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Common Definition of Done

Last post 04:59 pm December 22, 2019 by Eric Naiburg
1 reply
01:05 am December 22, 2019

Hi,

There can be multiple Definitions of Done when multiple teams are working on the same product. True or False?

I came across a comment which says -

'According to Scrum.org, they can have different Definitions of Done, as long as they are compatible with each other and capable of creating integrated Increments.

Note: it may seem that the Scrum Guide says there's only one Definition of Done for multiple teams, but this is not the case according to Scrum.org. Having this flexibility can help, because, for example, one team may want to have extra tests. There's no harm in that, and yet, it impacts their Definition of Done.'

 

So shall we go as per what Scrum Guide says or otherwise? Which is correct approach?

Cheers,

Vivek


04:59 pm December 22, 2019

The Scrum Guide doesn't say anything about multiple Scrum Teams having the same definition of Done.  What it does say however is that Scrum Teams may have a minimum standard and can go above it...  See the below text from the guide.

 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 as a minimum.

If "Done" for an increment is not a convention of the development organization, the Development Team of the Scrum Team must define a definition of "Done" appropriate for the product. If there are multiple Scrum Teams working on the system or product release, the Development Teams on all the Scrum Teams must mutually define the definition of "Done".

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.


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