Define What “Done” Means as a Working Agreement

I have found it useful to address what “done” means for a story as a working agreement. Here are some possibilities your team might consider:

• All the code is checked in.
• There are automated unit tests.
• There are automated system tests at the API level.
• All the automated tests are checked in.
• All the tests pass.
• The documentation for the feature is complete.
• There has been some sort of pairing or other eyes on the code and automated tests to prevent shortcuts.

Your team doesn’t have to like these. It may want something different.

I find it helpful to specify what “done” means as a working agreement so no one takes shortcuts. If people think they need to take a shortcut, they can discuss the problem that requires them to take a shortcut.

Joe asks:

Do I Need to Define "Done" for an Iteration?

If you use iterations, you might need to define what "done" means for an iteration, especially if you don’t or can’t release the stories as you complete them. That’s because you’re letting the stories become some form of WIP.

Instead of thinking about “iteration-done,” consider creating a board that has an Accepted column as well as a Released column. The team demonstrates the story to the product owner and then can move the story into Accepted. Once the team is able to release the story, the story goes into the Released column.

Decide what might work for your team in your organization.