The Definition of Done is a formal, team-wide checklist of quality criteria that every increment must satisfy before it counts as done, as described by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland in The Scrum Guide (2020). Typical gates are code reviewed, tests passing, documentation updated and no known defects. It makes the meaning of done transparent to all stakeholders, work that misses it returns to the Product Backlog, and the team tightens it as it matures.

Definition of Done

Details
Also known as

DoD, Done Criteria, Acceptance Criteria (team-level)

Core Concepts:

Shared agreement

A formal, team-wide checklist of quality criteria that every increment must satisfy before it is declared "done"

Increment quality gates

Concrete, verifiable conditions — e.g., code reviewed, tests passing, documentation updated, no known defects

Transparency

Makes the meaning of "done" visible and unambiguous to all stakeholders, preventing hidden technical debt

Sprint-level vs. product-level DoD

Teams may maintain separate DoD lists for Sprint increments and for releasable product increments

Continuous refinement

The DoD evolves as the team matures; stricter gates are added over time

Undone work

Work that does not meet the DoD is not counted as complete; it returns to the Product Backlog

Shared responsibility

The entire Scrum team (Developers, Product Owner, Scrum Master) owns and respects the DoD

Key Proponents

Ken Schwaber & Jeff Sutherland ("The Scrum Guide", 2020); Mike Cohn ("Succeeding with Agile", 2009)

When to Use:

  • Establishing a consistent quality standard across a Scrum or agile team

  • Onboarding new team members so they understand what "finished" means

  • Reducing rework and late-cycle defects by agreeing on criteria upfront

  • Aligning developers, QA, and product owners on release readiness