A project manager is working on an agile project.

In agile, “complete” has a formal meaning that protects quality, reduces rework, and ensures transparency: an item is done only when it meets the team’s Definition of Done (DoD). The DoD is an agreed, explicit checklist of quality and completeness criteria (e.g., coded, reviewed, tested, integrated, documented, and compliant) that ensures increments are potentially shippable and objectively verifiable. This is the most accurate answer for an organization new to agile because it establishes a consistent standard across teams and sprints and prevents “nearly finished” work from being counted as delivered. A sprint outcome being “ready for production” (A) depends on release policies and may not always be true; teams may create potentially shippable increments without releasing each sprint. The scrum master does not approve completion (B); they facilitate the process. Product owner demo approval (C) is important for acceptance, but acceptance alone is not sufficient if internal quality activities defined in the DoD are incomplete. The DoD provides the shared objective boundary for “done,” supporting governance, predictability, and value delivery.

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