The product backlog contains a list of items to be worked upon by the team but it is important to check if the items are in a ready state to be picked up in a sprint. The Team must be able to determine what needs to be done and the amount of work required to complete the User STORY or PBI. The Definition of Ready can differ from product to product or from team to team. It is a working agreement between the team and the Product Owner on what readiness means. LET’s LOOK at some of the parameters that can go in defining the Ready state:

Definition of Ready for a User Story

1. The PBI is in “Approved”, or equivalent, state for the team to pick it up for development
2. User Story dependencies identified
3. Acceptance criteria exist and are understood by the team
4. Acceptance criteria have sufficient details on the features to be developed and TESTED by the team
5. Performance criteria have been provided, where appropriate, and are understood by the team
6. The PBI has been written in the
7. Actor->Action->Outcome format
8. UX wireframes exist, where appropriate, and are understood by the team
9. Performance criteria identified, where appropriate
10. Team has a GOOD idea of what it will mean to Demo the User Story