Understanding Definition of Ready (DoR) in Agile Development

Many people ask what DoR (Definition of Ready) is and what purpose it serves, yet few can articulate its goal; the key question is "What do you aim to achieve with DoR?"

DoR, short for Definition of Ready, is essentially a gate that must be passed before a team can start development, similar to moving a task card from the Selected column to the Doing column in a Kanban board.

Typical DoR items include: (1) the task is broken down and the user‑story points do not exceed five; (2) the business flow is clear and at least the main flow has a wireframe; (3) the acceptance criteria are complete. These items can exist independently or be combined, depending on the consensus among the team, PO, and SM.

The necessity of DoR lies in confirming that all pre‑conditions are satisfied before committing manpower, thereby reducing the risk of interruptions and ensuring efficient use of resources.

Dependency problems (technical or external resources)

Oversized user stories that cannot be completed within a sprint

Insufficient understanding of user stories leading to repeated PO clarification

When applied correctly, DoR has no adverse side effects; however, misuse can turn an agile process into a waterfall by imposing overly rigid standards.

DoR can be visualized as a "gate" in a Stage‑Gate model: only when the DoR criteria are met can the work move to the next stage. The danger is treating DoR as an absolute rule rather than a flexible guideline.

For example, requiring all page prototypes to be finished before development forces the team into a waterfall‑like flow, causing waste if later changes are needed.

A better DoR statement is: "When the main‑flow page prototype is ready, development can begin," allowing negotiation on scope while still providing a preventive cost that mitigates risk.

In practice, agile teams should gradually reduce the number of DoR items as their maturity grows, using DoR as a preventive cost to smooth the transition from waterfall to agile.

Ultimately, highly agile teams may forgo DoR altogether, while teams seeking balance should adopt a flexible DoR; making DoR an absolute standard essentially reverts the process to waterfall.

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