What counts as a finished project: a definition of done

Why projects don't end

Not for want of effort. Because no finish line was set.

Until "finished" is defined, there's always something to improve: another section, a rewrite on a different library, a tidier layout. The project becomes a permanent building site, and then it gets boring.

What a definition of done looks like

One sentence, checkable from outside. Good:

Done when you can open the link, upload a photo of a receipt, and see the amount in this month's expense list.

Bad:

Done when it works properly and feels good.

The difference is checkability. The first can be tested and answered yes or no. The second can be discussed forever.

How to write one

Describe one scenario end to end. Not a list of features but a user's path:

• arrived;
• did the main thing;
• saw the result.

If that path works behind a link, the project is finished. Everything else is improvement.

What to do with the other ideas

Write them down separately and leave them alone. Keep a "later" list and put everything that occurs to you along the way into it.

This matters psychologically: an idea feels precious, and while it's unwritten you're pulled to build it now. Written down, it lets go.

How it changes teamwork

A definition of done is also protection against scope creep. When someone proposes "let's also add this", there's something to answer with: compare it to the sentence agreed at the start. Doesn't fit — into the "later" list.

Without that sentence, the argument becomes a contest of persuasion. With it, it's a simple comparison.

When to revise it

Sometimes the finish line turns out to be wrong: too far away, or too close. Revising is fine.

What isn't fine is moving it every week. If the sentence changes a third time, the problem isn't the wording — the team hasn't decided what it's building.

One more thing

Write the definition of done publicly, where every participant and anyone looking at the project can see it. A project with an honestly declared finish line looks entirely different from one without: it's immediately clear the people know where they're going.