Definition of Done Lists in Jira

Definition of Done in Agile

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 issues to ensure that your team consistently delivers high-quality work.

Why the Definition of Done Matters in Jira

Without a well-defined Definition of Done in Jira, 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.

Now, let’s dive into how you can create and manage a Definition of Done in Jira effectively.

Steps to Create a Definition of Done in Jira

1. Establish a Team-Wide 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?

2. Create a Definition of Done Checklist in Jira

Jira itself doesn’t have a built-in Definition of Done feature, but it provides excellent flexibility to incorporate a Definition of Done onto issues using Checklist for Jira.

If you want to enforce the same Definition of Done across multiple projects, consider creating a Global Checklist that can be applied via a context to all of you development projects.

3. Integrating DoD into Workflows

To fully integrate the Definition of Done in Jira, you can configure it into your team’s workflow. Checklist for Jira includes a built in validator that will block a transition unless all items on your Definition of Done checklist are complete.
‍

‍

To set the workflow validator:

1. Navigate to Project Settings > Workflows
2. Click the pencil icon to edit the workflow.
3. Select Diagram mode and click on the transition where you want to add the validator.
4. Click on Validators.
5. Click Add validator.
6. Select the All checklist items are completed validator and click Add.
7. Click Add again to confirm creation of the validator.Click Publish draft to save the changes.

Conclusion

Creating and managing a Definition of Done in Jira helps agile teams maintain a shared understanding of task completion criteria, enhances quality control, and reduces ambiguity. Checklist for Jira allows you to easily create and enforce you DoD criteria.

‍