The Ultimate Guide to Definition of Done and Ready in Agile and Scrum

The Agile Duo You Can’t Afford to Misunderstand

In Agile, everyone’s sprinting , until someone trips on a vague user story or stumbles over a feature that “looked done” but wasn’t even half-baked. Clarity is everything. And when it comes to getting work started and finished right, two tools matter more than most: Definition of Ready (DoR) and Definition of Done (DoD).

Used well, they keep your backlog clean, your sprints productive, and your team focused on the right work at the right time. Used poorly — or not at all — and chaos creeps in.

Let’s unpack what they really mean, why they matter, and how to use them like a pro.

🧭 Why DoR and DoD Are Your Agile GPS

Think of your Agile workflow like a road trip. You wouldn’t start without gas in the tank or a map. Likewise, you wouldn’t celebrate your arrival if the wheels fell off halfway there. That’s exactly what DoR and DoD help prevent.

• Definition of Ready makes sure you know where you’re going and that your car actually runs.
• Definition of Done ensures you actually arrived — and that the engine didn’t catch fire along the way.

Both are about clarity, alignment, and reducing ambiguity. They’re the unsung heroes of effective sprint planning, backlog grooming, and delivery.

🏁 What “Done” Really Means: Breaking Down Definition of Done

Let’s start with DoD. It’s the quality gate, the final checklist, the standard that says, “Yes, this story is really done.”

🧾 Formal Definition:

Definition of Done is a shared checklist of criteria that a backlog item must meet to be considered complete and potentially shippable.

This isn’t just about dev work being “finished.” It’s about completeness — code, tests, documentation, reviews, everything. Done-done.

🔍 Why It Matters:

In Scrum, DoD provides transparency and consistency. It ensures that what’s delivered meets a certain bar of quality and that the team shares the same understanding of “done.”

✅ Typical DoD Checklist:

• Code is written, reviewed, and merged.
• Tests (unit, integration) are passed.
• Acceptance criteria are met.
• Deployed to staging.
• No major bugs open.
• Documentation updated.
• Product Owner reviewed and approved.

🧪 Real-World Examples:

• Fintech Team: DoD includes compliance review, encryption testing, and a risk checklist.
• Startup Team: DoD is lean — code reviewed, tests passing, demo approved by PO.

⚠️ When DoD is Missing or Vague:

• Features ship half-tested or broken.
• QA ends up as a cleanup crew.
• Stakeholders lose trust.
• Teams keep “reworking” stories post-sprint.

If you’ve ever heard “it’s done… kinda,” you need a clearer DoD.

🏁 Before You Start: The Power of Definition of Ready

Now let’s talk DoR — the prep checklist before your team pulls a story into a sprint. It’s about starting smart, not just starting fast.

🧾 Formal Definition:

Definition of Ready is a checklist that confirms a backlog item is clear, sized, and feasible for the team to commit to in an upcoming sprint.

🔍 Why It Matters:

Too often, teams commit to work they don’t fully understand. That’s a recipe for mid-sprint surprises, blockers, and scope thrash.

DoR ensures the work is actionable and understood before it hits your sprint board.

✅ Typical DoR Checklist:

• User story is written clearly.
• Acceptance criteria defined.
• Dependencies resolved.
• Story is small and estimable.
• Designs/mockups available (if needed).
• No open questions or blockers.

🧪 Real-World Examples:

• E-commerce Team: Requires mockups, tech feasibility, and final scope confirmation before pulling a feature.
• HealthTech Team: Doesn’t touch a story unless it’s been reviewed for compliance and test strategy is clear.

⚠️ Skipping DoR Can Lead To:

• Incomplete sprint goals.
• Devs blocked waiting on design/legal/stakeholders.
• Half-baked stories stretched across sprints.
• Burnout from context switching.

🔍 DoR vs. DoD: What’s the Difference, Really?

They sound similar, but serve very different purposes. Here’s a clear comparison:

Think of DoR as the green light to go, and DoD as the checkered flag at the finish line.

🤝 How DoR and DoD Work Together Like Peanut Butter & Jelly

Here’s the deal: DoR and DoD aren’t competitors — they’re collaborators.

🧁 Analogy Time: Baking a Cake

• Definition of Ready: You’ve got the recipe, ingredients, and an oven that works.
• Definition of Done: The cake is baked, cooled, frosted, and plated.

You wouldn’t bake a cake without knowing what you need. And you wouldn’t call it finished before it’s edible.

🧠 Team Example:

A logistics software team applies both:

• Stories must meet DoR before entering a sprint.
• Features must meet DoD before the PO reviews them.

Result? More predictable sprints, cleaner code, fewer post-release bugs.

🛠️ Making It Work: Best Practices for DoD and DoR

Want to get serious about quality and flow? Start here:

👥 Build Definitions Together

Co-create your DoR and DoD during a workshop. Make it a team agreement — not a top-down rule.

🔄 Revisit Regularly

Revisit both definitions in retrospectives. What worked? What didn’t? Update accordingly.

💡 Include the Right People

• Product Owner: Defines business value.
• Developers: Know what’s realistic.
• QA/Testers: Define quality expectations.
• Scrum Master: Facilitates alignment.

🚫 Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Too vague: “Works as expected” is meaningless.
• Too rigid: Don’t make checklists impossible to meet.
• Too exclusive: Everyone affected should have a say.

📣 Ready to Get It Done? Time to Put This Into Action

Getting clear on Definition of Ready and Definition of Done is one of the simplest, highest-impact steps an Agile team can take. No more fuzzy stories. No more “kinda done” features. Just shared understanding, smoother sprints, and more confidence in what you ship.

Next Step:
 In your next retrospective or backlog refinement, ask:

• Do we all agree on what “ready” looks like?
• Are we aligned on what “done” really means?
• Should we tweak our definitions based on recent sprints?

Want a plug-and-play checklist to take into your next meeting? Already got you covered 👇

✅ Definition of Ready (DoR) Checklist

• Story is clearly written and understandable
• Business value is defined
• Acceptance criteria are written and agreed
• Dependencies are resolved
• Designs/mockups attached (if needed)
• Story is small and estimable
• Team has no blocking questions

✅ Definition of Done (DoD) Checklist

• Code written and peer-reviewed
• Tests written and passed
• Acceptance criteria met
• Deployed to staging
• No critical bugs open
• Documentation updated
• Product Owner approved

🔥If you liked this article, check out the next one where we go over the real differences between incremental and iterative development in Agile – clear examples, when to use each, and how to avoid costly confusion.

Written by

Simina F.

| howtobecomeapm.com – Author