Definition of Done on the Boards – how, and my thoughts on why

Last week Microsoft rolled on the latest Visual Studio Online sprint deployment, and among all the new features there is the possibility of adding a visualisation of the Definition of Done in the Kanban Board.

How? It’s very easy, you click on Customize columns in the board, and you add the DoD for each column you want to add it to:

Easy as chips. But where is the real value of this (very welcomed) feature? Why is it that good for me?

Step back from your role a minute, and think. What is the Definition of Done?

The DoD is usually a clear and concise list of requirements that a software Increment must adhere to for the team to call it complete.

That said, the Boards are meant for team’s consumption, hence reporting the DoD in a shared, neutral tool is an amazing way of pushing the concept of the Definition of Done itself. It is under everybody’s eyes and it doesn’t leave space for interpretation, so it enforces how to properly relate to it.