25 Jul 2022
The Definition of Done is a critical concept in Scrum (and many agile frameworks). When an increment of the product meets the criteria described in the Definition of Done, then that integrated increment can be shared and released with no further work. If it is not met then it should not be shared in the Sprint Review, let alone released.
It is key for the definition to be understood by people using the system - and this creates transparency for the Scrum Team as well as the stakeholders and other teams working with them. When there are many teams working on the product, they must all work together to ensure the Definition of Done of all their cumulative work is integrated into a single product.
An example Definition of Done for any product:
This could apply to any business or technical domain.
For a software product an example Definition of Done for software may be:
The whole point of Scrum is to deliver Done Increments, which enables business agility.
There are some key questions to an effective use of Done:
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