The Increment
The potentially releasable product at the end of each Sprint.
1What Is the Increment?
The Increment is the sum of all Product Backlog items completed during the Sprint, plus the value of all previous Sprints.
Key characteristics:
- Additive: Each Sprint adds to previous Increments
- Usable: Must be in a state where it could be released
- Meets Definition of Done: Quality is never negotiable
- Inspectable: Stakeholders can evaluate it at the Sprint Review
Multiple Increments per Sprint: The 2020 Scrum Guide clarifies that multiple Increments can be delivered within a Sprint. You don't have to wait until Sprint end to release.
"Potentially Releasable"
The Increment must be in a state where it COULD be released. Whether it IS released is a business decision by the Product Owner.
2The Definition of Done: The Increment's Commitment
The Definition of Done (DoD) is a formal description of what "done" means. It ensures everyone shares the same understanding of quality.
What's typically in a DoD:
- Code reviewed and approved
- All tests passing (unit, integration, etc.)
- Documentation updated
- Performance criteria met
- Deployed to a staging environment
- Acceptance criteria verified
The DoD provides:
- Transparency: Everyone knows what "done" means
- Quality: Standards are explicit, not assumed
- Predictability: Work is truly complete, not "done but..."
3Evolving the Definition of Done
The DoD evolves as the team matures and the organization improves.
Starting out: A new team might have a minimal DoD—code compiles, basic tests pass.
Maturing: Add automated testing, code review, CI/CD deployment.
Mature: Include performance testing, security review, documentation, production deployment.
Who owns the DoD? If the organization has a standard, that's the minimum. The Scrum Team can add stricter criteria but cannot reduce the organizational standard.
When to update: The Retrospective is a natural place to discuss DoD improvements.
Technical Debt Warning
If items are marked "done" but leave behind undone work (test coverage, refactoring, documentation), you're accumulating hidden technical debt. The DoD should prevent this.
- The Increment is potentially releasable product at any point
- Definition of Done defines quality standards for all work
- DoD should evolve as the team matures
- Never compromise the DoD under deadline pressure
- •"Done" that isn't really done (hidden work remaining)
- •DoD that's too weak to ensure quality
- •DoD that's so strict nothing gets done
- •Different understandings of done within the team