dependency-map

name: dependency-mapdescription: >  Cross-team dependency tracking with critical path analysis and Mermaid  dependency graphs for program coordination.license: MIT + Commons Clausemetadata:   version: 1.0.1  author: borghei  category: project-management  domain: pm-execution  updated: 2026-06-15  python-tools: dependency_graph.py  tech-stack: dependencies, critical-path, dsm, conway, mermaid  tags:     - dependencies    - critical-path    - program-management    - mermaid

Cross-Team Dependency Map

Overview

Dependency tracking for multi-team initiatives: who is blocking whom, what is on the critical path, what is at risk, and what to coordinate this week. The output is a Mermaid dependency diagram, a critical-path list, a risk-ordered blocker list, and a weekly cross-team sync agenda -- all generated from a single JSON file you maintain instead of a sprawling spreadsheet.

Most cross-team programs fail at dependency management, not execution. The teams individually do good work; the gaps are at the seams. This skill makes those seams visible, prioritizes them by criticality, and produces the communication artifacts that keep them visible week over week. The underlying model uses the Critical Path Method (CPM, Kelley and Walker, 1959) for sequencing, optional DSM (Design Structure Matrix) thinking for cluster identification, and Conway's Law (Conway, 1968) framing for the organizational source of recurring dependency patterns. All outputs follow the six standard PM formats per SHARED_OUTPUT_SCHEMA.md.

Core Capabilities

• Dependency capture — a six-field model (from/to team, description, needed-by, expected-delivery, status) maintained as one JSON file.
• Critical-path analysis — CPM computation of the longest zero-slack chain plus near-critical siblings.
• Risk ordering — slack and status combine into a risk-ranked blocker list.
• Visualization & comms — Mermaid graph LR rendering plus a weekly cross-team sync agenda.
• Org diagnosis — Conway's Law framing for recurring team-pair dependencies.

When to Use

• Multi-team feature -- A feature requires platform, mobile, and data teams to coordinate.
• Program management -- Tracking 5-20 dependent workstreams across a quarter (see program-manager/).
• Release coordination -- A launch depends on legal review + DevOps capacity + design assets all converging.
• Quarterly planning -- Identifying which dependencies threaten quarterly OKR commitments.
• Org-design diagnosis -- Recurring dependencies between the same two teams may signal a structural problem (Conway's Law).

When NOT to use: single-team backlogs (use wwas/ or job-stories/), pure technical dependencies inside one codebase (use Git), or stakeholder relationships (use senior-pm/stakeholder_mapper.py).

Clarify First

Before mapping dependencies, settle the inputs below. When one is missing or vague and would change the result, ask about it; when it wouldn't, use a sensible default and say which one you used.

• Teams / workstreams in scope: the from/to pairs become the nodes; the wrong set produces a graph that maps the wrong program.
• Needed-by and expected-delivery dates per dependency: these drive slack, so they determine the critical path and the entire risk ordering.
• Current status of each dependency: not-started / in-progress / at-risk / done drives the risk-ordered blocker list and the weekly sync agenda.
• Named owner per dependency: an ownerless dependency cannot be walked weekly; owners populate the sync agenda.

Ask about the two or three inputs that matter most for this request, not the whole list. If the user wants a result straight away, produce it and state your assumptions at the top.

Quick Start

python scripts/dependency_graph.py --input deps.json --format markdown   # full report
python scripts/dependency_graph.py --input deps.json --format mermaid     # graph LR for README/Notion/Confluence
python scripts/dependency_graph.py --demo --format markdown               # sample output, no input

Populate deps.json from assets/dependency-template.json, run the analyzer, give every critical-path item a named owner, and walk it weekly with assets/weekly-sync-agenda.md. Update the JSON before each sync.

Anti-Patterns

Dependencies that never reach the JSON

Mistake: The JSON lists 8 dependencies while 22 exist. The rest live in Slack DMs and people's heads, and one team blocks another for three weeks before anyone notices. Why it happens: Only the dependencies someone remembers to report get added. Instead: Run a 90-minute inventory with each team lead at the start of the planning period, and log any dependency found outside the JSON within 24 hours. If a fresh round finds more than 30% new ones, the map is incomplete.

Tracking tasks instead of cross-team work

Mistake: The JSON holds 80 task-level items such as "Frontend needs button asset from Design", and the Mermaid diagram becomes unreadable. Why it happens: Teams log every handoff to be thorough. Instead: Track at the epic level, roughly 1-2 weeks of cross-team work each, and keep intra-team handoffs on the team's sprint board. More than about 25 dependencies per program means you should aggregate.

Arrows pointing the wrong way

Mistake: A dependency is entered with from_team as the team delivering the work and to_team as the team waiting for it. Why it happens: "From" reads naturally as where the work comes from. Instead: from_team is the team that needs the work, and to_team is the team that owes it. Spot-check a few descriptions before running dependency_graph.py, because a reversed arrow breaks the critical path and the risk ordering.

Nine more, each with a bad and a good example: references/red-flags.md.

References

• references/dependency-map-operations.md — read this for the operational detail: the six-field model, slack/risk derivation, critical-path computation, the 8-step weekly workflow, tool flags, input/output JSON schemas, troubleshooting, and success criteria.
• references/dependency-management-guide.md — read this for the CPM walkthrough, DSM intro, Conway's Law applied, and recurring-dependency diagnosis.
• references/red-flags.md — read this to see the common ways dependency-map output goes wrong (with fixes) before publishing a map.
• assets/dependency-template.json — starter JSON with the full schema and one worked example per status.
• assets/weekly-sync-agenda.md — standard agenda for the cross-team weekly sync.
• Kelley & Walker, "Critical-Path Planning and Scheduling" (1959); Conway, "How Do Committees Invent?" (1968); Steward, "The Design Structure System" (1981).

Scope & Limitations

In Scope: cross-team dependency capture and visualization, Critical Path Method analysis, risk-ordered blocker list, Mermaid graph LR rendering, Conway's Law-aware quarterly review, all six formats per SHARED_OUTPUT_SCHEMA.md.

Out of Scope: resource capacity planning (senior-pm/resource_capacity_planner.py), stakeholder mapping (senior-pm/stakeholder_mapper.py), sprint-level backlog ordering (prioritization-frameworks/), detailed Gantt charting, risk register beyond dependency blockers (pre-mortem/).

Important Caveats: dependency maps degrade fast without weekly updates (a 4-week-old map is harmful); the critical path identifies the currently longest chain and can shift when a single dependency is added (re-run on every change); this skill surfaces what to talk about but does not replace the conversation.

Integration Points