Dependencies aren’t the problem. How you handle them is.

Let's talk about dependencies.

Every team faces them. Whether you're in an enterprise organization with complex cross-team dependencies or a small team managing work between developers, dependencies are unavoidable. And they're often the biggest threat to your delivery timeline.

The math is sobering: Troy Magennis's tool shows that for every dependency you add, you cut your chances of on-time delivery in half. Remove a single dependency, and you double your odds of success.

Our take: First, make dependencies visible. You can't fix what you can't see. Then, eliminate what you can and manage what you can't. The best teams use visualization to identify dependencies worth removing, while creating clear communication channels for those that must remain.

The resources below cover all these sides of effective dependency management: how to make dependencies visible, how to reduce them through better design, and how to handle the ones you can't eliminate.

Essential Reads on Dependencies

Spot roadblocks before they happen

~40 min webinar
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How to proactively detect and address dependencies before they become blockers.

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How to use dependencies to improve the flow of work

~3 min read
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How dependencies can serve as strategic tools to enhance your agile team's performance and workflow.

Explore now >

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How to improve dependencies management with visualization

~5 min read
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Practical ways to handle dependencies without slowing down delivery.

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The Agile Grapevine

Industry Pulse & Community Buzz

📺 Dependencies are more than just a scheduling problem

Bryan Barrow, author of Dependency Management, talks about why dependencies are a coordination challenge, not just a logistical one, and what to do about it.

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💬 "I couldn't track dependencies - so I quit!"

Reddit thread about Jira hacks, visualization techniques, team processes, and challenges of dependency tracking.
Join the discussion >

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What's next?

Tell us what you want to learn about – Sprint Planning? Story Mapping? Something else? Drop us a reply with what you'd find most helpful – your input will shape our next editions.

Until next time!