state-hub/policies/work-item-dor.md

# Definition of Ready (DoR)

**Policy key:** `work-item-dor`  
**applies_to:** `task`, `workplan` (separate sections below)  
**Assessment outcomes:** `unassessed` | `DoR-Ok` | `DoR-Failed`  
**Does not apply to:** intake (use DoC), decision, engagement (no DoR yet)

**DoR** is the quality policy for **implementation-readiness** of delivery
records. “Work-item” in the policy name means the **delivery side** of the
work-record framework (executable units and their plans). In body text:

- **task** = unit work-item  
- **workplan** = structure (collection/plan over tasks), **not** “a large task”

Lifecycle `status` is independent of DoR assessment:

- Workplan `status=ready` is a process claim; **DoR-Ok** means this checklist
  passed when last assessed.
- A workplan may be `ready` or `active` without DoR-Ok (quality debt).
- A task may enter `progress` without DoR-Ok; that is allowed but discouraged
  for non-trivial work.

Related:

- Comprehension (discovery): `policies/intake-doc.md` (DoC)
- Completion: `policies/workstream-dod.md` (DoD; exit companion)
- Model: `docs/work-record-quality-gates.md`
- Lifecycle: `dashboard/src/docs/workstream-lifecycle.md`

---

## Shared criteria (task and workplan)

For **DoR-Ok**, the following always hold (kind sections add specifics):

- [ ] **Outcome or done-condition** — what “good enough to stop” looks like, or
  an explicit pointer to DoD / acceptance criteria.
- [ ] **Scope in / out** — what is included and what is explicitly out of scope
  (or “no material out-of-scope items”).
- [ ] **Owning repo** — delivery repo is known and matches ADR-001 anchoring
  (or the task’s parent workplan repo).
- [ ] **Who executes** — owner/assignee or named agent role is clear enough to
  start.
- [ ] **Dependencies / blockers** — known dependencies listed, or an explicit
  “none.” Unresolved hard blockers mean DoR-Failed until cleared or redesigned.
- [ ] **Verification signal** — how we will know it worked (test, check,
  manual verification note, or “N/A: pure docs” with reason).
- [ ] **Lane / autonomy** — lane is set or inherited where the record supports
  it; red/yellow work has human expectation stated if required by autonomy
  policy.

---

## Section: task (`kind: task`)

Additional **DoR-Ok** criteria for a task:

- [ ] **Parent workplan** — task is attached to a workplan (or today’s ADHOC
  workplan) so execution context is not free-floating.
- [ ] **Actionable title** — describes a completable unit, not a multi-week
  program (programs belong in a workplan with multiple tasks).
- [ ] **Status intent** — starting `progress` is justified (not blocked on
  missing input that should keep the task in `wait`).

Tasks that are pure residual cleanup may be thin; still state done-condition
and verification, even if one line each.

---

## Section: workplan (`kind: workplan`)

Additional **DoR-Ok** criteria for a workplan:

- [ ] **Goal** — one paragraph (or equivalent) for why this plan exists.
- [ ] **Task decomposition** — open work is broken into tasks, or an explicit
  note that the first task is “decompose further” with a bound.
- [ ] **Review vs execute** — if `status=ready`, review metadata is present when
  the plan claims repo-state review (`reviewed_at` / `reviewed_against_commit`
  or equivalent narrative). Missing review metadata ⇒ prefer DoR-Failed for a
  `ready` claim, or leave unassessed.
- [ ] **Structure role respected** — the plan does not substitute for missing
  DoC on a vague external spark; if the plan was promoted from intake, origin
  link is present when available (`origin: intake:…`).

Workplan **DoR-Ok** does not require all child tasks to be DoR-Ok; it requires
the plan itself to be ready to *run as a structure*. Child tasks should be
assessed when they are about to be executed.

---

## Outside-originated profile

When the work-item or plan came from outside structural knowledge (promoted
intake with external origin, third-party response work, external demand):

- [ ] **Origin link** — `origin` / `origin_ref` or intake id / progress note
  ties back to the discovery record.
- [ ] **Boundary decision recorded** — ecosystem vs true third-party vs
  external demand into us.
- [ ] **Our work only** — scope describes *our* deliverable (patch, adapter,
  doc, decision), not control of an external backlog.
- [ ] **External reference** — issue/PR/URL or “none yet” with reason, when
  third-party interaction is in scope.
- [ ] **Residual unknowns** — still-open external uncertainties listed; none
  that would make the first implementation step pure guesswork.

---

## Relationship to DoD and lifecycle

| Gate | When | Policy |
|------|------|--------|
| DoC | Discovery understood | `intake-doc` |
| DoR | Ready to implement | this file |
| DoD | Quality-complete when finishing | `workstream-dod` |

Finishing a workplan (`status=finished`) without **DoD-Ok** is allowed; treat
as quality debt. Prefer DoR-Ok before heavy implementation; prefer DoD-Ok before
calling the outcome high-quality complete.

---

## Assessment practice (convention)

- Assessors: workplan owner, executing agent, or human operator.
- Record `DoR-Ok` or `DoR-Failed` with date and failed criteria if any.
- Re-assess after major scope change; stale DoR-Ok after large context shift
  should be treated as unassessed or re-checked.
- Enforcement is convention only (STATE-WP-0076); no API hard-block.