What is Definition of Done?
The Definition of Done is a shared, agreed checklist of the quality criteria a piece of work must meet before it can be considered complete. It creates a common understanding of "done" across a team, covering matters such as testing, review, documentation and deployment readiness.
Reviewed by Gensudo Team · 23 July 2026
In more depth
Formalised in Scrum, the Definition of Done applies to every increment, not just individual items, and typically bundles the standards that would otherwise be forgotten: tests written, code reviewed, accessibility checked, documentation updated. It is distinct from acceptance criteria, which are specific to one story; the Definition of Done is the baseline that applies to all of them. Teams strengthen it over time as their standards rise.
Why it matters
Without a shared Definition of Done, "done" means different things to different people, and work marked complete keeps coming back with missing tests or documentation. An explicit definition makes quality consistent and progress honest, so a burndown reflects genuinely finished work rather than optimistic guesses, and it guards against accumulating hidden technical debt.
A product example
A team's Definition of Done requires that every story has automated tests, passes code review, meets WCAG AA, updates the changelog and deploys to staging. A feature that works but lacks tests is not counted as done, even if the demo looks finished.
Related terms
Acceptance Criteria · User Story · Technical Debt · Non-Functional Requirements