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Items selected for the Sprint should be "ready"

Last post 04:36 am February 4, 2023 by Efosa Charles Odiase
3 replies
Nadine Heim
01:49 pm November 21, 2020

Hello again,

I attended a course as PO preparation about 1.5 years ago. In this course we got sample questions to practice for the exam.

One question is:

"The items selected from the Product Backlog for the Sprint should be "ready"."

True or False?

I would say the answer is "true". I know that a ticket can also be taken into the sprint if it is not ready. But the question is: "The items selected from the Product Backlog for the Sprint SHOULD be "ready"." and it is not: "The items selected from the Product Backlog for the Sprint MUST be "ready"."

What is your opinion?

 

Thank, Nadine

Ian Mitchell
02:34 pm November 21, 2020

There are no established pre-conditions for sprinting. It is not therefore strictly necessary for any work to be "ready" at all.

Refinement to "ready" is expected once sprinting has begun. It would therefore be fair to say that items should rather than must be "ready".

Can you clarify which authority lies behind these questions you found?

Thomas Owens
03:57 pm November 21, 2020

I'd agree with the "true" answer.

If the course was about 1.5 years ago, the Scrum Guide that the course should have been based on would have been the 2017 Scrum Guide. That iteration of the Scrum Guide says:

Product Backlog items that can be "Done" by the Development Team within one Sprint are deemed "Ready" for selection in a Sprint Planning. Product Backlog items usually acquire this degree of transparency through the above described refining activities.

Since the question uses the word "should" instead of something more strict, like "shall" or "must", I would agree that items that are selected for the Sprint should have been refined and able to be Done within one Sprint.

Efosa Charles Odiase
04:36 am February 4, 2023

@Thomas Owens You nailed it beautifully.

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