What is the Definition of Done (DoD)?

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. The moment a Product Backlog item meets the Definition of Done, an Increment is born.

The Definition of Done (DoD) creates transparency by providing everyone with a shared understanding of what work was completed as part of the Increment. If a Product Backlog item does not meet the DoD, it cannot be released or even presented at the Sprint Review. Instead, it returns to the Product Backlog for future consideration. 

If the DoD for an increment is part of the standards of the organization, all Scrum Teams must follow it as a minimum. If it is not an organizational standard, the Scrum Team must create a DoD appropriately for the product. The DoD evolves as the team matures. For instance, during the initial phase, the DoD might include that the code/feature should be unit tested and deployed to the test environment. But, at a later stage, the DoD might be updated to include that the code/feature should be tested in the UAT and deployed to the Production environment. 

The Developers are required to conform to the DoD. If there are multiple Scrum Teams working together on a product, they must mutually define and comply with the same DoD. 

While the definition varies from organization to organization, a typical definition of done consists of a guideline/checklist containing items such as:

• • The build is completed.
  • Unit Testing is completed by the developer.
  • The code is reviewed by Technical Lead.
  • Code is deployed to the test environment.
  • System and Regression testing is completed
  • UAT has been completed.
  • Documentation of the features is completed/updated.
  • The feature has been accepted by stakeholders etc.

In summary, the Definition of Done (DoD) is a shared understanding within the Scrum Team on what it takes to make the Product Increment releasable to the end user/stakeholders.