4.7. Definition of ready
Last updated
Last updated
The Definition of Ready (DoR) contains criteria that apply to all Items. DoR are the requirements that an Item needs to adhere to in order to be ready before it can be added to a Sprint, and therefore executed.
Definition of Ready can be:
Dependencies are clear, the team can start working on the Item immediately.
The team understands what the value the Item delivers is.
Acceptance Criteria are clearly defined.
The Item can be finished within one Sprint.
Remember: if the Item would take longer than a Sprint, it should be split or be moved to an Epic level.
When Fiona was a junior associate, she worked for a different law firm but quickly decided that was not where she wanted to stay. There was an expected physical attendance in the offi ce, which meant her evenings were gone even when no work needed her attention. On the other hand, there was much idle time in-between because the partner kept all the information to himself. That was when she met Alice, who seemed much more relaxed. Whilst the environ- ment in this fi rm is much better, due to Alice’s many court hearings and client lunches, the problem of idle time waiting for instructions still exists, albeit to a lesser degree. For Fiona the problem had nearly gone as she has clients of her own, but as she started to go to court regularly herself, the same problem emerged for Gabriel. She wanted to address it and Alice once said the same to her. When this whole Agile thing came up, Fiona hoped that it might be the solution to their problem. And while it is very rare that a methodology on its own can solve all problems, she hopes that Agile is a puzzle piece to address this issue.
As she is heading to Oliver’s office to ask for help in a few organisational matters, she runs into Alice who just returned from a notary appointment for a different case. Her appointments for the day done, Alice is curious to hear how her team did with the new methods. Alice and Fiona start discussing how the work could be organized to make it easier for their younger colleague to become more active himself. Because Alice is constantly optimizing her time, she started listening to an audio book about Agile on the way to her appointments and the latest chapter was about the Definition of Ready. The two ponder what Gabriel, and potentially Oliver, would need to be able to start work on a specific Item without further input from them. This comprises merely being transparent about what needs to be done. If they do not share the information, Gabriel cannot start the work or will end up needing information all the time to continue, which will interrupt him and whomever he has to ask. They set up a checklist of what needs to be prepared or known beforehand for the specific Item so that the respective team member can start their work. This checklist is their Definition of Ready. They agree that they will add this to each Item before work on it can start, as Agile methodology defines.
What do we need to start working on an Item?
Is the Item understandable, do we have a common understanding (team and product owner)?
Acceptance criteria are defined.
Item has been explained to the team.
Dependencies are clear.
This Item can be executed in one Sprint.
What do we need to start working on an Item?
Is the Item understandable, do we have a common understanding (team and product owner)?
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