Definition of Done

Definition of Done collaboration format

Quality Criteria

What quality standards must work meet to be done?

This topic captures the technical and quality benchmarks that every piece of work should satisfy before it's considered complete. Encourage the team to think about code quality, testing coverage, performance, and standards. Ask probing questions like 'What would make us confident this won't break in production?' to surface implicit expectations and turn them into explicit, measurable criteria.

Documentation & Communication

What needs to be documented or shared before done?

Use this topic to surface the knowledge-sharing and documentation expectations that keep the team aligned and reduce future confusion. Prompt participants to consider who needs to know about the change and what artifacts should exist. This is often the most overlooked part of done, so encourage honest reflection on past gaps.

Testing & Validation

How do we verify the work actually works?

This topic focuses on the verification steps that prove the work meets requirements and behaves as expected. Guide the team to think beyond automated tests to include manual, exploratory, and acceptance testing. Encourage them to define who validates the work and in what environment.

Deployment & Readiness

What must be true to safely release the work?

Here the team defines what it means for work to be ready for release and live in front of users. Prompt discussion around deployment, monitoring, rollback plans, and operational readiness. This helps teams avoid the common gap between 'code complete' and 'actually delivering value'.

When to use this retrospective

• When a new team is forming and needs to establish shared quality standards from the start.
• When work is frequently being reopened or bugs are slipping into production, signaling unclear completion criteria.
• Before starting a new project or sprint to ensure everyone agrees on what finished looks like.
• When onboarding new members who need to understand the team's quality expectations.
• During a retrospective when the team identifies inconsistency in how work is considered complete.

Suggested icebreaker questions

• If 'done' had a personality, what would it be like — perfectionist, pragmatist, or last-minute hero?
• What's the most surprising thing you once discovered was NOT actually finished?

Ideas and tips for your retrospective meeting

• Co-create the Definition of Done with the whole team so everyone feels ownership — avoid letting one person dictate the standards.
• Keep criteria realistic and achievable; an overly ambitious DoD that's never met undermines its purpose.
• Make each criterion specific and verifiable so there's no ambiguity about whether it has been satisfied.
• Treat the Definition of Done as a living document and revisit it periodically as your team's standards and tooling evolve.
• Encourage quieter team members to contribute by giving everyone time to add ideas independently before group discussion.
• Distinguish between the Definition of Done and acceptance criteria — the DoD applies to all work, while acceptance criteria are story-specific.

Frequently asked questions