Definition of Done - The Egg Drop
Introduction
This workshop is to provide a practical exercise where the teams can understand the importance of a definition of done, how it evolves over time and how it is different from Acceptance Criteria.
Learning Objectives
- What an appropriate Definition of Done is
- How this is different from Acceptance Criteria
Timings
- Intro - 15 mins
- 3 x 10 min iterations (2 min planning + 6 min doing work + 2 min retrospective)
- Final release 10 mins
- Closure and debrief - 5 mins
Materials
- Fresh eggs
- Sandwich bags or similar to wrap the eggs up so that they do not create a mess if they break
- Assorted bits of random kit to build with e.g. balloons, cocktail sticks, straws, a length of masking tape, playing cards
- Measuring tape
- Index cards
- Post-it notes
- A4 paper for designing / planning activities
- Sharpies or markers to write with
- User story with the work objective
- Egg substitute e.g. small bouncy ball
Workshop Flow
Connections
Connections part of the activity are intended to enable the attendees to connect with the subject and with each other, and should have more context than “ice breakers” that would otherwise not have any relevance to the subject or context of the workshop.
| Activities | Description |
|---|---|
| Equipment | Ask the teams to arrange themselves into table groups with the equipment provided (but not the eggs - keep these back until the final test.) |
| User story | Allow the team about 5 mins to familiarise themselves with the user story objective and ask any questions |
| First Definition of Done | Ask the teams to write their first definition of done on an index card |
Concepts & Concrete Practice
For a majority of the activities, they will include introducing new concepts and ideas to attendees, and also provide interactive opportunities to practice them and apply the new found knowledge.
| Activities | Description |
|---|---|
| Iteration Planning #1 (2 mins) | Ask the teams to plan for their first iteration and set an outcome or goal for the iteration on the same index card as the first definition of done |
| Iteration #1 (6 mins) | Allow the teams to work on their first iteration with the equipment and egg substitute |
| Iteration #1 Retrospective (2 mins) | Ask the team to perform a quick retro on what was working for them, what isn't and how they could change the Definition of Done for the next sprint |
| Repeat the above for 3 iterations |
Conclusions
Conclusion activities enable the attendees to take stock of what they have learnt and how these new ideas can be applied in practice to real world projects.
| Activities | Description |
|---|---|
| Final Release | Provide the eggs (wrapped inside the sandwich bags) to the teams and conduct a final test / showcase with all of the teams to see who's design works and which ones fail |
| Debrief | Back in the teams' table groups ask them to provide a quick debrief on what they observed with the approach of using the definition of done in the iterations and how they could apply these learnings to their real work |