Definition of Done (DoD)

Overview of Definition of Done

The Definition of Done (DoD) establishes a shared understanding of what constitutes a completed and releasable product increment. It ensures that all work meets a minimum quality standard, providing transparency, consistency, and the ability to make empirical decisions based on real-world feedback.

This document outlines the Organisational Definition of Done, which applies across all teams, as well as team-specific extensions that may be necessary based on product requirements. It also highlights why the DoD is essential for transparency, adaptation, and ensuring that every increment is valuable, verifiable, and production-ready.

Organisational Definition of Done

For work to be considered Done, it must meet the following minimum standard:

• Live and in production: The increment must be deployed and available for end users.
• Collecting telemetry: The increment must be instrumented with appropriate logging, monitoring, and analytics to gather data on its impact.
• Supporting or diminishing the starting hypothesis: The increment must validate or disprove the assumptions that justified its development.

Team-Specific Definition of Done

Each team must define what is required for a product increment to be considered releasable while ensuring full compliance with the Organisational Definition of Done. The organisational DoD sets the minimum quality standard that all teams must meet. If additional criteria are needed based on product-specific requirements, teams may extend their Definition of Done beyond the organisational standard but never below it. This ensures a consistent, high-quality standard across all teams and prevents discrepancies in what is considered Done.

Each team may have additional criteria, but they must adhere to the organisational DoD as a minimum. Typical extensions include:

• Code is peer-reviewed and merged to main.
• Automated tests (unit, integration, performance, security) are written and pass.
• Feature flags or rollback mechanisms are in place.
• Documentation is updated.
• No critical bugs or unresolved incidents are present.
• User feedback mechanisms are implemented.

If there are multiple teams working on a single product, those teams must agree on a shared Definition of Done and ensure it is consistently honoured.

Validation and Continuous Improvement

• Each deployed increment should be evaluated based on real-world telemetry.
• Adjustments should be made based on the evidence collected, ensuring iterative learning and refinement.
• The DoD should be reviewed periodically to incorporate evolving engineering and business needs.
• The purpose of the Definition of Done is to provide transparency into what has been achieved and ensure that increments are usable and releasable.

By strictly adhering to and continuously refining our DoD, we ensure that every increment is valuable, verifiable, and ready for real-world use.

Why the Definition of Done Matters

The Definition of Done is more than a checklist—it is the bedrock of transparency and adaptation. Without a clear and universally understood DoD, teams risk misalignment, rework, and poor decision-making.

Transparency

• Shared Understanding: The DoD ensures that every stakeholder, from developers to leadership, understands what “done” truly means.
• Clear Expectations: Teams, Product Managers, and business leaders operate with full visibility into what work is ready for use versus work-in-progress.
• Trust in Delivery: A well-defined DoD reduces ambiguity, improving confidence in the quality and completeness of increments.

Enabling Adaptation

• Empirical Decision-Making: The DoD ensures increments are deployed with real-world telemetry, allowing teams to inspect and adapt based on actual data rather than assumptions.
• Minimising Risk: By enforcing rigorous completion criteria, the DoD prevents half-baked work from reaching users, reducing technical debt and ensuring fast, safe iteration.
• Faster Feedback Loops: A strong DoD accelerates learning, allowing teams to course-correct sooner and focus on what truly delivers value.

Done Means Releasable

When a Product Backlog item or an Increment is described as Done, everyone must understand what that means. This ensures transparency, the foundation of any empirical system. Without a consistent Definition of Done, teams cannot know what it takes to get something finished.

A shared Definition of Done allows us to:

1. Maintain Transparency of what we have Done.
2. Understand how much work is required to deliver an item.
3. Create an agreement of what to show at the Sprint Review.
4. Protect our Brand!

A releasable product increment adheres to all aspects of quality, with no corners cut during development. This ensures that Product Management has the choice to release at any time, rather than requiring additional work before shipping.

The Definition of Done is the commitment to quality for the Increment. Creating and adhering to a usable increment that meets the DoD ensures predictable, high-quality delivery.