# Work-Item Definition of Ready (type-keyed)

**`ready` means: a stateless agent can claim this item and drive it to its terminal state with zero human clarification.** Every readiness gate exists because its absence forces a question; the bar is type-keyed because different work types break autonomy differently.

## Shared core (every leaf, enforced by `*-validate-*` S1–S16)

Three-audience description · Gherkin acceptance criteria (except Spike) · Out of Scope · single-repo scope · relationship search · typed evidence manifest on runtime changes · Source Requirement traceability when PRD-sourced · provable read access to every named external surface.

## Per-type additions

| Type | Must additionally carry | Terminal state is |
|---|---|---|
| **Bug** | agent-executable reproduction (or a failing test) · expected-vs-actual with the *source* of "expected" · environment + version observed, last-known-good when known · reproducibility rate (always / intermittent + frequency) · at least one occurrence evidence link | the same repro/test fails before the fix and passes after |
| **Story** | user-visible AC; SHOULD name non-happy-path states (error / empty / loading) for UI stories · design source precedence when artifacts exist | every AC exercised on the running product |
| **Task** | an observable done-state and the command/check that proves it | the verification check passes |
| **Improvement** | metric + measurement method the agent can run · measured baseline value · numeric target | measured value meets the target |
| **Spike** | the question · the decision it enables + options weighed · a timebox · deliverable format **and location** | a deliverable at the named location that answers the question — findings, decision, options weighed |
| **Sub-task** | a parent, always · otherwise the bar of its own type | per its type |
| **Epic / container** | never build-ready (`leaf-only-lifecycle`) · judged on decomposition completeness, not buildability | all required children terminal |

## The stateless-pickup test (S18)

The final gate checks the property itself instead of proxies for it: read the item as a fresh agent with no session context, using only the item and what it links to. List every question you would have to ask a human before starting, choosing between materially different implementations, or declaring done. **Ready = zero questions.** Each question found is the FAIL remediation, verbatim.

Sources this bar distills: INVEST (stories) · ISTQB / IEEE 1044 defect anatomy and minimal-reproducible-example practice (bugs) · SMART (improvements) · Scrum's Definition of Ready (the framing) · TASC AC8.6 (the normative criterion).

Full rationale and worked examples: [the reference body of this rule](../reference/work-item-definition-of-ready.md).
