Introduction
To understanding the ‘Definition of Done’, it is imperative to understand what counts as being “done”. As per Scrum Guide, every sprint is meant to add value to the product by producing usable, shippable deliverables i.e. increments.
As per Scrum Guide, an increment is a concrete stepping stone towards the Product Goal and each increment is additive to all prior increments, thoroughly verified, ensuring that all increments work together.
A Product Backlog item becomes an increment once it meets the Definition of Done.
Definition of Done is a formal description of the state of the increment when it meets the quality measures required for the product.
It is a shared understanding within Scrum team on what it takes to make a PBI releasable. It may vary significantly for every Scrum team. and is used to access when work is complete on the product Increment.
Components of Definition of Done
- Business or Functional Requirements
- Quality
- Non-Functional Requirements
Business or Functional Requirements
- This component is owned by the Product owner and written in the form of the User Stories and acceptance criteria.
Quality
- This component is owned by Development team and largely aligned with the coding/technical tools used to build the Product. Examples include
- Coding standards
- Unit test coverage
- Technical Debt
- No Known Defects
Non-Functional Requirements
- These are standard characteristics for the Product that may not add direct business value.
- Performance
- Security
- Scalability
- Compliance/Regulatory etc.
- They are usually included in Acceptance Criteria or PBI.
| Business Requirements | Quality | Non-Functional Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| All acceptance criteria met | No build failures | Relevant documentation updated |
| No dependence unattended | Functional testing passed | Compliance Documents updated |
| Integration testing passed | Code checked in / merged with branch | |
| No known defects | ||
| Compatible with DoE brand | ||
| No accessibility errors | ||
| Compatible with mobile devices |