Definition of Done (DoD)

Why a shared definition matters

Without one, "done" means whatever the person saying it happens to mean, and the gap surfaces at the worst moment: a story marked complete that has no tests, was never reviewed, or is sitting unmerged on a branch. A definition of done makes the bar explicit so nobody has to infer it, and so a status report means something.

What teams typically include

The list should be short enough that everyone can recite it. A twenty-item definition of done is aspirational documentation rather than a working standard.

Acceptance criteria met

The story's own conditions are satisfied and have been checked.

Code reviewed

By someone who did not write it.

Tests written and passing

At whatever level the team has agreed - the point is that the standard is named rather than negotiated per story.

Merged and deployed

To the environment the team counts as done. Work on an unmerged branch is not finished.

Documentation updated

Where the change affects something someone else relies on.

Done in the tracker versus done in reality

The two diverge quietly. A story dragged to a done column is a claim, not a fact, and status reports built on claims drift from reality until someone checks them by hand. Reading completion back from the tracker of record - and treating a cancelled item as cancelled rather than quietly counting it as delivered - is what keeps a delivery or budget projection honest.