In Agile project management, clearly defined entry and exit criteria are essential for ensuring that teams can progress smoothly through different phases of the project lifecycle. These criteria help teams stay aligned with stakeholder expectations, minimize risks, and maintain high product quality. By establishing specific guidelines, Agile teams can ensure that work moves forward only when it meets certain conditions, avoiding delays or rework.
Below is a detailed approach to defining entry and exit criteria for different stages of an Agile project, enabling teams to operate efficiently while ensuring quality outcomes.
| Key Project Stage’s | Cadence | Stakeholders | Entry Criteria | Activities | Verification | Exit Criteria |
| Product Visioning (Done by Client ) | Once per product lifecycle | Product Owner, Stakeholders, Customers | Initial concept, business need, market research, and customer feedback identified. | 1. Conduct market analysis and gather customer feedback. 2. Facilitate workshops with stakeholders to define the product vision. 3. Draft the product vision document. | 1. Review the product vision document for completeness and alignment with business goals. 2. Ensure stakeholder consensus and approval. | Approved product vision document with clear goals, objectives, and target audience. |
| Product Backlog Grooming | Weekly (typically) or Bi-weekly or Continuously updated throughout the project | Product Owner Business Analysts, Development Team, Scrum Master | Product vision finalized, Product Backlog with existing user stories or backlog items, New requirements or feedback from stakeholders, Current Sprint progress and insights, Definition of Ready (DoR) criteria applied to user stories | 1. Review and refine existing backlog items. 2. Prioritize backlog items based on value, risk, and dependencies. 3. Break down high-priority user stories into smaller, manageable tasks. 4. Clarify requirements and acceptance criteria for each user story. 5. Estimate effort for each backlog item (e.g., using story points). 6. Update the backlog to reflect new or modified requirements. 7. Ensure backlog items meet the Definition of Ready (DoR). | 1. Confirm that backlog items are well-defined and understood by the team. 2. Ensure that estimates are provided for all prioritized backlog items. 3. Verify that the backlog reflects any recent changes or new requirements. 4. Validate that backlog items are prioritized, with high-value items at the top. 5. Ensure that user stories meet the Definition of Ready (DoR) and are ready for Sprint Planning. | Refined and well-defined backlog items, Prioritized backlog with high-value items at the top, Estimates provided for backlog items (e.g., story points), Updated backlog reflecting any new or changed requirements/User Stories, Approved user stories with acceptance criteria, ready for sprint planning Items that meet the Definition of Ready (DoR) for upcoming Sprint Planning sessions |
| Release Planning | Before each major release | Product Owner, Scrum Master, Development Team | Product backlog prioritized, resource availability assessed, release goals defined, and DoR for selected stories confirmed. | 1. Define the scope and goals of the release. 2. Select and prioritize backlog items for the release. 3. Assess resource availability and capacity. 4. Create a timeline and milestones for the release. 5. Identify risks and dependencies. 6. Allocate work to sprints within the release. 7. Ensure that all selected items meet the Definition of Ready (DoR). | 1. Verify that the release plan aligns with the overall product vision and business goals. 2. Ensure that the timeline and milestones are realistic and achievable. 3. Confirm that all selected backlog items meet the DoR. 4. Validate that resource allocation is sufficient for the planned work. 5. Ensure that risks and dependencies are identified and addressed. | Detailed release plan with timelines, goals, selected backlog items, and all items meet DoR and are ready for sprint planning. |
| Sprint Planning | Before each sprint ( 2- 4 Weeks ) | Product Owner, Scrum Master, Dev Team | Prioritized backlog items, team availability and capacity assessed, DoR criteria met for selected stories, and impediments identified. | 1. Review and confirm the sprint goal with the team. 2. Select and prioritize backlog items for the sprint based on team capacity. 3. Break down selected stories into tasks. 4. Estimate tasks and assign responsibilities. 5. Identify and plan for potential impediments. 6. Reaffirm the Definition of Done (DoD) for the sprint. 7. Finalize the sprint backlog. | 1. Ensure that the sprint backlog is complete, with all tasks clearly defined. 2. Verify that responsibilities are assigned and understood by team members. 3. Confirm that the sprint goal is realistic and achievable. 4. Validate that the selected tasks meet the Definition of Ready (DoR) and are ready for execution. 5. Ensure that the team agrees on the Definition of Done (DoD). | Sprint backlog created with tasks clearly defined, responsibilities assigned, DoD agreed upon, and sprint goals set and understood by the team. |
| Development | Daily during each sprint | Development Team | Sprint backlog approved, DoR and DoD criteria understood, team Capacity for Sprint available, and impediments tracking in place. | 1. Develop code according to the task items defined in the sprint backlog. 2. Write and execute unit tests. 3. Conduct peer code reviews to ensure code quality and adherence to standards. 4. Perform continuous integration and integration testing. 5. Fix any defects or issues identified during development. 6. Update task status daily and track progress. 7. Resolve or escalate impediments as needed. | 1. Ensure all code is developed and tested according to the task definitions. 2. Verify that code reviews are completed and all review comments are addressed. 3. Confirm that all unit tests pass successfully. 4. Validate that the Definition of Done (DoD) is met for each task. 5. Ensure that any impediments are resolved or properly escalated. | Completed tasks by code, test development with working software, all code reviews passed ( including Code Quality, Code coverage checks, Tech Review),Review comments and defects fixed, Unit Tests passed, DoD met, and any impediments resolved or escalated. |
| Integration | Continuous or per sprint | Development Team | Code changes completed, unit tests passed, and code review approved. | 1. Merge code changes into the main codebase. 2. Run automated integration tests to verify the integrity of the codebase. 3. Identify and resolve integration conflicts or issues. 4. Monitor the build process to ensure successful integration. 5. Perform smoke testing to check the stability of the integrated code. 6. Begin preparation for System Integration Testing (SIT). | 1. Ensure that code is successfully integrated into the main codebase without conflicts. 2. Verify that all automated integration tests pass. 3. Confirm that there are no critical issues post-integration. 4. Validate the stability of the build through smoke testing. 5. Ensure that preparations for SIT are initiated and on track. | Code successfully integrated into the main codebase, tests passed( automated test cases if Continuous Intergation), no critical issues found, and SIT preparation started. |
| Testing | Continuous or per sprint | Dev Team ( Testing mainly and also Other members support) | Code changes completed & Core reviews Approved, integrated, SIT/UAT environment set up, test cases defined, and Sprint DoD met. | 1. Execute test cases as defined, including functional, integration, and regression tests. 2. Record all test results and document any defects or issues in the tracking tool. 3. Collaborate with the development team to address and retest any defects. 4. Conduct System Integration Testing (SIT) and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) as needed. 5. Ensure that the software meets the acceptance criteria set for the sprint. 6. Obtain stakeholder sign-off on UAT and SIT results. | 1. Ensure that all test cases are executed and passed successfully. 2. Verify that all defects are recorded, prioritized, and addressed. 3. Confirm that no critical defects remain unresolved. 4. Validate that SIT and UAT are completed with stakeholder sign-off. 5. Ensure that the software meets the acceptance criteria and is ready for release or deployment. | All test cases passed, record all findings/defects in tool, No critical defects found, SIT/UAT completed with stakeholder sign-off, and software meets acceptance criteria. |
| Sprint Review / Demo | End of every sprint | Product Owner, Scrum Master, Dev Team ( includes Testers) | Completed and tested sprint increment, Sprint DoD met, and demo environment is ready. | 1. Demonstrate the completed work from the sprint to stakeholders. 2. Gather feedback from stakeholders on the increment delivered. 3. Discuss what was completed, what wasn’t, and any challenges faced. 4. Review and confirm that the sprint increment meets the Definition of Done (DoD). 5. Identify any new requirements or changes for the backlog based on stakeholder feedback. | 1. Ensure that feedback from stakeholders is gathered and documented. 2. Verify that stakeholders approve the delivered increment. 3. Confirm that the Definition of Done (DoD) is fully met. 4. Ensure that any new requirements or changes are identified and added to the backlog. 5. Prepare the team for the retrospective session. | Feedback gathered, stakeholders approve the Sprint, DoD confirmed, and any new requirements or changes identified for the backlog. ready for retrospective. |
| Retrospective | End of every sprint | Scrum Master, Development Team, Product Owner | Sprint completed, team feedback collected, impediments reviewed, and key metrics analyzed. | 1. Reflect on the sprint, discussing what went well, what didn’t, and areas for improvement. 2. Collect feedback from all team members. 3. Identify impediments that affected the sprint. 4. Brainstorm and prioritize actionable improvement items. 5. Create a plan to implement agreed changes in the next sprint. 6. Document lessons learned and insights. | 1. Ensure that all team members contribute to the discussion. 2. Verify that actionable improvement items are clearly defined and prioritized. 3. Confirm that there is team consensus on the improvement plan. 4. Ensure that impediments are documented and addressed or carried forward if unresolved. 5. Validate that lessons learned are documented for future reference. | Actionable improvement items identified, team agreement on changes, plan to implement in the next sprint, and impediments carried forward (if any). |
| Deploy / Release to Production | At the end of the final sprint | Development Team, Operations, Product Owner | Final increment approved, all tests (including UAT) passed, Release DoD met, release notes prepared, and deployment environment set up. | 1. Prepare the production deployment package. 2. Deploy the final increment to the production environment. 3. Conduct post-deployment verification, including smoke tests and functionality checks. 4. Verify that the deployment environment is correctly configured. 5. Prepare and distribute release notes to end-users. 6. Notify end-users of the new release and provide necessary support. | 1. Confirm that the product increment is successfully deployed to production. 2. Ensure that post-deployment verification is completed without issues. 3. Verify that end-users have been notified and that release notes are distributed. 4. Ensure that the deployment environment is stable and functioning as expected. | Product increment successfully deployed to production, post-deployment verification completed, end-users notified. |
| Continuous Deployment | Ongoing after each increment | Development Team, Operations, ( Optional- Product Owner) | New features/Stories or fixes completed part of Sprint, tested, DoD met, UAT passed (if applicable), and deployment automation configured. | 1. Deploy new features, stories, or fixes to production using automated deployment tools. 2. Monitor the deployment process for issues. 3. Verify that the deployment is successful and that new changes are functioning as expected. 4. Monitor system performance and stability. 5. Maintain and update the rollback plan to handle potential deployment failures. 6. Ensure that continuous integration processes are functioning correctly. | 1. Confirm that the new features/stories or fixes are deployed without issues. 2. Verify that the system performance is stable and meets performance benchmarks. 3. Ensure that the rollback plan is in place and tested. 4. Validate that continuous integration is maintained and functioning effectively. 5. Monitor for any post-deployment issues and address them promptly. | Stories/Features and fixes deployed without issues, system performance monitored, rollback plan in place, and continuous integration maintained. |
| Monitoring & Feedback | Continuous | Product Owner, Development Team, Operations | Product in production, monitoring tools set up, feedback channels open, and key metrics defined. | 1. Continuously monitor system performance and user activity using monitoring tools. 2. Collect and review feedback from users through various channels (e.g., surveys, support tickets). 3. Identify and log production issues or bugs. 4. Prioritize and address critical issues as needed. 5. Confirm the Definition of Ready (DoR) for new backlog items. 6. Update the backlog with new stories or features based on feedback and monitoring data. | 1. Ensure that feedback is actively collected and documented. 2. Verify that production issues are identified, logged, and prioritized for resolution. 3. Confirm that the DoR for new backlog items is met. 4. Validate that the backlog is updated with new stories or features. 5. Monitor key metrics to assess ongoing system performance and user satisfaction. | Feedback collected, production issues identified, logged, and prioritized, DoR for new backlog items confirmed, and backlog updated with new stories/features. |