Definition of Done (DoD)
A shared agreement within the team that defines all the conditions a work item must meet before it can be considered complete and potentially releasable.
In-Depth Explanation
The Definition of Done (DoD) is a team-level standard that establishes the quality criteria every piece of work must meet before it can be considered finished. It ensures consistency and quality across all deliverables.
Common DoD elements for software development:
- Code is written and peer-reviewed
- All unit tests pass
- Integration tests pass
- Code meets coding standards and linting rules
- Documentation is updated
- Acceptance criteria are verified
- No known critical or high-severity defects
- Performance requirements are met
- Security requirements are satisfied
- Changes are deployed to the staging environment
- Product owner has accepted the work
DoD for non-software work:
- Deliverable meets the specification or brief
- Quality review completed by a peer
- Stakeholder sign-off obtained
- Documentation is updated
- Necessary approvals are recorded
- Deliverable is accessible to intended audience
DoD best practices:
- Create the DoD collaboratively with the entire team
- Keep it visible (posted in the team area or workspace)
- Review and update regularly (typically at retrospectives)
- Apply it consistently to all work items
- Distinguish between DoD (team-level) and acceptance criteria (story-level)
- Evolve the DoD as the team matures (gradually raising the bar)
The DoD serves as a quality gate - work that does not meet the DoD is not done, regardless of how much effort has been invested. This prevents technical debt from accumulating and ensures a consistent standard of quality.
Business Context
A clear definition of done prevents "almost done" items from cluttering projects, ensures consistent quality standards, and builds trust between the delivery team and stakeholders.
How Clever Ops Uses This
Clever Ops maintains rigorous definitions of done for all client work, ensuring that every deliverable meets quality, documentation, and acceptance standards before it is presented to the client. We help Australian businesses establish their own DoD practices to improve delivery quality.
Example Use Case
"A development team agrees that "done" means code reviewed, all tests passing, documentation updated, deployed to staging, and accepted by the product owner - no exceptions."