What is the Definition of Ready [With Examples]

Introduction

The Definition of Ready (DoR) is a unique concept that enables a particular team to chalk out certain pre-conditions that need to be fulfilled before a story can proceed. Thus, it consists of agreements telling you when a project is ready to begin. 

To be precise, it indicates when the initial process of a project is ‘good to go’. A ready story being a detailed user story necessarily has a narrative and acceptance criteria. A DoR means that the product backlog or the user story item meets a set of team-established criteria to check whether the story is ready for a sprint. 

The DoR, thus, functions as a tabulation of criteria to help facilitate a team’s decision on the initialisation of starting a new task. 

Definition of Ready (DoR) – Explained

The DoR serves as the filter separating the stories that have met all the criteria and are ready to serve the project. It is the set of factors that needs to be considered before declaring that a project management component is ready for its planned use. There is no other place where it is more pronounced than with the user stories since this is the most vital choosing stage that determines what gets done and how it affects the rest of the product. 

The people working on a particular project are separated into teams. Each team will have its own definition of ready, depending on the context of the project and the team members’ priorities. Each criterion in the definition of ready provides each team with relevant and vital information about the user story in question. Thus, the definition of ready makes it easy to focus on getting results without any fuss.

Importance of Definition of Ready 

A Definition of Ready is essential for several reasons. They are:

• A DoR specifies all the pre-conditions that must be fulfilled before the story is sent for renewal or replication. It thus aims to prevent any type of problem before they even get a chance to arise. It is thus a preventative measure.
• Several work items get randomly chosen without a well-elaborated Definition of Ready for user stories. Gradually, the shortcomings are realised as the user story falters in several ways, and the team has to keep running in circles and trying to make things work. On the other hand, the situation is much better when the story is well-defined. 
• A DoR helps to meet targets on time and under budget. This is, thus, time and cost-effective, which is crucial for any kind of project in hand. A DoR thus brings proper clarity to the delivery process of the project. 
• A Definition of Ready is essential to get a user story done through perseverance and hard work. It boosts the morale of the team members and ensures they never get frustrated with the system. Thus, it is essential to define ready beforehand to ensure the story doesn’t require more time than the sprint is about to last. Otherwise, this might lead to the team members having difficulty meeting the sprint’s targets. If their morale drops, it affects their future performance.

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Characteristics of a Good Definition of Ready

 A Definition of Ready is considered good when it reflects the following characteristics in it:

1. A good Definition of Ready is one where the user story is completely independent of other user stories. 
2. The user story needs to be negotiable for a good Definition of Ready. 
3. The user story has to be measurable, which would help the scrum team to know if they are progressing or stagnating. A good Definition of Ready, thus, has to be measurable or estimable.
4. A Definition of Ready should be precise, to the point and small to be manageable enough to fit into a single sprint duration. This is crucial to avoid burnout on the team, to prevent them from getting frustrated, to avoid indefinite and unnecessary extensions, or to prevent waste of time. 
5. A good definition of ready should facilitate the testing of completed work. There needs to be a reliable and rational way for the scrum team to test their completed work to check whether it meets their target.

Examples of Definition of Ready Criteria

A Definition of Ready should be flexible and grow and develop according to how the team evolves in terms of its working pace. There are two separate instances of the Definition of Ready:

Definition of Ready for a user story: The story has to be well-defined, and the user acceptance criteria also need to be defined. The user story has to be made by the delivery team. A very crucial step is to understand and identify the performance criteria. A team needs to be well-prepared to ‘demo’ the user story. The story has to be estimated, and it should be under a considerable size.

Definition of Ready for a Sprint: If the team’s work is contained in the sprint backlog, the story is ready to go. The team must have completed the stories at the top of the product backlog before pulling them into the sprint backlog. The responsibility for adding the stories to the backlog must fall to the Product Owner.

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How to Create a Definition of Ready

Creating a definition of ready ensures the team is bound to follow certain rules and get done the work they are committed to. The Definition of Ready has much to contribute to a good user story. It is also very much related to a concept known as the INVEST matrix, which stands for – Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, and Testable. 

A team will push a story back when it does not align with these criteria. But these necessary criteria are not sufficient because each team will have its own Definition of Ready.

Tips for Effective Definition of Ready Implementation

To consider that a task is ‘ready’, it has to pass specific acceptance criteria, which depend on how the organisation works and its business processes. How the Definition of Ready is implemented is an important consideration for a Standard Definition of Ready in Agile. It is imperative that the Definition of Ready in Agile should be of mutual agreement of the whole team and not just project managers. However, there are a few more points that you can consider to implement effective DoR.

• Collaboration from all organs of the team
• Clearly defined criteria that are specific and measurable
• Customised DoR that specifically suits your team
• Identifying dependencies and prerequisites
• Consistent revision and updates

Challenges in Implementing a Definition of Ready

There are many common challenges that every new team faces in a scrum. These may include-

• Inconsistency in the application of strategies leads to inconsistent results
• Teams may face a lack of time or resources 
• Finding the balance between flexible and well as rigid requirements
• Limited cooperation from stakeholders 
• Lack of clearly defined roles and responsibilities

Consistent communication and active participation is the key to overcoming these challenges, leading to better teamwork and project development. 

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Conclusion

Perceive the Definition of Ready as the guiding light for Agile teams, enabling them to navigate the path of successful project development. By leveraging various aspects of DoR, teams can emphasise collaboration within the team, empowering the project to reach its best outcome. 

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