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Published: Feb. 1, 2023, 5:17 p.m.

In this episode,\xa0Eric Landes\xa0addresses a question about how the Definition of Done impacts Release Planning.

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Does the Definition of Done help the PO in Release planning?

In a recent class, the idea of how the Definition of Done (DoD) affects a release plan and the Product Owner came up!\xa0 So, I wanted to walk through what the Scrum Guide says, and impart some practical advice about planning with the DoD.\xa0

The scrum guide states that "The moment a Product Backlog item meets the Definition of Done, an Increment is born".\xa0 Couple this with the Increment guidance, "an increment must be usable", this helps the Product Owner in forecasting when the increment gets in customers\u2019 hands.\xa0

The Product Owner uses the team's throughput, or whatever complimentary metric they prefer in their forecasting.\xa0 Then during Sprint reviews, the Product Owner shows stakeholders forecasts of when features and functionality can be delivered to customers.\xa0 The Product Owner adjusts forecasts as more learning occurs through each Sprint.

The Definition of Done impacts the Product Owner's forecasts when it does not include quality steps to get the increment to that usable state.\xa0\xa0 Product Owners want actual feedback from customers using the software in the wild, to help guide their goals.\xa0 The transparency of the Definition of Done can be used by the Product Owner to help move toward a usable Increment.

For instance, if the team needs a compliance review before something can go to production, the Product Owner should ask how the team can include this in the DoD.\xa0 The Developers might suggest collaborating with the compliance group on automated solutions.\xa0 This might add some items to the Backlog to get that automation included in the team\u2019s delivery automation.\xa0 Now that this is in the Definition of Done the Scrum Team is in control of getting the Increment in front of the customer.\xa0\xa0 This is one example of how the Product Owner can use the transparency of the Definition of Done to improve the value they deliver.

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