Understanding the Definition of Done in Scrum

Based on the principle that the Definition of Done (DoD) ensures transparency, quality, and shared understanding of what “done” means, here are tailored DoDs for different product types.

Whether you are building a simple website or a complex AI model, the DoD is your team's commitment to quality. It prevents the accumulation of technical debt and ensures every Increment is truly releasable.

Definition of Done for a Website

• Has the design/approach been discussed and reviewed by one other person?
• Does the code comply with the defined coding conventions?
• Does the database code comply with the defined DB development standards?
• Has the code been tested on all supported browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox)?
• Does the code comply with the defined Security Guidelines?
• Have test cases been written for 100% code coverage for added/updated code?
• Has the code been reviewed by another member of the team (Peer Review)?
• Are there zero high-priority/severity bugs?
• Does it meet all acceptance criteria defined in the user story?
• Has the code been deployed to the QA/UAT environment via the CI/CD pipeline without manual steps?

Definition of Done for a Mobile App

• UI/UX design validated against Figma/InVision prototype.
• App passes accessibility testing (WCAG 2.1 compliance).
• Code adheres to mobile coding standards (iOS/Android best practices).
• App tested on all supported devices and OS versions.
• Integration with backend APIs tested thoroughly for error handling.
• Automated test coverage meets or exceeds 80%.
• Zero critical bugs and ≤ 2 medium-priority issues in final QA.
• Complies with Apple App Store and Google Play Store guidelines.
• Release notes prepared and metadata reviewed.
• CI/CD pipeline successfully pushed to internal test platforms (TestFlight/Firebase).

Definition of Done for an AI-Based Product

• Problem statement and hypothesis clearly defined.
• Dataset curated, preprocessed, and data sources documented.
• Model performance metrics (accuracy, precision, recall) meet thresholds.
• Bias and fairness analysis performed and documented.
• End-to-end pipeline tested (ingestion → training → prediction).
• Model deployed to staging with monitoring and rollback enabled.
• REST API documented and validated for external integrations.
• Data and model versioning maintained (e.g., via DVC/MLflow).

Definition of Done for an API-First SaaS Platform

• API design reviewed and approved using OpenAPI/Swagger.
• Authentication/authorization implemented (OAuth2, JWT).
• Endpoints tested for edge cases, error handling, and rate limiting.
• API test coverage >90% with automated contract tests.
• Backward compatibility verified for existing consumers.
• Security vulnerabilities scanned (OWASP ZAP, Snyk).
• Monitoring (New Relic, Prometheus) enabled.

Definition of Done for an E-Learning Platform

• Course content and quizzes uploaded and formatted correctly.
• Platform accessible via web and mobile with responsive UI.
• User roles (student, instructor, admin) validated.
• Payment and enrollment workflows tested end-to-end.
• Video streaming optimized for various network conditions.
• LMS analytics integrated (course progress, completion rates).
• Backup and recovery procedures verified.

Conclusion

Each Definition of Done is product-contextual. What “done” means for an AI product is different from infrastructure setup. A great DoD promotes transparency, reduces rework, and ensures readiness for release.

It should be owned and evolved by the Scrum team—reviewed frequently, especially when quality issues or delivery gaps are spotted.

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