The Definition of Done (DOD) is a formal description of the state of the Increment when it meets the quality, standards, security, and compliance measures required for the product.
The moment a Product Backlog item meets the Definition of Done, an Increment is born.
The Definition of Done creates transparency by providing everyone a shared understanding of what work needs to be completed as part of the Increment so that it can be potentially releasable and used by customers and stakeholders.
If a Product Backlog item does not meet the Definition of Done, it cannot be released or even presented at the Sprint Review. Instead, it returns to the Product Backlog for future consideration [1].
The team should consider the length of the Definition of Done when estimating its work.
When a team estimates its work, it estimates what it takes for the whole team to deliver the work to the Definition of Done. The longer the Definition of Done the larger the estimate is likely to be.
A Product Owner might not understand why your organisation has certain rules about quality and why quality is important. Ultimately, working to a quality standard upfront helps remove and reduce downstream re-work.
Re-work is costly as it takes away time from the team – time better spent delivering.
The stronger a team’s commitment to quality the more robust the products and services they will deliver for the Product Owner and their customers.
The team should have the Definition of Done handy at Sprint Planning and be making direct reference to it when they create their tasks.
The types of questions the team members should be asking include:
Team members should be assessing the logical order in which to deliver the work:
1. Sutherland, J. and Schwaber, K. (2020). The Scrum Guide. The Definitive Guide to Scrum: The Rules of the Game.
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