The purpose of each Sprint is to deliver Increments of potentially releasable product functionality that adhere to the definition of “Done”. The DoD acceptance criteria is consistent across all Stories and drives the quality of work used to assess when a Story is Done. Each product has a definition of “Done” that is part of the conventions, standards or guidelines of the organization which must be followed by all Scrum Teams.
The Definition of Done creates transparency by providing everyone a shared understanding of what work was completed as part of the Increment. If a Product Backlog item does not meet the Definition of Done, it cannot be released or even presented at the Sprint Review. Instead, it returns to the Product Backlog for future consideration.
If the Definition of Done for an increment is part of the standards of the organization, all Scrum Teams must follow it as a minimum. If it is not an organizational standard, the Scrum Team must create a Definition of Done appropriate for the product.
The Developers are required to conform to the Definition of Done. If there are multiple Scrum Teams working together on a product, they must mutually define and comply with the same Definition of Done.
- DoD guides the Development Team in knowing how many Product Backlog items it can select during a Sprint Planning.
- Each Sprint is to deliver Increments of potentially releasable functionality that adhere to the Scrum Team’s current definition of “Done”.
- Development Teams deliver an Increment of product functionality every Sprint.
- This Increment is useable, so a Product Owner may choose to immediately release it.
- If the definition of “Done” for an increment is part of the conventions, standards or guidelines of the development organization, all Scrum Teams must follow it.
- Each Increment is additive to all prior Increments and thoroughly tested, ensuring that all Increments work together.
As Scrum Teams mature, it is expected that their definitions of “Done” will expand to include more stringent criteria for higher quality. New definitions, as used, may uncover work to be done in previously “Done” increments. Any one product or system should have a definition of “Done” that is a standard for any work done on it.
