When the team cannot pull any work until something else is completed, then the DoR (Definition of Ready) turns dangerously into a phase/stage-gate waterfall pattern… an anti-agile pattern.
Of course, some rules of DoR must be met like Acceptance Criteria and Estimation of effort…however, some rules are best left to be desired…not mandatory to avoid the phase-gate waterfall pattern.
DoRs must be iterative and incremental in nature. For example, when the team is just starting out, the DoR should be set in such a way that it allows the team to pull work (the bar not set too high). As the team matures, the DoR’s bar can be set higher.
