{"id":44002,"date":"2023-05-09T16:37:14","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T14:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/?p=44002"},"modified":"2024-09-30T15:47:46","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T13:47:46","slug":"what-the-scrum-guide-is-not-telling-you-definition-of-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/en\/what-the-scrum-guide-is-not-telling-you-definition-of-ready\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Scrum Guide is not telling you: Definition of Ready"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section id=\"block-66759a2151c41\"  class=\"hero-section template11\">\n\t<div class=\"bg\">\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"hero-section__wrapper flex flex-wrap justify-between\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"hero-section__description\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"text-element-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"text-element\">\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\"><strong>What the Scrum Guide is not telling you: Definition of Ready<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hero-section__img\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/toy-bricks-table-with-word-ready-scaled-1-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"eager\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/toy-bricks-table-with-word-ready-scaled-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/toy-bricks-table-with-word-ready-scaled-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/toy-bricks-table-with-word-ready-scaled-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/toy-bricks-table-with-word-ready-scaled-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/toy-bricks-table-with-word-ready-scaled-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/toy-bricks-table-with-word-ready-scaled-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"social\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"social-wrapper flex items-center\">\n\t\t\t\tFollow us\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"no-list no-margin social-list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/qualityminds-gmbh\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"share on social media\" rel=\"noopener\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"29\" height=\"29\" src=\"https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/linkedin.svg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/de-de.facebook.com\/QualityMindsGmbH\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"share on social media\" rel=\"noopener\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"29\" height=\"29\" src=\"https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/facebook.svg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xing.com\/pages\/qualitymindsgmbh\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"share on social media\" rel=\"noopener\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"29\" height=\"29\" src=\"https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/xing_icon.svg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\t<section id=\"block-66759a2151c78\"  class=\"single-post-section\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-post-main\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"text-element\">\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">As a requirements engineer and business analyst, our colleague <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/andreas-krause-bb08181bb\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Andreas<\/strong><\/a> is used to digging through pages of documents. In the following blog post you can find out what he read &#8211; or rather &#8220;did not read&#8221; &#8211; from the Scrum Guide when preparing for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scrum.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Scrum.org exam<\/strong><\/a>.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In its most recent version (11\/2020), the Scrum Guide does not use the term <strong>DoR (definition of ready)<\/strong> at all (anymore).<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fun fact #1: \u201eDefinition of Done\u201d appears 16 times in this version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the chapter &#8220;Scrum Artifacts: Product Backlog&#8221; the following term appears:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>&#8220;&#8230;<strong>ready<\/strong> for selection (in a sprint planning event)&#8221;<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the chapter \u201cScrum Events: Sprint Planning\u201d the Scrum Guide says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>&#8220;&#8230; The Product Owner ensures,<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><i>that the participants are prepared<\/i><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><i>that they discuss the most important product backlog items,<\/i><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><i>and how they map to the product goal.\u201d<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>One moment, why is DoR not mentioned in the Scrum Guide anymore?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First of all, let&#8217;s to some archaeological dig here: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>1st update = 2nd edition \/ version of the Scrum Guide, 2011: the word &#8220;ready&#8221; (in quotation marks) is added to the Scrum Guide, in the same sentence as &#8220;Done&#8221; and is a rule in Scrum from then on.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>4th update = 5th version of the Scrum Guide, 2013: the sentence concerning &#8220;Done&#8221; and &#8220;Ready&#8221; is reformulated and sharpened. &#8220;Ready&#8221; has the same meaning as &#8220;Done&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>6th update = 7th version of the Scrum Guide, 2020: the sentence containing &#8220;Done&#8221; and &#8220;Ready&#8221; is reworded again and &#8220;Ready&#8221; is defused.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this context, defused means that &#8220;Ready&#8221; is no longer a rule and the Scrum Guide leaves it up to the team itself to use a DoR. The Scrum Guide wants to be less restrictive with its latest updates and contain more freedom for self-management. That&#8217;s why he allows the self-managed Scrum Team &#8211; even encourages it &#8211; to establish its own standards and &#8220;quality gates&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>OK, so what is the &#8220;definition of ready&#8221;? And when exactly is a product backlog item \u201cready for selection\u201d?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The &#8220;Scrum Inc.&#8221; (a consulting and training provider; founded by Dr. Jeff Sutherland, one of the co-creators of Scrum), describes them as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>&#8220;&#8230; A definition of ready means that (user) stories have to be implementable immediately. The team must be able to determine what needs to be done and how much work is required to complete the user story or PBI. &#8230;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Scrum Guide says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>\u201c&#8230; product backlog items that<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><i>can be completed (Done) by the Scrum Team within a Sprint are considered ready for selection in a Sprint Planning Event. They usually achieve this level of transparency through refinement activities.&#8221;<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The point is that a Product Backlog Item (PBI) has been discussed and analyzed &#8220;sufficiently well&#8221; in the Scrum team and that a certain &#8220;degree of transparency&#8221; has been achieved. Measures to achieve this stage can be, for example, content and technical clarifications, as well as &#8220;cutting&#8221; (i.e. reducing by splitting).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fun fact #2: in the sense of the Scrum Guide &#8211; contrary to established agile practice &#8211; refinement activities do not represent a separate Scrum event \/ appointment (&#8220;Backlog Refinement&#8221;), but an &#8220;ongoing activity&#8221; of the <strong>entire<\/strong> Scrum Team, i.e. the Dev Team in collaboration with the PO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same applies, of course, to the creation and observance of any DoR &#8211; the entire Scrum team is also involved here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As described, the self-managed Scrum Team is free to think of a DoR and work with it. In terms of the agile mindset, it is advisable to start with a possible first version \/ draft of a DoR in the first sprint and then regularly, at retrospectives, check and adjust if necessary. In the <a href=\"http:\/\/scrum.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">scrum.org<\/a> community, there is a perception that the DoR should be more of a &#8220;guideline&#8221; than a real &#8220;stage gate&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This &#8220;maturity level&#8221; or a possible DoR then becomes relevant at the sprint planning event &#8211; because by this point at the latest, all selected product backlog entries should be ready for implementation and (if any) have already passed all the necessary &#8220;quality gates&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, a &#8220;Quality Gift&#8221; for the readers who have made it this far: the <strong>QM DoR checklist<\/strong> (yes &#8211; <strong>INVEST<\/strong> for a user story is also a DoR):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><th>The letter<\/th><th>stands for<\/th><th>For DoR it means&#8230;<\/th><\/tr><tr><td><strong>I<\/strong><\/td><td>independent<\/td><td>\n<ul>\n<li>can the story be implemented <strong>independently<\/strong> of other stories, tasks, etc.?<\/li>\n<li>are there any <strong>prerequisites<\/strong> that must be met before this story can be started?<\/li>\n<li>have all <strong>dependencies<\/strong> (to surrounding systems, etc.) been identified and highlighted?<\/li>\n<li>can the story be implemented by <strong>one<\/strong> person or by a team?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>N<\/strong><\/td><td>negotiable<\/td><td>\n<ul>\n<li>has the story been <strong>discussed<\/strong> sufficiently well and have all questions been clarified (priority, objective, content, work steps, etc.)?<\/li>\n<li>are all the necessary <strong>artifacts<\/strong> (see &#8220;helpful artifact map&#8221;*, system permissions, documentation, etc.) available?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>V<\/strong><\/td><td>valuable<\/td><td>\n<ul>\n<li>has the <strong>user story syntax<\/strong> been followed?<\/li>\n<li>what <strong>added value<\/strong> is achieved by implementing this story \/ what problem does it solve?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>E<\/strong><\/td><td>estimatable \/ estimated<\/td><td>\n<ul>\n<li>is the story <strong>estimatable<\/strong> \/ was already estimated?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>S<\/strong><\/td><td>small<\/td><td>\n<ul>\n<li>is the story &#8220;small enough&#8221; or should it be <strong>cut<\/strong>\/split (again?)?<\/li>\n<li>can the story be <strong>completed<\/strong> within a Sprint?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>T<\/strong><\/td><td>testable<\/td><td>\n<ul>\n<li>are there <strong>test cases<\/strong> attached to the story?<\/li>\n<li>are there <strong>acceptance criteria<\/strong> attached to the story?<\/li>\n<li>if not the PO, is there a <strong>person<\/strong> identified to approve the story?<\/li>\n<li>can the implementation \/ completion of this story be presented \/ shown in the next <strong>demo<\/strong> in the next review?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>&#8230;and now it\u00b4s up to you!<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Does your team use a DoR? If yes, how does it look like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What are your experiences with the DoR? Contact us at <a href=\"mailto:hello@qualityminds.de\">hello@qualityminds.de<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">* Link to &#8220;helpful artifact map&#8221; (in German): <a href=\"https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Sonderdruck_OS_3_2019_Qualityminds-Digital.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Sonderdruck_OS_3_2019_Qualityminds-Digital.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-post-aside\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-author-wr\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"author-img\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img alt='' src='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/be24f7a5f0d4999b17910d6208d7a4e726fc3e94e1131257b63d9069f8b5926f?s=96&#038;d=mm&#038;r=g' srcset='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/be24f7a5f0d4999b17910d6208d7a4e726fc3e94e1131257b63d9069f8b5926f?s=192&#038;d=mm&#038;r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-96 photo' height='96' width='96' \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"author-info text-element\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGeschrieben von:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"author-name\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAdministrator QualityMinds\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aside-cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"icon-wr\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"76\" height=\"76\" src=\"https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Capa_1.svg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"text-element\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Would you like to discuss your personal concerns regarding digital transformation?<\/p>\n<p>Whether it\u2019s software engineering, AI, or corporate learning \u2013 we are here for you!<\/p>\n<p>Contact us for a free and non-binding consultation at<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:hello@qualityminds.de\">hello@qualityminds.de<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"similar-posts\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"heading\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLatest Posts\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"no-list no-margin\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/en\/dns-issues\/\">Scenario 9: DNS Issues \u2013 When Your Application Becomes Unreachable\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/qualityminds.com\/en\/angular-security-part-4-nonces-in-inline-styles\/\">Angular Security Part 4 &#8211; 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