How To Know You’re Done

One of the most common problems I see in teams is an unclear definition of “done.”Done means it’s on its way to the customer.Its out the door, out of your hands, and ready to be tampered with.Done does not mean you did all the work and all you have left is to test it.Done does not mean you made a good effort and you’re waiting on something else to happen.Done does not mean you wrote the email and all you have to do is send it.Done is shipped.Done is tested.Done is ready for the store shelf.When we define done in this way, we make give excuses, impediments, and dependencies a run for their money.

2 Minute Action:

Whats something that you finished but isn’t “done” yet?What happened? What would it take to check the box and take it off your worry-list?Right now, describe the difference between what one task would look like as “done.”Some teams even go as far as to define “finished” differently from “done” so as to highlight this difference on a scrum board.What’s a difference between down and finished?Your output will increase, just by defining this.