Purpose of a definition of “Done”
Controls whether the developers have performed their tasks.
Provides a template for elements that need to be included in the technical documentation.
Creates transparency over the work inspected at the Sprint Review.
Trucks the percent completeness of a Product Backlog item.
Guides the Development Team is creating a forecast at the Sprint Planning.
Defines what it takes for an Increment to be ready for release.
Controls whether the developers have performed their tasks.
-does it though? The DoD is used to assess when work is complete on the increment, it doesn't control anything.
Provides a template for elements that need to be included in the technical documentation.
- Why would typical DoD items like "Code has been peer reviewed" be relevant for technical documentation?
Creates transparency over the work inspected at the Sprint Review.
- I would say it "ensures transparency" instead of creating.
Tracks the percent completeness of a Product Backlog item.
- The DoD is not a metric, how does it "track" anything? The DoD is the yard stick that items are measured against in terms of being complete.
Guides the Development Team is creating a forecast at the Sprint Planning.
- I agree with this as it is a paraphrased version of what is said in the Scrum Guide
Defines what it takes for an Increment to be ready for release.
- I agree with this as it is a paraphrased version of what is said in the Scrum Guide
@Curtis Slough's assessment of your individual statements are spot on. I think you have an overall misunderstanding of the Definition of Done and possibly Scrum in general. It sounds like you are trying to force command-control into a framework that is all about self-management, self-direction. I could be wrong since I only have your one set of statements as insights but that is what I read into your statements.
The Scrum Guide refers to the Definition of Done in many places but always as a means of transparency. The Definition of Done is identified in the section of the Guide for Artifact Transparency. There is never any reference that I can find that indicates it is used as any kind of status or control mechanism.
My opinion is that the Purpose of the definition of "Done" is to provide a common definition that all, inside and outside of the Scrum Team, can understand in order to determine what is meant when the Scrum Team says they are "done" with this increment of product.
@Daniel Wilhite, you're spot on. There are many interpretations of terms in scrum these days.
My opinion: Firstly, DoD ensures that all increments meet a consistent quality standard. Secondly, it provides clarity/transparency by defining what “done” means, reducing ambiguity.
Lastly, it facilitates alignment among team members and stakeholders, ensuring everyone has a shared understanding of what constitutes a complete product increment.