40% Rework Cut = $1M in Wasted Effort Eliminated in 1 Month — clarity for the AI era.
40% Rework Cut = $1M in Wasted Effort Eliminated in 1 Month — clarity for the AI era.
40% Rework Cut = $1M in Wasted Effort Eliminated in 1 Month — clarity for the AI era.
Bhavika Sharma, Products Management Lead @ UST
Bhavika Sharma,
Products Management Lead
@ UST
2 min to read
The Challenge
Misaligned definitions of “done” caused costly rework as AI-driven velocity exposed gaps faster.
The Challenge
Misaligned definitions of “done” caused costly rework as AI-driven velocity exposed gaps faster.
The Challenge
Misaligned definitions of “done” caused costly rework as AI-driven velocity exposed gaps faster.
The Breakthrough
40% rework cut and $850K saved in one month by aligning Product, Dev, and QA on “done.”
The Breakthrough
40% rework cut and $850K saved in one month by aligning Product, Dev, and QA on “done.”
The Breakthrough
40% rework cut and $850K saved in one month by aligning Product, Dev, and QA on “done.”
The Insight
Speed without clarity multiplies rework. Shared “done” criteria turns velocity into value.
The Insight
Speed without clarity multiplies rework. Shared “done” criteria turns velocity into value.
The Insight
Speed without clarity multiplies rework. Shared “done” criteria turns velocity into value.
Every cycle of rework was not just lost time. It was lost momentum and lost dollars.
Every cycle of rework was not just lost time. It was lost momentum and lost dollars.
Every cycle of rework was not just lost time. It was lost momentum and lost dollars.
Product, Dev, and QA teams all had their own version of “done.” Stories moved forward, but expectations were not aligned. What passed QA was not always what Product imagined, and what Product signed off on did not always reflect Dev’s effort. Misalignment cascaded into frustration, wasted work, and delivery slowdowns.
Product, Dev, and QA teams all had their own version of “done.” Stories moved forward, but expectations were not aligned. What passed QA was not always what Product imagined, and what Product signed off on did not always reflect Dev’s effort. Misalignment cascaded into frustration, wasted work, and delivery slowdowns.
The Catalyst: The Done Right Reset
Instead of adding more process, Bhavika introduced a shared Done Right Reset through one Design For session:
Teams co-created one definition of done across Product, Dev, and QA.
Ensuring alignment as automated workflows scale.
Every story and feature passed through the same quality lens
Misalignments surfaced early, long before release
The effect was immediate: less rework, fewer surprises, and smoother delivery.
Instead of adding more process, Bhavika introduced a shared Done Right Reset through one Design For session:
Teams co-created one definition of done across Product, Dev, and QA.
Ensuring alignment as automated workflows scale.
Every story and feature passed through the same quality lens.
Misalignments surfaced early, long before release.
The effect was immediate: less rework, fewer surprises, and smoother delivery.
Instead of adding more process, Bhavika introduced a shared Done Right Reset through one Design For session:
Teams co-created one definition of done across Product, Dev, and QA.
Ensuring alignment as automated workflows scale.
Every story and feature passed through the same quality lens
Misalignments surfaced early, long before release
The effect was immediate: less rework, fewer surprises, and smoother delivery.
The Transformation
Planning shifted from vague debates to shared clarity
QA anticipated alignment gaps before they became bugs
Reviews became checkpoints of trust, not arguments
Teams moved from “that’s not what I meant” to “this is what we agreed”
Planning shifted from vague debates to shared clarity
QA anticipated alignment gaps before they became bugs
Reviews became checkpoints of trust, not arguments
Teams moved from “that’s not what I meant” to “this is what we agreed”
The Results
The Results
Rework Reduction
Rework Reduction
40%
Less rework in just one month
Team Alignment
Team Alignment
90%
Stories shipped right the first time
Business Impact
Business Impact
$1M
Wasted effort eliminated
The Learning — The Done Right Framework & Rituals
Rework was not execution failure. It was alignment failure.
The Learning — The Done Right Framework & Rituals
Rework wasn’t execution failure,
it was alignment failure.
Surface Misalignments
Catch where “done” definitions
diverge.
kickoff and monitor gaps as AI accelerates tasks.
Forge One Definition
Co-create a single “done” contract across Product, Dev & QA.
Ensuring AI-assisted workflows don’t misalign expectations.
Embed in Flow
Apply it daily in planning, reviews, and retros until it sticks.
Refine the definition in retros to keep it evolving
Leaders who drive the Done Right Framework & Rituals do not just cut rework.
They turn speed into sustained value.
Leaders who drive the Done Right Framework & Rituals do not just cut rework. They turn speed into sustained value.
Imagine
Your next cycle where rework is not hidden cost but visible alignment.
Every function agrees on “done” before the work starts.
That is where waste falls, and momentum rises.
Your next cycle where rework is not hidden cost but visible alignment. Every function agrees on “done” before the work starts. That is
where waste falls, and
momentum rises.
Your next cycle where rework isn’t hidden cost but visible alignment, where every function agrees on “done” before the work starts. That’s where waste falls, and momentum rises.
Rework Reduction
Rework Reduction
40%
Less rework in just one month
Team Alignment
Team Alignment
90%
Stories shipped right the first time
Business Impact
Business Impact
$1M
Wasted effort eliminated