Change-ready queue
Also known as Ready queue, Ready-for-development queue
Definition
A change-ready queue contains items that are sufficiently clarified, prioritized, and prepared to begin the next delivery step. It is distinct from a broad idea backlog and from active work in progress.
Ready means pullable
The ready queue is a boundary between demand preparation and active delivery. An item may be ready when its purpose, acceptance conditions, dependencies, and ownership are clear enough for a team to pull it. The exact policy should fit the risk and size of the work.
A concrete example
An illustrative team has 15 ideas and four ready items. One ready item lacks a test environment, so it is moved back until that dependency is resolved. The queue is smaller, but its remaining items are more likely to start without an immediate stop.
Keep it fresh
Review age, duplicates, missing information, and changes in priority. A large ready queue can be a useful buffer, but it can also hide decisions that were never made. Pulling should be based on capacity and policy, not on keeping every person occupied.
Limitations
Readiness is not a guarantee of smooth flow. New discoveries can change scope after work starts. Avoid turning the checklist into a ceremony that delays small, low-risk changes.
How this relates to Weave
Weave can help teams compare what gets pulled into implementation with later delivery activity. The readiness policy itself belongs to the team's planning system, so analytics should be used to test whether the queue is actionable rather than to define it automatically.
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