Jira Definition of Done Lists

What is Definition of Done in Jira ?

In agile methodologies like Scrum or Kanban, the Definition of Done (DoD) is a crucial element that outlines the clear, unambiguous criteria that a user story or task must meet before it can be considered "done." This helps ensure that all stakeholders have a shared understanding of what it means to complete a task, preventing confusion or premature task closure. You can create, implement, and track the Definition of Done on your Jira work items to ensure that your team consistently delivers high-quality work.

Why the Jira Definition of Done Matters

Without a well-defined Definition of Done on your Jira stories and tasks, teams may interpret "done" differently, leading to inconsistency in the quality of work. Having a clear DoD helps teams:

1. Enhance Quality Control: Ensures that deliverables meet the necessary quality standards.
2. Prevent Miscommunication: Aligns team members, stakeholders, and product owners on the same expectations.
3. Boost Efficiency: Reduces rework by confirming that tasks meet all requirements before completion.
4. Improve Transparency: Clearly communicates task completion standards to everyone involved.

So, how can you build Definition of Done lists in Jira?

How to Create a Definition of Done in Jira

Establish Consensus

Before implementing a Definition of Done in Jira, the team needs to come to an agreement on what criteria should be included. For example, in software development, your DoD could cover code review, unit testing, integration testing, and documentation updates.

Here are a few questions to ask when creating your DoD:

• Has the code been reviewed and approved?
• Has the feature passed all required tests?
• Is the documentation up-to-date?
• Has the task been deployed to a staging environment for final verification?

Adding a Global Definition of Done to Jira Work Items

Large organizations that want to enforce a global standard across multiple dev projects can use Checklists for Jira Enterprise to create a global Definition of Done. Global Checklists:

• Can only be created/modified by Jira Administrators, allowing for centralized control.
• Are live - with any changes the admin makes being instantly applied to any open work items that have the list.
• Are automatically added to the appropriate work items via a context.

This makes Global checklists a great tool for locking down compliance or standardizing process across multiple teams.

Adding a Project Level Definition of Done to Jira Work Items

If you want to allow teams to create their own Definition of Done, you can create a space-level Checklist Template that can be applied by default, or via Jira automation.  Checklist items on templates can be modified once the template has been applied to the work item, allowing for more flexibility and ad-hoc changes.

Enforcing Your Definition of Done

A checklist is only effective if everyone understands that they have to use it. Fortunately, you can build a validator into your Jira workflow.

How to Validate a Global Definition of Done

To set the workflow validator:

1. Navigate to Space settings > Workflows
2. Select the appropriate workflow and click Edit workflow
3. Select the transition where you want to add the rule and click on the Rules + sign.
4. Select Checklists for Jira under Marketplace Rules. Then click Specific Global Checklist completed.
5. Click Select.
6. Select the Global Checklist you want to validate for and click Add.
7. Click Update workflow to save the changes.
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How to Validate a Space Definition of Done

1. Navigate to Space settings > Workflows and click on Edit workflow.
2. Select the transition where you want to add the rule and click on the Rules + sign.
3. Click on Checklists for Jira under Marketplace Rules and select All checklists items are completed.
4. Click Select.
5. Click Add.
6. Click Update workflow to save the changes.
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Creating and managing Jira DoD lists help agile teams maintain a shared understanding of task completion criteria, enhancing quality control, and reducing ambiguity. Checklist for Jira is the tool for easily creating and enforcing your Definition of Done.

Want more agile checklists? See our articles on Acceptance Criteria and Definition of Ready.

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