Definition of done
Definition
The definition of done (DoD) is a shared, formal checklist that a product backlog item must satisfy before it can be considered complete — covering code quality, testing, documentation, and deployment standards agreed upon by the entire Scrum team.
The definition of done exists to solve one of the most common problems in software teams: "done" meaning different things to different people. To a developer, done might mean "the code is written." To a QA engineer, it means "tests pass." To a product manager, it means "it's in production and working." Without a shared definition, half-finished work accumulates and sprint reviews become awkward.
The Scrum Guide calls the definition of done a formal commitment that creates transparency. Every item in the sprint backlog must meet the DoD before it can be demonstrated at the sprint review or considered part of the product increment.
Common DoD criteria:
- Code written and peer-reviewed
- Unit tests written and passing
- Integration tests passing
- Acceptance criteria verified
- No known critical bugs introduced
- Documentation updated (if applicable)
- Merged to main branch
- Deployed to staging (or production, depending on the team)
- Product Owner has accepted the story
The DoD is a team agreement, not a management mandate. Teams create it together and update it as their practices evolve. A team new to CI/CD might not include "automated deployment" on day one — but a mature team should.
Definition of done vs. acceptance criteria: Acceptance criteria are story-specific: they define what this particular feature must do. The definition of done applies to every story: it defines the quality bar the whole team holds.
Many teams post their DoD on the wall near the sprint board. BoardSnap AI reads it alongside the task board, so remote or async teammates always have the current version.
Examples
- DoD checklist posted on the wall: code reviewed, tests pass, deployed to staging, PO accepted
- Team updates their DoD after a production incident to add 'error monitoring coverage' as a required step
- Sprint review item returned to in-progress because it passed code review but QA found a regression
- New team member asks what 'done' means during onboarding — the posted DoD answers immediately
- DoD whiteboard photographed with BoardSnap and shared in Slack for the remote half of the team
Snap a definition of done. Ship its actions.
BoardSnap turns any whiteboard — including this one — into a summary and action plan.