title: Definition of Done and Definition of Ready subtitle: Which one belongs to Scrum? date: 2018-11-27 tags: agilidade, scrum image: /assets/images/definition-done/header.png


When you have a team working together, the concepts of ready and done can become a little… personal.

Have you ever heard something like:

It's done! I just need to test it now.

Or maybe:

It's ready! I can start it while the other team finishes the API.

These definitions are means to create a common ground about what ready and done means to a team, but there's a catch...

A small kanban board with definitions of ready and done

There's no Definition of Ready in Scrum

Exactly. It's not there. But the Definition of Done is defintely there.

A clear Definition of Done works as a filter: whenever someone sees a done Product Backlog Item they know what it means.

However, definition of ready is not a part of Scrum.

But I'm supposed to complete Scrum, right?

Yep, you are. But some pieces might cause more harm than good. Most of the teams I know reffer to the definition of ready as a shield that protects the developers.

So... are they under attack? If so, who's attacking them?

Sometimes all a definition of ready does is segregate. And we want collaboration. After all...

The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.