Standard : Dependencies are minimised

Purpose and Strategic Importance

This standard ensures that teams reduce unnecessary dependencies to improve autonomy and flow. By simplifying handoffs and decoupling systems, teams move faster, reduce risk, and take clearer ownership of outcomes.

It supports "Minimise Dependencies", while reinforcing "Empowered Product Teams" and "Guardrails in Strategy". Without this standard, delivery slows, risk increases, and ownership fragments.

Strategic Impact

  • Faster delivery and reduced delays
  • Lower risk from cross-team bottlenecks
  • Greater team accountability and autonomy

Risks of Not Having This Standard

  • Complex dependency chains delay outcomes
  • Increased risk of failure due to fragile handoffs
  • Blurred accountability for product results

CMMI Maturity Model

Level 1 – Initial

  • People & Culture: Dependencies accepted as unavoidable.
  • Process & Governance: No practices for managing or reducing them.
  • Technology & Tools: Tight coupling between systems and processes.
  • Measurement & Metrics: Dependencies rarely tracked.

Level 2 – Managed

  • People & Culture: Teams occasionally surface dependencies but accept delays.
  • Process & Governance: Some mapping of dependencies done reactively.
  • Technology & Tools: Workarounds created manually.
  • Measurement & Metrics: Dependencies tracked on ad hoc boards.

Level 3 – Defined

  • People & Culture: Teams actively design for reduced dependencies.
  • Process & Governance: Frameworks encourage decoupling and local autonomy.
  • Technology & Tools: APIs, modular architecture, and feature flags in use.
  • Measurement & Metrics: Dependency maps maintained and reviewed.

Level 4 – Quantitatively Managed

  • People & Culture: Teams regularly challenge dependencies to improve flow.
  • Process & Governance: Governance promotes dependency reduction as strategic goal.
  • Technology & Tools: Platforms provide visibility of dependency risk.
  • Measurement & Metrics: Quantitative data links dependencies to lead times.

Level 5 – Optimising

  • People & Culture: Dependency reduction embedded in culture and planning.
  • Process & Governance: Continuous improvement of decoupling practices.
  • Technology & Tools: Predictive tools highlight dependency risks in advance.
  • Measurement & Metrics: Continuous optimisation of dependencies to maximise autonomy.

Key Measures

  • Average number of dependencies per initiative
  • % of initiatives delivered without critical external dependencies
  • Lead time impact of dependencies
  • Number of handoffs per feature