Definition of ready in practice

Abstract

This paper describes a case study on the rationale of using definition of ready at an Agile Scrum team, in combination with how teams create, maintain and apply their definition of ready. Conducted qualitative interviews showed that definition of ready can mitigate some Agile Scrum deviations. However, teams are inclined to use it to improve their process of refining requirements, by applying it to a template for their requirements. A definition of ready is often created through brainstorm sessions, and usually solely maintained when something went wrong during a sprint, with improvements being clarifications to existing criteria or additional criteria.