Pull criteria
Also known as Pull policy, Pull-entry criteria
Definition
Pull criteria are explicit conditions used to decide whether work is ready for the next stage. They protect flow by preventing items from entering a step when required information, capacity, or quality conditions are missing.
Pull only what can move
Pull criteria answer whether a stage has the conditions needed to accept work. For review, that might include a clear change description and passing checks. For deployment, it might include approvals and a verified artifact. Criteria should prevent avoidable starts without becoming a universal checklist for every type of work.
A concrete example
An illustrative review stage has a pull criterion that the author has identified risk and the required automated checks have passed. When a change lacks either condition, the reviewer does not pull it and the missing information is made visible instead of creating rework inside review.
Improve the policy
Observe items that enter despite missing conditions and items that wait because criteria are too strict. Clarify ownership and keep exceptions explicit. Pull criteria work best with a visible WIP limit and a shared definition of done.
Limitations
Some urgent work must bypass normal criteria with explicit authorization. Criteria also cannot predict every discovery after work begins. Treat them as a starting policy that evolves through evidence.
How this relates to Weave
Weave can help teams inspect the timing and outcomes of changes after they are pulled into a stage. It cannot validate all readiness conditions, so keep pull criteria visible where the workflow is managed and use analytics to find policy friction.
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