{"id":6721,"date":"2016-11-06T12:07:33","date_gmt":"2016-11-06T18:07:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/actuationconsulting.com\/?p=6721"},"modified":"2016-11-06T12:07:33","modified_gmt":"2016-11-06T18:07:33","slug":"defines-product-teams-definition-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/actuationconsulting.com\/defines-product-teams-definition-done\/","title":{"rendered":"Definition of Done: Who Should Define Done?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who defines your product team\u2019s definition of \u201cdone\u201d that you apply\u00a0against every feature or story?<\/h1>\n

Having a clear definition of done is a basic element of a\u00a0successful product management process. Yet, only 29.4%\u00a0of respondents indicated that a collective decision by the\u00a0product team established this important definition. It is\u00a0disturbing that 7.4% of respondents say their product teams\u00a0have not defined \u201cdone\u201d and their companies have not\u00a0designated anyone to define it.<\/p>\n

\"Definition

Who is best at defining done? 2016 Copyright Actuation Consulting. All rights reserved.<\/p><\/div>\n

Definition of Done from a Statistical Point of View<\/h2>\n

We cross-correlated these results with teams that\u00a0meet or exceed organizational expectations. The first result\u00a0that stood out was a distinct negative correlation between\u00a0winging it and team productivity. That is, teams that don\u2019t\u00a0define \u201cdone\u201d don\u2019t perform well.<\/p>\n

Second, our data definitively shows that it matters who\u00a0creates the done definition. Organizations in which team\u00a0members themselves create a clear definition of done are\u00a0more likely to outperform their counterparts: product teams\u00a0that have their product owner draft their definition of done\u00a0perform most effectively closely followed by product teams\u00a0that develop their definition of done collectively.<\/p>\n

There was no effectiveness correlation to having a manager\u00a0outside the team (whether \u201cmanagement\u201d, the product\u00a0manager, or engineering management) dictate a team\u2019s\u00a0definition of done. We think the practice of establishing a\u00a0definition of done within the team makes team members\u00a0hold themselves accountable to their done definition and to\u00a0each other, with any benefit of management\u2019s standardizing\u00a0a definition outweighed by the demotivating effect of
\nmanagement handing it down as an edict.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

Clearly, defining done matters.\u00a0And when a member (the\u00a0product owner) or all members of the team (collectively) do\u00a0the defining, teams are likely to deliver at the highest levels\u00a0of performance.<\/p>\n

If you are interested in learning more our lastest research can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Advancing the Profession of Product Management\u2122<\/strong>
\nwebsite<\/a>\u00a0I\u00a0consulting<\/a>\u00a0I\u00a0training<\/a>\u00a0I\u00a0toolkits<\/a>\u00a0I\u00a0books<\/a>\u00a0I\u00a0blog<\/a>\u00a0I\u00a0twitter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who defines your product team\u2019s definition of \u201cdone\u201d that you apply\u00a0against every feature or story? Having a clear definition of done is a basic element of a\u00a0successful product management process. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[41,42,330,43,46,47,362,49,50,51,248,53,54],"tags":[56,337,75,381,93,105,154,161,182,194,210,346,344],"class_list":["post-6721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agile","category-business-analysis-2","category-innovation","category-lean","category-product-management","category-product-management-facts","category-product-manager","category-product-owner-2","category-product-teams","category-project-management","category-take-charge-product-management","category-the-study-of-product-team-performance","category-user-experience","tag-actuation-consulting","tag-agile","tag-business-analyst","tag-definition-of-done","tag-engineer","tag-greg-geracie","tag-product-development","tag-product-management-2","tag-product-manager","tag-product-owner","tag-project-manager","tag-take-charge-product-management","tag-the-study-of-product-team-performance"],"yoast_head":"\nDefinition of Done: Who Should Define Done? - Actuation Consulting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Who defines your product team's definition of done? 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