Definition of Done - An example

Done?

To call a story 'Done-Done' we should refer to two things:
the acceptance criteria for each story
the team’s Definition of Done

The DoD is defined by the team and should be updated whenever it seems appropriate e.g if there's a big change in the team or the work; or the team simply sees the need for a change.

If you have project based teams, it's something to agree before timebox 1 kicks off. If you're more product based and continuously working through an ever growing backlog, slot it into a timebox kick-off, a retro (if that's where it was discussed) or just grab 10 minutes after the daily stand-up.

An Example:

Here's a basic example created by a team I was working with:

----------------------------------------------------------
A. Dev done
---- Code review done
---- Unit Tests written and passing
---- Integration tests written and passing
B. Test complete
---- Manual Testing complete – Acceptance Met
---- Automation Tests written and passing
C. Business Signed off
---- Business/Product owner confirm Acceptance met
D. Passed at least one regression test
E. Documented
----------------------------------------------------------
This DoD worked for this team, but wouldn't work everywhere.
Some teams may not be able to have their integration and acceptance testing in the DoD due to the way their platform is set up or issues with their environment configuration.

So:

DoD is a proven technique that drives quality for relatively little effort, but how you implement it should not be matter of dogma.
Be pragmatic and find what works for you.
And when it's done get it up on the wall in plain sight - DO NOT allow it to languish unloved on a shared drive.

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