Definition of Done: How to Agree What "Finished" Means on Your Team
"It's done." "Done as in shipped, or done as in I stopped working on it?" Every team has had this conversation. A definition of done (DoD) is a short, shared checklist of what must be true before a card moves to "Done". It sounds bureaucratic; in practice it's the cheapest way to stop tasks bouncing back.
- A definition of done is a team-wide checklist that applies to every task of a given type.
- It prevents reopened tasks, hidden work and "almost done" cards.
- Keep it short — 3 to 6 items — and specific to each type of work.
- Tie it to your board: a card can't leave "In review" until the checklist is met.
Definition of done vs acceptance criteria
| Definition of done | Acceptance criteria | |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to | Every task of a type | One specific task |
| Written by | The team, once | Whoever writes the task |
| Example | "Reviewed by a second person" | "Button works on iPhone Safari" |
Both are useful. The DoD covers quality standards; acceptance criteria cover what this particular task must achieve. See how to write a good task.
Example checklists
Software
- Code reviewed by another developer
- Tests pass
- Works on the agreed browsers/devices
- Deployed to staging
Design
- Matches the brief and brand guide
- Mobile and desktop versions
- Source files in the shared folder
- Reviewed by the art director
Marketing campaign asset
- Copy proofread
- Links and UTM tags checked
- Approved by the campaign owner
- Scheduled or published
Blog article
- Title, meta description and image ready
- Internal links added
- Edited by a second person
- Published and shared
How to introduce a DoD
- Collect recent rework. What did we reopen last month, and why?
- Turn causes into checklist items. Missing review → "Reviewed by a second person".
- Keep it short. Three to six items; more gets ignored.
- Put it where work happens — pinned in the team chat or included in the task template.
- Review monthly. Remove items nobody needs; add ones that would have prevented rework.
Using DoD on a kanban board
The natural checkpoint is the move from In review to Done. The reviewer checks the DoD; if something's missing, the card goes back with a comment. In Teamflows, only the task's assignee or an admin can change a card's status, and every move is recorded in the team activity log — so it's clear who accepted what.
Frequently asked questions
What is a definition of done in kanban?
A shared checklist of conditions a task must meet before it's considered complete. It's borrowed from Scrum but works in any workflow.
How many items should a definition of done have?
Three to six per type of work. Short enough that people actually check it.
Who decides the definition of done?
The team together, based on real problems. Imposed checklists tend to be ignored.
Should every task type have its own DoD?
If the work differs a lot — code vs design vs content — yes. A shared general DoD plus small type-specific additions works well.
We build Teamflows — a free kanban board with a timer inside every task — and use it every day at the Digital Plus studio to run dozens of client projects. Our guides come from that practice. Questions or corrections: mail@dp8.kz