What happens if the definition of "Done" is not agreed upon by the team?

When the definition of "Done" is not agreed upon by the team, the consequence is that the team may deliver incomplete work. The definition of "Done" serves as a shared understanding of what it means for work to be considered complete. Without a clear agreement on this definition, there could be ambiguity in assessing whether features are fully developed, tested, and ready for deployment. This can lead to situations where increments of work are delivered that do not meet the necessary criteria for completion, resulting in a lack of quality and increased technical debt.

The other options imply an authoritative or interventionist approach, which does not align with the collaborative and self-organizing nature of Scrum. A dictation of terms by the Product Owner or intervention by the Scrum Master does not foster the team’s ownership of the work or help establish a strong team dynamic. Additionally, the idea that the sprint would be canceled automatically due to this situation is not accurate as sprints can continue even in the presence of ambiguity, although they may ultimately deliver less value. Overall, the lack of an agreed-upon definition can lead to significant challenges in delivering high-quality, complete work, thus making the first scenario the most relevant outcome.