Overview

• What you’ll learn: What the Definition of Workflow (DoW) is, how to create one with your team, the relationship between DoW and Definition of Done, and how to evolve your workflow over time.
• Prerequisites: Lessons 33–36, plus Lesson 31 (Definition of Done).
• Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

Introduction

The Definition of Workflow (DoW) is a concept introduced by the Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams. It is the team’s explicit agreement about how work flows through their system. Without it, your Kanban board is just colors and columns — pretty to look at, impossible to optimize.

What the Definition of Workflow Contains

A DoW should define, at minimum:

1. The states that work items pass through — from the point of being pulled into the Sprint Backlog to being Done.
2. WIP limits for each state — how many items can be in each state simultaneously.
3. Explicit policies for each state — what must be true for an item to enter or exit that state.
4. How the team will use WIP limits — what happens when a limit is reached (swarm? wait? discuss?).
5. How the team will manage flow — how they will actively manage items, not just wait for them to move.

DoW vs. Definition of Done

The Definition of Done (DoD) describes the quality standard the Increment must meet. The Definition of Workflow (DoW) describes how work moves through the system to reach “Done.” They are complementary:

• DoD: “What does ‘done’ look like?” (quality)
• DoW: “How does work get to ‘done’?” (process)

A team needs both. DoD without DoW means you know the destination but not the route. DoW without DoD means you have a route but no idea where you are going.

Creating a DoW: Workshop Format

Use a Sprint Retrospective to create your initial DoW:

1. Map your current workflow — What states does work actually pass through? (Not what you think it should, but what actually happens.)
2. Identify wait states — Where does work sit idle? Waiting for review? Waiting for deployment? These should be explicit columns.
3. Set initial WIP limits — Start conservative. You can always adjust.
4. Define policies — What criteria must be met to enter/exit each state?
5. Agree on management practices — How will you handle aging items? How will you respond when WIP limits are hit?

Evolving the DoW

Your DoW is a living document. Review it in every Sprint Retrospective. Ask:

• Are our WIP limits too high? Too low?
• Are there hidden states we should make explicit?
• Are our policies being followed? If not, should we change the policies or reinforce them?
• Have our flow metrics improved since the last change?

Key Takeaways

• The DoW is the team’s explicit agreement about how work flows.
• It includes states, WIP limits, policies, and management practices.
• DoW complements DoD: DoW is the route, DoD is the destination.
• Create it collaboratively; evolve it in retrospectives.