Definition of Ready
TL;DR
- Definition of Ready (DoR)
- A checklist of conditions that must be true before a product backlog item is considered ready to pull into a sprint during sprint planning.
- The criteria applied to every Product Story
- Never pull anything into a sprint that is not ready, and never let anything out of the sprint that is not done.
- Definition of Ready defines story "ready state”; needs to meet some criteria before it can be picked up for a sprint.
- Does not mean story is 100% defined with zero unknowns
- Follow a checklist
References:
A concept that is just as fundamental as Definition of Done, is the Definition of Ready. I found some great articles explaining this concept and why it is so important.
Benefits of DoR:
- Avoids wastage of time, when a story is started and after work has begun
- If more information is needed to complete the story, the work on it stops
- Reduces requirements churn (scope creep) in development
- Keeps the team members accountable to each other
With a solid definition of ready, the team should be able to confidently answer the following questions:
Why --
- What are the stakeholders or the business trying to achieve?
- What is their goal or outcome?
- What is the business context?
What --
- What is the outcome vision?
- What is the end result of the user story?
How (& Who) --
- What is the strategy to implement the user story?
- Is the story small enough (i.e., story points versus team velocity)?
- Are all the necessary resources available (people, tools, infrastructure)?
The articles suggest that as a team, everyone participates in regular backlog grooming sessions. This helps make sure everyone understands planned stories and the current product roadmap.
Example Checklist:
- Business value is clearly articulated
- "as a (actor) I want (outcome) so that (why)"
- Acceptance criteria are clear and testable
- Story has "given (preconditions) when (actions) then (result)"
- Details are sufficiently understood by the development team
- Dependencies are identified and considered
- Similar completed features are considered for reference
- The story is estimated and can be completed in one sprint
- Team is staffed appropriately to complete the story
- Testing is considered and/or discussed
- Performance criteria are considered
- Security criteria are considered
- Analytics criteria are considered
- Deployment criteria are considered
- Team understands how to demonstrate the story at the sprint review
Get In Touch
We'd love to hear from you! Whether you have a question about our services, need a consultation, or just want to connect, our team is here to help. Reach out to us through the form, or contact us directly via social media.
