The entry criteria for any STORY in a sprint relies on Definition of Ready which involves creating clear criteria that a user story must meet before being committed into an upcoming iteration. In our SCENARIO, the user story lacks final designs which clearly indicates that it is NOT ready to be picked up for the commitment. Also, in this scenario, the product owner agrees and pushes the team to commit. As per Agile, it is a wrong practice, BUT, it also depends on the team’s circumstances. If the past experience says that the design team has been DELIVERING as promised on the timelines, or if the story is of high value to the client, in such cases the team can go ahead with the exception and commit the story.

However, this should not be made a regular practice as it would be a compromise with the principles and with the core essence of Scrum. The Scrum Master should LOOK for such anti-patterns and help the team understand the importance of Definition of Ready.

It all depends on the team’s situation to go ahead with the exception or reject the same. Accepting stories which do not meet the ready definition increases the risk of completion and even impacts the teams’ efficiency.