Task management · Practical guide
Definition of Done vs. Acceptance Criteria
By My First Task editorial team
Updated
The short answer
How to approach the work
A task can meet its feature-specific acceptance criteria but still lack the testing or documentation required by the team's definition of done. Write standards that can be checked. Avoid vague criteria such as 'looks good' or 'works correctly.' Where the product is software, examples may include review, relevant tests and deployment readiness; another team may need approval, reconciliation or a completed handoff instead.
A practical sequence
- Write the common checks required for every completed item.
- Add task-specific acceptance criteria before work starts.
- Include examples for ambiguous behavior or edge cases.
- Identify who confirms the criteria and how evidence is recorded.
- Mark work complete only after the agreed checks pass.
- Review the standard when recurring defects reveal a missing check.
Illustrative scenario · not customer research
Worked example
For a password-reset task, acceptance criteria might require a valid token to open the reset form, an expired token to show a clear error and a successful reset to invalidate the token. The team's definition of done also requires code review and relevant automated tests. Moving the task to Done before those common checks pass inflates completion reporting and leaves the team with hidden unfinished work.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using one vague acceptance sentence for every task.
- Declaring a task done when development ends but review remains.
- Adding new completion criteria after delivery without discussing the scope change.
Try the method with your own inputs
Questions answered
Who owns the definition of done?
Should every task have acceptance criteria?
Does a completion rate measure quality?
Apply it in a shared workspace
Keep the agreed owner, completion criteria and important decisions with the work. Explore the relevant My First Task feature.
Research context is available in our source library. The worked example above is an editorial illustration.
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