The Definition of Done
Weaving Quality & Caring In Every Thread
In every endeavor—from launching marketing campaigns to software development to educational projects—quality is a journey, not just a goal. It's about infusing every step with excellence, transcending the mere completion of tasks to create with purpose and integrity. Echoing W. Edwards Deming, "Quality is everyone's responsibility," this philosophy underscores the collective commitment to excellence across all actions and decisions. This approach to embedding quality from the start, championed by Harold F. Dodge's principle that "Quality cannot be inspected into a product or service; it must be built into it," paves the way for the Definition of Done (DoD) in Scrum. The DoD, as outlined in the Scrum Guide, “is a formal description of the state of the Increment when it meets the quality measures required for the product, ensuring a product increment not only meets but exceeds the required quality standards.” This ensures transparency and alignment within teams, affirming that each component, from code to content, embodies excellence. Let's explore the DoD further, illustrating its impact across various contexts, from the domestic to the professional.
Laundry Day Revisited: A Lesson in Quality
Consider the familiar routine of laundry day. It's more than just a cycle in the machine; it's a series of deliberate steps ensuring your wardrobe is clean and ready to make the right impression. Imagine the dryer chime alerts us the drying cycle is completed. Are we ‘done’ doing the laundry at this point? Of course not. What else do we need to do for each load of laundry for us to call it done? Well, a Definition of Done might help us.
Check if Dry: Ensuring clothes are completely dry to avoid any unwelcome dampness.
Folded or Hung: Organizing clothes to prevent creases and crumples.
Socks Reunited: Finding each sock's partner to end the solo sock saga.
Lint Removed: Keeping the dryer efficient and safe with a simple clean.
Laundy Basket Put Back: Ready for the next round of laundry with an empty basket placed back in its original location.
The Consequences of Skipping Steps
It may sound silly, but missing laundry steps masks real consequences analogous to project development pitfalls:
Skipping Dryness Check: This leads to musty clothes, similar to launching a product feature without thorough testing, resulting in user dissatisfaction.
Overlooking Folding: Causes additional work and leads to embarrassment, just like leaving wrinkles in clothes, analogous to revisiting poorly executed tasks in a project.
Ignoring Sock Reunion: Missing details and poor integration, akin to overlooked project inconsistencies, affect overall quality and rework.
Forgetting Lint Removal: Neglecting lint removal can lead to higher utility costs and, in extreme cases, a fire hazard. Similarly, in software development, ignoring technical debt increases project costs and risks major setbacks, emphasizing the critical nature of regular maintenance and risk management.
Laundry Basket Not Put Back: Disorganization leads to delays, as seen in projects where previous tasks were not properly concluded.
While these steps may seem straightforward, skipping them can lead to increased costs, more time spent correcting errors, diminished quality of life, and in professional settings, the potential loss of customers. The dedication to seeing tasks through to their genuine conclusion, with meticulous care and attention, defines "done." This approach not only ensures the highest standards of quality but also guards against the inefficiencies and pitfalls of cutting corners.
Specific Examples Across Fields
Shifting gears from the domestic laundry room to the arenas of work and education, the essence of the Definition of Done (DoD) can be applied far and wide. It’s a simple truth that, whether we’re influencing millions of people with marketing brilliance, coding the next big software breakthrough, or shaping young minds through classroom projects, the magic lies in caring about the details. Here are some examples illustrating how the DoD manifests in different settings:
Marketing: The DoD includes visual cohesion, SEO optimization, stakeholder approval, platform readiness, analytics setup, and strategic release timing. Skipping steps can lead to off-brand messaging, missed engagement opportunities, and ultimately, campaign underperformance.
Software Development: The DoD encompasses clean, maintainable code, peer review, rigorous testing, user acceptance, updated documentation, and deployment readiness. Neglecting any of these crucial steps can lead to the emergence of bugs, necessitate late nights and weekend work to address problems, cause delays in releases, and ultimately, disappoint users.
K-12 Classroom Projects: For a class project, the DoD might include assignments submitted in the project folder, completed citations, proofreading for correct grammar, and supplies returned to the appropriate bin. Skipping these steps can result in incomplete understanding, lower grades, and a disorganized learning environment.
Online Live Courses: Here is my DoD for my online classes on Zoom, such as for my Certified ScrumMaster and Certified Scrum Product Owner courses. Thank you email to students sent, Parking Lot questions answered, Miro Board set to view-only, students receive certification information, set course to “hidden” in Podia. The learning journey is still ongoing just because we are done with the class.
Conclusion: Quality is Caring
In embracing the Definition of Done, our work transcends the simple act of checking off tasks or hurrying projects to their conclusion. We advocate for a culture of craftsmanship that elevates our efforts from merely complete to genuinely exceptional. Whether it's in the detailed rollout of a marketing campaign, the development of software solutions, or guiding students through educational project, the DoD is our commitment to quality.
However, the true spirit of the Definition of Done extends far beyond the adherence to Scrum; it embodies a profound act of caring. It underscores our dedicationt to the quality of our work so that we can create an environment that is both supportive and safe for our team members and delivering unparalleled value to our customers. It reinforces the idea that the well-being of our employees and the satisfaction of our customers are paramount, transcending traditional project management practices.
By adopting and using the Definition of Done, we declare that our main priority is to cultivate a setting where excellence, safety, and support are foundational elements, not merely optional extras. This commitment ensures that each team member feels valued and every customer feels they can trust the product, establishing a standard where caring is the core of all our endeavors.