The Definition of Done and acceptance criteria both help Agile teams determine whether work is complete, but they operate at different levels.
The Definition of Done establishes a shared quality standard for the product Increment. Acceptance criteria normally describe specific conditions associated with an individual backlog item, requirement or user story.
What is the Definition of Done?
The Scrum Guide defines the Definition of Done as a formal description of the state of the Increment when it meets the quality measures required for the product.
When a Product Backlog item satisfies the Definition of Done, an Increment is created.
What are acceptance criteria?
Acceptance criteria are item-specific conditions used to clarify what a particular capability or backlog item must accomplish.
For example, a login capability may have acceptance criteria covering valid credentials, invalid credentials, account lockout behavior and audit logging.
The key difference
Acceptance criteria answer: what must this specific item do?
The Definition of Done answers a broader question: what quality conditions must completed work satisfy before it becomes part of a usable Increment?
A story may satisfy its functional acceptance criteria but still fail the Definition of Done if testing, documentation, integration or other quality checks remain incomplete.
Why completion rules matter to program controls
Ambiguous completion criteria create unreliable status information.
A schedule activity marked complete should represent actual accomplishment of its planned scope. Earned value should likewise reflect objective technical progress rather than unsupported estimates of completion.
Definition of Done and the IMS
Program schedules often contain capability, integration and test activities above the user-story level. The scheduler should understand the technical evidence necessary before these activities are legitimately statused complete.
Clear completion standards help prevent optimistic status that hides unfinished integration, verification or documentation work.
Return to What Is Agile Project Management? to review the beginning of the Agile fundamentals cluster.