Consider the Definition of Done when forecasting your releases

In this episode, Eric Landes addresses 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!  So, I wanted to walk through what the Scrum Guide says, and impart some practical advice about planning with the DoD. 

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

The Product Owner uses the team's throughput, or whatever complimentary metric they prefer in their forecasting.  Then during Sprint reviews, the Product Owner shows stakeholders forecasts of when features and functionality can be delivered to customers.  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.   Product Owners want actual feedback from customers using the software in the wild, to help guide their goals.  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.  The Developers might suggest collaborating with the compliance group on automated solutions.  This might add some items to the Backlog to get that automation included in the team’s delivery automation.  Now that this is in the Definition of Done the Scrum Team is in control of getting the Increment in front of the customer.   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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