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Definition of Done

This article discusses the Definition of Done in Scrum

In Agile development, where adaptability and continuous delivery are key, the Definition of Done (DoD) acts as a cornerstone. It’s more than a checklist — it’s a shared understanding of what “complete” means. This ensures transparency, quality, and consistent value delivery.

What is the Definition of Done?

The Scrum Guide defines the DoD as a formal description of the state of the Increment when it meets the quality measures required for the product. In simple terms, it’s a set of agreed-upon criteria that must be satisfied for a Product Backlog Item (PBI) to be considered “done.”

Sample Definition of Done for an E-commerce Website

Here’s a sample DoD for an e-commerce website. Each point can include specific details — for example, “Performance and Security Standards Met” might list page load time limits, vulnerability checks, and encryption criteria.

• Acceptance criteria met
• Performance and security standards met
• User experience (UX) and accessibility verified
• Documentation and code quality maintained
• Deployment readiness confirmed

Why is the Definition of Done Important?

The DoD drives success by:

• Ensuring Transparency: It provides a clear, shared understanding of what “done” means, eliminating ambiguity and fostering trust.
• Maintaining Quality: It sets high standards, reducing defects and rework.
• Boosting Predictability: A consistent DoD supports more accurate sprint planning and forecasting.
• Enabling Continuous Improvement: The DoD becomes a baseline for identifying improvements.
• Delivering Value: Each Increment is potentially releasable, ensuring value delivery.

Organizational Definition of Done: Minimum, Not Maximum

Many organizations create a company-wide DoD to promote consistency. However, this should define minimum standards — not maximum limits.

Rigid, overly detailed organizational DoDs can restrict teams and reduce flexibility. Instead, teams should build on the organizational baseline, adapting their DoD to fit their product’s unique needs. This balance preserves quality while empowering teams to respond to evolving requirements.

The organizational DoD should focus on essentials that apply to all products, like security scans and basic documentation guidelines.

Who drafts the Definition of Done?

The Scrum Team — including Developers, Product Owner, and Scrum Master — is responsible for the Increment and its quality. Together, they define and maintain the DoD.

• Product Owner: Ensures the DoD aligns with stakeholder expectations.
• Developers: Define the technical criteria needed to meet “done.”
• Scrum Master: Facilitates the process, ensuring the DoD is clear, realistic, and understood by everyone.

This collective responsibility ensures the DoD reflects the team’s combined expertise and remains achievable.

Why the Definition of Done Must Be Clear

Ambiguity causes misunderstandings, inconsistencies, and rework. A clear, precise DoD prevents this. We call such a clear and crisp DoD as a “Strong” DoD.

A Strong DoD:

• Uses SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound)
• Avoids jargon and unclear technical terms
• Is easily accessible to all team members
• Is reviewed and updated regularly

Clarity ensures everyone stays aligned, promoting consistency and minimizing errors.

How the Definition of Done Evolves

The DoD isn’t static — it evolves with changing technology, requirements, and team capabilities. As the team learns and grows, new criteria may emerge to enhance quality and efficiency.

Ways the DoD can evolve:

• Retrospectives: Regular reviews help identify areas for improvement.
• Stakeholder Feedback: External input reveals gaps or necessary adjustments.
• Technological Advancements: New tools may require updated criteria.
• Learning and Experimentation: Successful new practices should be integrated.
• Scaling: Organizational DoDs may need adjustments to support multiple teams.

By embracing continuous improvement, the Scrum Team keeps the DoD relevant and effective, supporting high-quality product delivery.

The Definition of Done is a foundation of Scrum. It ensures a shared understanding of quality and completeness. By creating a clear, evolving DoD, Scrum Teams enhance transparency, improve predictability, and deliver greater value to their stakeholders.

By WOA Author

Product Increment

The Increment is the sum of all Product Backlog Items completed during a Sprint and the value of the increments of all previous Sprints. At the end of a Sprint, the new Increment must be “Done” which means that it should be in a useable condition and meet the Scrum Team’s definition of Done. It must be in a useable condition regardless of whether the Product Owner decides to actually release it.

Potentially Releasable Product Increment

Scrum asks that teams deliver “potentially releasable software” at the end of every sprint. To me, potentially shippable software or potentially releasable product increment is a feature(s) that can be released, with limited notice, to end users at the product owner’s discretion. Products that can be released to end users with two days can be reasonably said to be in potentially shippable state. Ideally, potentially shippable is equivalent to the Definition of Done.

Example of Potentially Releasable Product Increment

Let us take a simple real-life example to understand this term. Let us say you are interior-decorating your house. You could do the work in multiple ways:

1. You could change the tiles of the entire house, then fix the paint of the entire house and then you could move-in back into the house
2. You could complete one bedroom, then another, then the kitchen and finally the living room.

In the first example, you thought about the entire product (interior decorated house) as one chunk and thought about it in a traditional way. Let us think if we can deliver this in the second option. The second option gives you a way in which, if required you could get incremental value of the product. Potentially Releasable Product Increment is about getting incremental value for your product. Whether you really move-in after completion of the bedroom (in the above example) is your call, however, you have an option – just in case you want to move in.

Let us see the above Cake piece. I can bet that a child would enjoy the piece of a entire Vertical Slice of cake instead of only icing or only chocolate or only cake. Potentially Shippable Product Increment or Potentially Releasable Product Increment is a vertical slice which gives incremental value to the customer.

Scrum Artifacts

In archaeology, the term “artifact” refers to an object that was made by a human. The Latin roots of the word artifact roughly translate to “Work of Art.” So, an artifact is something that we make, either a tool that solves a problem, or a work of art that inspires us.

Scrum describes three primary artifacts:

• The Product Backlog
• The Sprint Backlog
• The Product Increment

In this section we will learn about the three artifacts. While Scrum describes only 3 artifacts, please understand that these are the minimum artifacts that Scrum prescribes. You can add any number of artifacts beyond these three to achieve your goals, however, the additional artifacts are not the Scrum artifacts.