When getting to grips with the Scrum framework for the first time, it may take awhile before the notion of “Done”, the Definition of Done, what they are for and how they can be used sinks in. One of the Scrum events where we use the Definition of Done is Sprint Planning.

Product Backlog items that can be “Done” by the Development Team within one Sprint are deemed “Ready” for selection in a Sprint Planning.

In Scrum, the development team uses their shared understanding of ‘done’ (DoD) as a filter for whether items can be realistically delivered in the sprint time box. This is part of the continuous activity of Refinement done on the items in the Product Backlog.

At the time of sprint planning, Product Backlog items are discussed to see if they can be selected for this Sprint. Items that are found to be either too large or not clear enough to be completely ‘done’ in the sprint timebox are not to be planned in the sprint but rather Refined more.

This Refinement can be done at that moment so a refined version may be realistically ‘done’ in the sprint. Or the refinement can be done at a later time to learn more and potentially have refined items ready for the next sprint planning.

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