Definition of Done
A shared checklist of criteria that must be met for work to be considered complete.
Also known as: DoD, Done Criteria, Completion Criteria
Category: Principles
Tags: agile, scrum, quality, standards, teams, processes
Explanation
The Definition of Done (DoD) is a formal description of the state of the Increment when it meets the quality measures required for the product. It creates transparency by providing everyone a shared understanding of what 'complete' means.
Why Definition of Done matters:
1. Quality consistency - Every item meets the same standard
2. Transparency - Everyone knows what complete means
3. Reduces technical debt - Prevents cutting corners
4. Enables inspection - Work is truly finished, not 'mostly done'
5. Supports sustainability - Prevents accumulating hidden work
Typical Definition of Done items:
- Code complete and peer-reviewed
- Unit tests written and passing
- Integration tests passing
- Documentation updated
- Acceptance criteria verified
- No critical bugs
- Performance requirements met
- Security review complete
- Deployed to staging environment
- Product Owner accepted
Levels of Done:
1. Story level - Individual item complete
2. Sprint level - All items integrated together
3. Release level - Ready for production deployment
Evolving the Definition of Done:
- Reviewed and updated during retrospectives
- Becomes more rigorous as team matures
- May start simple and grow over time
- Should stretch the team appropriately
Anti-patterns:
- Definition so long nothing gets done
- Ignoring DoD under deadline pressure
- Different DoD for different team members
- Never updating the definition
- 'Done-ish' or partial completion
The Definition of Done is owned by the Development Team and applies to all work. It's a living document that should evolve as the team and product mature.
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