Okuzeka
Project Management vocabulary · Agile & Scrum

Definition of done

Meaning in project management, with examples

/ˌdefɪˌnɪʃən əv ˈdʌn/nounCommon term

In project management, definition of done means: A shared checklist of quality conditions that every piece of work must meet before the team can call it finished, such as tested, reviewed and documented.

In Turkish: bitti tanımı, tamamlanma tanımı, DoD

How it is used

A Scrum term, often shortened to DoD. It applies to all items, unlike acceptance criteria, which are specific to one story. Work that does not meet the definition of done goes back to the backlog.

Example sentences

  1. It works on my laptop, but it isn't done: our definition of done includes automated tests.

  2. We updated the definition of done to include an accessibility check.

Common collocations

  • meet the definition of done
  • agree on a definition of done
  • team's definition of done
  • acceptance criteriaThe specific, agreed conditions that a deliverable or user story must meet before the client or product owner will accept it as complete.
  • user storyA short, simple description of a feature from the point of view of the person who will use it, often written as: As a [user], I want [something] so that [benefit].
  • sprintA short, fixed period, often two weeks and never longer than a month, in which a Scrum team completes an agreed set of work.
  • scrumA popular agile framework in which a small team delivers work in fixed cycles called sprints, with set roles such as product owner and scrum master and regular events like planning and reviews.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Agile & Scrum

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: