Project Management Definition Of Done

---
name: project-management-definition-of-done
description: Establish a Definition of Done at story, sprint and release level, with quality criteria for testing, performance, accessibility and security calibrated to team maturity. Use when the team disagrees about when work is finished or wants a shared done checklist before sprints start.
metadata:
  argument-hint: "[project] [--skip-checks]"
  workflow: project-management
  phase: 0
  artifact: 00-initiate.md
---

# Definition of Done

Establish the Definition of Done for "$ARGUMENTS". Define quality criteria at story, sprint, and release levels, calibrated to team maturity and project needs.

**Arguments.** `$ARGUMENTS` may contain the project name and optional flags. Take the first token as `<project>` and treat `--skip-checks` as a flag; never include flags in file paths. All paths below use `<project>`. If `--skip-checks` is present, skip the prerequisite check and, **before writing any artifact**, append one line to `.singularskills/log.jsonl`: `{"ts":"<ISO timestamp>","skill":"project-management-definition-of-done","workflow":"project-management","phase":0,"project":"<project>","event":"skipped","artifact":"00-initiate.md","note":"<reason or \"none given\">"}`.

## Prerequisites

**Part of a workflow.** This skill is phase 0 (Initiate) of the Scrum workflow (`project-management`); cross-domain workflows run it too. First check `.singularskills/log.jsonl` for an open run for this project: a `run-started` line with `"project":"<project>"` and no later `run-finished` line for the same `workflow` and `project`. If one exists, the conductor is running you: continue here. Otherwise, if the user asked to start, run, continue or resume a process or workflow rather than this one step, do not continue here: invoke the `workflow` skill with the workflow the user asked for, or `project-management` when they named none, followed by `<project>`; it runs this phase in order, asks before it writes and records the run. Otherwise, unless the user named this skill, ask one question, since this is the first phase of its workflow: "Just this step, or the whole Scrum workflow?" End your turn and wait; on the whole workflow, hand off the same way; on just this step, continue here.

**Recall.** Before you ask the user anything, look for what this repository already holds about `<project>`: if a tool is available whose description says it searches or maps this repository (a memory or repo-map server such as `repo_map` or `entities`), query it for `<project>` and this phase's subject and read what it returns, keeping only results from this repository; in every case also list `.singularskills/*/<project>/` and read the **Decisions** and **Open questions** of any artifact there, and the lines of `.singularskills/log.jsonl` whose `project` is `<project>`. After your section's italic line, add a `### Recalled` subsection of at most ten lines naming what you found and where (path or tool), or the single line `Nothing recalled: no earlier artifacts, log lines or memory results for <project>.` Ask the user only what this did not answer. The trail's shape is described in `references/memory/trail.md`, bundled with this skill.

Before you start work, append this line to `.singularskills/log.jsonl` (create the folder and file if missing): `{"ts":"<ISO timestamp>","skill":"project-management-definition-of-done","workflow":"project-management","phase":0,"project":"<project>","event":"started","artifact":"00-initiate.md","note":""}`.

None — this is a Phase 0 (Initiate) skill and can run first.

## Process

1. **Read existing context:**
   - Read `.singularskills/project-management/<project>/00-initiate.md` if it exists (for project charter, team setup, and working agreements context)

2. **Define story-level DoD:**
   - **Code quality:**
     - Code written and follows agreed coding standards
     - Peer reviewed and approved (per code review SLA)
     - No linting errors or warnings
     - Technical debt documented if introduced intentionally
   - **Testing:**
     - Unit tests written and passing
     - Integration tests written where applicable
     - Test coverage meets or exceeds team threshold (define target, e.g., 80%)
     - Edge cases and error paths tested
   - **Documentation:**
     - Code comments for complex logic
     - API documentation updated (if public-facing)
     - User-facing documentation updated (if applicable)
   - **Acceptance:**
     - Acceptance criteria met and verified
     - Product Owner has reviewed and accepted
     - Demo-ready for sprint review
   - **Deployment:**
     - Merged to main branch
     - CI pipeline passes (build, test, lint)
     - No regressions introduced

3. **Define sprint-level DoD:**
   - All committed stories meet story-level DoD
   - Sprint increment is potentially shippable
   - Demo prepared and presented in sprint review
   - No critical or high-severity bugs remaining
   - Sprint metrics updated (velocity, burndown)
   - Retrospective held and action items captured
   - Product backlog refined for next sprint (at least top items)

4. **Define release-level DoD:**
   - All sprint-level criteria met for included sprints
   - Deployed to staging and smoke-tested
   - Deployed to production successfully
   - Monitoring and alerting in place for new functionality
   - Performance benchmarks met (load time, throughput, error rate)
   - Release notes published
   - Stakeholders notified per communication plan
   - Rollback plan documented and tested
   - Support team briefed on changes

5. **Calibrate to team maturity:**
   - **New teams:** start with essential criteria, add more as team matures
   - **Experienced teams:** include advanced criteria (performance, accessibility, security)
   - Mark criteria as "required" vs. "aspirational" to set realistic expectations
   - Plan quarterly reviews to evolve the DoD as the team grows

6. **Include quality criteria where applicable:**
   - **Performance:** page load time, API response time, resource usage
   - **Accessibility:** WCAG compliance level (A, AA, AAA), screen reader testing
   - **Security:** OWASP top 10 check, dependency vulnerability scan, secrets scan
   - **Browser/device support:** define supported matrix
   - Tag criteria as applicable per project type (web, mobile, API, data pipeline)

7. **Write the artifact** — append to `.singularskills/project-management/<project>/00-initiate.md` under a `## Definition of Done` section. Create the file with a `# Initiate — <project>` heading if it does not exist; if a `## Definition of Done` section already exists, replace only that section. The section contains:
   - **Story-Level DoD** — checklist of criteria (code, testing, docs, acceptance, deployment)
   - **Sprint-Level DoD** — checklist of criteria (stories done, demo, bugs, metrics, retro)
   - **Release-Level DoD** — checklist of criteria (deploy, monitoring, release notes, rollback)
   - **Quality Criteria** — performance, accessibility, security thresholds
   - **Maturity Notes** — current calibration level and evolution plan

## Output

Definition of Done appended to `.singularskills/project-management/<project>/00-initiate.md`. Present a summary highlighting:
- DoD checklist at each level (story, sprint, release)
- Key quality criteria and thresholds
- Maturity calibration and planned evolution

**Record the run.** After you have written your section, append this line to `.singularskills/log.jsonl` (the `started` line of Prerequisites, with `"event":"finished"`): `{"ts":"<ISO timestamp>","skill":"project-management-definition-of-done","workflow":"project-management","phase":0,"project":"<project>","event":"finished","artifact":"00-initiate.md","note":""}`.

This artifact is shared by every skill of phase 0 (Initiate). The frontmatter is written once, by whoever creates the file: if you create it, open it with the block below (`skill` is the phase title, `started` the time of that first write; `gate` is `none`, as this phase has no gate); if it already exists, leave the block alone except to update `finished`.

```yaml
---
skill: Initiate
workflow: project-management
phase: 0
project: <project>
started: <ISO timestamp>
finished: <ISO timestamp>
agent: <the agent you run in, or "unknown">
gate: none
---
```

Open your `## Definition of Done` section with one italic line, `*<skill name> · <ISO timestamp> · gate: none*` (your skill name is `project-management-definition-of-done`).

End your section with `### Decisions` and `### Open questions` (one level under your `## Definition of Done` heading, so the section stays one block), in this shape:

```markdown
### Decisions
- <what was chosen> — <why> — <what was rejected>

### Open questions
- <what the next phase or a reviewer must settle>
```