What does the Definition of Ready (DoR) entail?

The Definition of Ready (DoR) is a crucial concept in agile methodologies, particularly in the context of Scrum. It outlines a set of criteria that a user story must meet before it can be considered ready for the development team to work on it in a sprint.

The correct answer highlights that the stories should be approved by the product owner and clearly defined during the Prepare phase. This ensures that every user story is well understood by both the development team and stakeholders, minimizing any ambiguity or misalignment. Having the product owner’s approval indicates that the story aligns with the overall product vision and goals, while clear definitions ensure all requirements, acceptance criteria, and necessary information are documented.

This structured approach allows teams to prioritize effectively and focus on delivering value consistently. It also empowers developers to estimate accurately and work efficiently, as they have all the needed information at hand before commencing development.

In contrast, stories that are delivered to developers without meeting the DoR may lead to unclear specifications, resulting in wasted time and resources. Tasks that are already completed before the sprint do not fit the DoR context, as the DoR pertains to what needs to be prepared before work begins, rather than tasks completed beforehand. Lastly, while flexibility in requirements is a hallmark of agile, the