Getting Started with Definition of Ready

What is a “Definition of Ready?”

A Definition of Ready (DoR) helps you determine if a ticket is actionable by your team. Generally, tickets meet the “Definition of Ready” if they meet a certain agreed-upon standard. Tickets which meet the standard are ready to be pulled in by the team. Tickets that don’t meet the standard must first be updated to satisfy that standard before they are ready to be worked.

How does a “Definition of Ready” help my team?

Tickets that meet the DoR lead to more accurate planning and faster execution. If the team begins work on a ticket which is not yet ready, waste is not far behind. By implementing a Definition of Ready, we prevent waste while providing a basis for future measurement and comparison.

How is the “Definition of Ready” calculated and implemented?

The AgileCoach DoR application implements a very simple Definition of Ready for Jira Cloud. Tickets meet the Definition of Ready provided that values are present for the following fields:

Description
Story Points
Epic Link

If each of these values are present, the ticket meets the DoR. If any value is missing, the ticket does not meet the DoR.

DoR status is computed after each update, and the DoR status of a given ticket is accessible via two pathways: the individual issue view, and the “Issues” tab.

Which issue types are considered eligible for the Definition of Ready?

At this time, three issue types are not considered eligible for Definition of Ready standards:

Epics
Bugs
Sub-task issue types

All other issue types, including custom issue types which are not sub-task types, are eligible for Definition of Ready standards.

Can “Definition of Ready” be customized?

Not at this time, but if there is user demand for customization features, we will add them to our roadmap.

Before Installation

The initial version requires that Epics are in use in your instance to properly calculate Definition of Ready. In most instances, Epics are already enabled, but please contact your administrator if you have any questions.

Definition of Ready: Issue View

Click on an individual issue to view the Definition of Ready status within the issue’s Context Fields.

“AgileCoach: DoR” IssueGlance

Navigate to an issue. On the right-side Context Field menu, you’ll see AgileCoach: DoR. The Definition of Ready status will be displayed as a lozenge.

Not ready - ticket does not meet the Definition of Ready.
ready - ticket meets the Definition of Ready.
N/a - ticket type is not eligible for Definition of Ready.

Viewing the DoR status from the issue view.

“Definition of Ready Fields” Panel

For a given issue, the Definition of Ready Fields panel indicates which crieria are met, and which are not met. Use this tab to figure out why your issue isn’t ready.

This issue has a description, but no points, and no Epic.

“Ready at Sprint Start” Panel

If a given issue has been included in a sprint, the Ready at Sprint Start panel will display the name of the sprint and the DoR status of the issue at the time of sprint start.

In this example, the given issue did indeed meet the DoR at the start of sprint “Agile Team Sprint 11.”

“Ready when Progress Started” Panel

This panel is useful for Kanban teams and other teams that do not utilize sprints, and tells the user if a given issue met the DoR the first time it was transitioned to a status with a statusCategory of “In Progress.”

Definition of Ready: Querying via “Issues” Tab

Navigate to the “Issues” screen within your Project to find issues via search query.

Navigating to the “Agile Coach” Main App Screen

The AgileCoach main app screen is located in the Jira Cloud left sidebar:

Navigate to this screen in order to find a glossary of useful search queries.

Searching for Issues by “Definition of Ready” Status

To find tickets that currently meet the Definition of Ready:

issue.property[agileCoachDOR].meetsDor ~ 'true'

To find tickets that currently do not meet the Definition of Ready:

issue.property[agileCoachDOR].meetsDor ~ 'false'

To find tickets that met the Definition of Ready at the start of their most recent sprint:

issue.property[agileCoachDORSprintStatus].metDorAtSprintStart ~ 'true'

To find tickets that did not meet the Definition of Ready at the start of their most recent sprint:

issue.property[agileCoachDORSprintStatus].metDorAtSprintStart ~ 'false'

To find tickets that did not meet the Definition of Ready when they first moved into an "In Progress" status type:

issue.property[agileCoachDORProgressStart].metDorAtStartOfProgress ~ 'false'

To find tickets that met the Definition of Ready when they first moved into an "In Progress" status type:

issue.property[agileCoachDORProgressStart].metDorAtStartOfProgress ~ 'true'

Utilizing “Definition of Ready” in Filters and Dashboards

By saving your search results as a filter, you can include your DoR status data within your filters and dashboards.

Definition of Ready: Recipes

Using Definition of Ready in your Card Colors

We wrote a blog post on this topic; please give it a read!

Including Definition of Ready in your Quick Filters

If you’d like to include Definition of Ready status in your board’s quick filters, follow these steps.

From your Board, navigate to Board Settings.
Navigate to Quick Filters
For each filter you’d like to define, add a name and a JQL snippet. Use the glossary above for fast setup.

Agile Coaching Software

Agile Coaching Software - Definition of Ready