Which term describes the criteria that a user story must meet before it can be moved into a sprint?

• A. Definition of Ready
• B. Definition of Done
• C. Sprint Backlog
• D. Acceptance Criteria

Answer: (A)

In Agile, the criteria that must be met for a user story to be pulled into a sprint is the Definition of Ready. This checklist ensures the story has enough clarity and detail to start work: a clear goal, a well-described scope, acceptance criteria that define what success looks like, identified dependencies, rough estimates, and any necessary design or research tasks completed. If these elements aren’t in place, the team shouldn’t commit the story to the sprint yet, to avoid starting work on something that’s still ambiguous or blocking.

This concept is different from the Definition of Done, which signals that work is complete. Acceptance Criteria are the specific conditions the story must satisfy to be considered done, not the readiness gate. The Sprint Backlog is the set of items chosen for the sprint, along with their plan, rather than a readiness checklist.