data.

In contrast, filters are usually invoked later in the flow after some data enhancements have taken place and are used to block leads based on additional, often dynamic, criteria that cannot be determined at the time of submission.

Step‑by‑Step Instructions

1. Define Required Fields:
   Identify the critical data (such as email, phone, and dates) that every lead must have and note the acceptable formats.

2. Configure Flow-Level Acceptance Criteria:
   In your flow’s settings, add rules (using operators like “is not blank” and “format is valid”) that universally validate every incoming lead.
   Expected Result: Leads missing essential data or featuring invalid formatting are immediately rejected.

3. Configure Source-Level Acceptance Criteria:
   For sources with distinct requirements (for instance, a vendor that must provide a specific campaign identifier), add source-level rules to enforce these vendor-specific conditions.
   Expected Result: Only leads from that vendor passing the custom criteria continue into the flow.

4. Set Up Ping-Level Acceptance Criteria (if applicable):
   In real-time bidding scenarios, configure minimal criteria that quickly assess lead eligibility using only the data available at submission time.
   Expected Result: Leads that immediately qualify trigger an instant bid, while unqualified leads exit the process.
5. Test the Setup:
   Submit a variety of test leads—including leads with missing, misformatted, or borderline values—and verify in your LeadConduit dashboard that rejection reasons and accepted leads are correctly processed.

Validation & Monitoring (optional)

• Test the Setup:
  Run test submissions and observe the lead event logs to ensure that leads failing acceptance criteria are blocked immediately.
• Where to Monitor?:
  Check the rejection logs and event details on your LeadConduit dashboard, particularly focusing on source and filter events to track which criteria are triggered.

Best Practices

• Prioritize Fundamental Checks:
  Always enforce basic validations (e.g., “is not blank” for email, phone, and date) at the very start of the flow to avoid wasting resources on invalid leads.
• Tailor Rules for Each Source:
  Use source-level criteria to customize requirements for different vendors, reducing false rejections and ensuring consistency across flows.
• Combine Acceptance and Filtering Strategically:
  Use acceptance criteria for initial, critical validations and complement these with mid-flow filters that leverage enhanced data to catch additional issues.
• Test and Monitor Regularly:
  Continuously test your configurations with varied lead data, and adjust rule thresholds based on rejection patterns and conversion rates.
• Keep Rules Simple and Clear:
  Use straightforward operators (e.g., “is not blank”) to avoid overly complex logic that can lead to unpredictable outcomes and troubleshooting challenges.

Troubleshooting

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why use acceptance criteria instead of filtering for required fields?

Acceptance criteria run as the lead first enters the flow, blocking leads missing crucial data—this early rejection saves processing costs and prevents unnecessary enhancements.

When should I use filtering rather than acceptance criteria?

Filtering is appropriate when decisions depend on data that becomes available only after enhancements (e.g., phone validation outcomes) or when conditional logic based on dynamic information is needed.

What is the difference between flow-level and source-level acceptance criteria?

Flow-level criteria enforce universal rules for every lead in a flow, while source-level criteria allow for customized rules tailored to specific lead vendors.

What defines ping-level acceptance criteria?

Ping-level criteria are minimal, real‑time rules used in bidding scenarios to quickly determine lead eligibility before sending a bid, based solely on essential submitted data.

Can acceptance criteria and filtering be used together?

Yes, combining both is recommended—acceptance criteria perform the initial, broad check and filtering adds an extra layer of quality control based on enhanced or delayed data.

Glossary

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• ac-flow.png300 KB
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