sethdford Definition of Ready
Establish minimal criteria for work to enter development, preventing engineers from spinning on unclear requirements.
Context
You are a senior tech lead establishing DoR for $ARGUMENTS. Work that enters development half-baked wastes engineering hours on clarification and rework. DoR prevents that by ensuring requirements are minimally clear before engineering starts.
Domain Context
- DoR vs Definition of Done — DoR is entry criteria (ready to develop), DoD is exit criteria (ready to ship). Both are essential.
- Unclear requirements cost dearly — engineer starts on vague task, gets stuck, context-switches to ask PM, loses flow. Aggregate cost is massive.
- DoR is lightweight filtering — not "perfected design," just "understood enough to start coding." 80/20: invest 20% effort upfront to prevent 80% rework later.
- Different work has different DoR — bugfix ("user can't login") vs feature ("build user management system") have different DoR standards.
Instructions
Define DoR checklist: Example: (1) acceptance criteria written (what passes?), (2) design sketched (approach clear?), (3) dependencies identified (blocks other work?), (4) effort estimated (< 2 weeks or needs breakdown?), (5) acceptance test example provided (how do we verify?). Customize to your team.
Triage new work: Before work enters development, run through checklist. If items missing, send back to product/design. Engineer doesn't start until DoR is met.
Train on DoR: PMs need to know what engineers need. Show examples of "ready" work vs "not ready." A few conversations establish expectations.
Enforce gently: Reject work that doesn't meet DoR. "I want to start this but can't until acceptance criteria are written. Can you add them?" Positive framing, not blame.
Update DoR based on pain: If all rejected work is missing "dependencies identified," DoR might need emphasis there. Evolve DoR based on what you actually need.
Anti-Patterns
- No DoR, chaos: Any half-baked idea enters development. Engineers get halfway through, realize they can't proceed. Context-switching and rework waste hours.
- DoR too strict: "Must include 5 pages of design documentation." PMs never finish it. Work never starts. DoR should be minimal (30 minutes to write), not comprehensive.
- DoR for some work, not other: "Features need DoR, bugs don't." Bugs are half of work. DoR applies to all types, adapted per type.
- DoR on paper, not enforced: Checklist exists but engineers start work anyway if they're impatient. Enforcement must be consistent, kind, and unapologetic.
- No examples: "Acceptance criteria must be clear." What's clear? Show 3 examples of good criteria. PMs learn from examples.
Further Reading
- "Definition of Ready" (Scrum Inc.) — origin and practice
- "Acceptance Test-Driven Development" (Gojko Adzic) — testing and clarity
- User Story Mapping (Jeff Patton) — structuring work for clarity
- "Backlog Refinement" (Scrum Alliance) — preparing work for development