Definition Of Ready

The Definition of Ready (DoR) is a vital agreement within Agile and Scrum frameworks, setting clear criteria to ensure that user stories are adequately prepared before being pulled into a sprint. By establishing a well-defined DoR, teams can significantly reduce ambiguity, which enhances the efficiency of sprint planning and execution. This introduction focuses on the foundational importance of having a precise readiness checklist that both product owners and development teams agree upon, promoting a smoother transition of tasks during sprints. As we delve deeper, we'll explore the practical implications and benefits of implementing a robust DoR in project management.

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Your ‘Ready’ Story Looks Like This

A ready story is a detailed user story that necessarily has

• A narrative 
• Acceptance criteria. 

It should also be clear when there are any story-specific operational attributes like performance and the layout or appearance of the user interface design. A simple approach could be to capture the qualities on constraint cards and have a tentative design on a piece of paper. 

Next, the artifacts are attached to the story. 

Why Do We Have a Definition of Ready? 

A definition of ready deals with the user story, wherein the user story is ready to be taken into a sprint. It doesn’t need to be “100 % defined” covering all the acceptance criteria. However, it should be “ready enough” only when the team is confident that they can successfully deliver the user story.

It will help in saving ample time if each user story meets the definition of ready before the sprint planning meeting. But it is also fine and acceptable to work on the user story during the sprint planning meeting and bring it to the ‘Ready’ status.

Why Is The Definition of Ready Important?

Understanding the importance of the Definition of Ready (DoR) is crucial in Agile project management. DoR ensures that user stories are fully prepared and meet certain criteria before they enter the sprint phase. This preparation is critical for smooth sprint executions and effective task handling.

Below highlights the importance of DoR

1. Enhances Clarity and Focus: Clear DoR criteria help teams understand what is expected before work begins, reducing ambiguities.
2. Increases Efficiency: Projects can proceed faster and with fewer interruptions, as all prerequisites are met beforehand.
3. Improves Quality: By setting clear standards beforehand, the quality of the output is improved, reducing the likelihood of rework.
4. Facilitates Better Planning and Resource Allocation: Knowing the readiness of tasks allows for better allocation of time and resources.

Key Components of DoR

The Key Components of the Definition of Ready (DoR) outline essential criteria that user stories must meet before entering the sprint. This framework ensures that tasks are well-defined and manageable, significantly impacting the overall project management process.

1. Independent: User stories should be self-contained, with minimal dependencies to streamline the execution.
2. Negotiable: User stories are open for discussion and refinement, ensuring they align perfectly with project goals.
3. Valuable: Each user story must deliver clear value to the stakeholders, justifying the effort involved.
4. Estimable: Teams should be able to estimate the effort required to complete a user story accurately.
5. Small: User stories need to be concise and small enough to be completed within a single sprint, ensuring quick feedback and iterations.
6. Testable: Testable defines the success and completion criteria aligned with business and user requirements. This enables the team's ability to deliver high-quality task fulfillment effectively.

How To Create a Definition of Ready

The definition of ready has much to contribute to a good user story. It is also very much related to a concept which we have already discussed in the chapter on User Stories. The INVEST matrix.

 A team pushes back on a story when it doesn’t align with these criteria. But again, while these criteria are necessary for a story to be “Ready”, it is safe to say that they may not be sufficient. Several other factors are to be taken into consideration.  

Each team will have its own definition of Ready. This largely depends on its personnel and the context.

An example will give you a clear picture. 

1. The story should be written exactly in the ‘user story’ format.
2. Acceptance criteria must be understood by the team.
3. A Team needs to estimate the story.
4. The team should understand how to provide a demo of the features.
5. Performance criteria should be understood by the team.

The above items equip the team with the required information for a particular story. They also provide the opportunity to challenge the product owner in the absence of those items.

Steps in Developing Definition of Ready

The Definition of Ready should not stay fixed. Rather, it should grow and develop as the team evolves in terms of-

• The working pace
• The understanding of ‘what’ makes a good user story.

You can input the same information into the product backlog via backlog grooming and planning sessions. The Definition of Ready will be updated through sprint retrospectives.

How To Use a Definition of Ready Correctly?

Utilizing the Definition of Ready (DoR) effectively can greatly enhance your Agile project management practices. Here's how to apply it correctly:

1. Set Clear Criteria: Ensure all user stories have well-defined criteria that are agreed upon by the team before sprint planning.
2. Team Collaboration: Involve the entire team in the DoR process to ensure understanding and agreement on what constitutes 'ready'.
3. Regular Review and Update: Continually review and refine the DoR as the project progresses to adapt to changes and new insights.
4. Align with Project Goals: Align the DoR with overall project objectives to ensure every task contributes to the end goals.
5. Training and Understanding: Educate all team members about the importance and implications of the DoR to foster a common understanding.

Examples of Definition of Ready:

In this section, we shall show two separate instances of Definition of Ready. This will help you develop an appropriate Definition of Ready as per the requirements. 

Definition of Ready for a user story:

• Well-defined User story 
• User story acceptance criteria defined
• User story sized by the delivery team
• Scrum team accepts user experience artifacts
• Performance criteria identified
• The Person who will accept the user story is identified
• A Team is able to ‘demo’ the user story.

Definition of Ready for a sprint:

• Prioritized sprint backlog 
• Defects, user stories and other work the team has committed to are contained in the sprint backlog
• No hidden work 
• All team members have calculated their individual capacity for the sprint

           Full Time on project=X hours per day.

• All users stories meet the definition of Ready.

The Product Owners can use Definition of Ready as a guide when preparing for user stories for upcoming sprints. For a team, it is used as a checklist to make sure that there is an increased chance of success in delivering the completed user story, and that there are enough thoughts involved in building the user story before they start to deliver it. So finally, Definition of Ready brings back the focus to backlog grooming meetings and lookahead planning activities. 

Definition of Ready helps in minimizing the Rework on a user story.

The Definition of Ready (DoR) is a vital agreement within Agile and Scrum frameworks, setting clear criteria to ensure that user stories are adequately prepared before being pulled into a sprint. By establishing a well-defined DoR, teams can significantly reduce ambiguity, which enhances the efficiency of sprint planning and execution. This introduction focuses on the foundational importance of having a precise readiness checklist that both product owners and development teams agree upon, promoting a smoother transition of tasks during sprints. As we delve deeper, we'll explore the practical implications and benefits of implementing a robust DoR in project management.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Definition of Ready (DoR) is an indispensable tool in the Agile framework that ensures all project activities commence with clarity and purpose. Proper implementation of DoR leads to enhanced efficiency, improved team dynamics, and increased project success rates. It not only helps in defining clear expectations but also ensures that all team members are aligned before the commencement of work, thereby minimizing delays and maximizing productivity. Embracing DoR is about committing to a systematic approach that lays the groundwork for success in project management.