definition-of-ready

A one-line transition rule became a question-and-answer arena: items reach To Do only after agreement, following the definition-of-ready pattern.

TL;DR: A kanban transition rule let one owner unilaterally move items from Backlog to To Do, leaving questions scattered and work stuck. Rewriting it as an agreement gate—items advance only when their backlog Q&A thread concludes—turned the backlog into a negotiation arena. Same-day results: a design item closed with no code, execution split into three new items.