How do we manage dependencies between business and technical work?
Cross-discipline handoff gapMake business inputs and operational decisions part of the integrated plan, not informal assumptions. Clarify the evidence each side needs to proceed.
What to do now
- Map business and technical prerequisites
- Assign accountable owners on both sides
- Agree usable handoff conditions
- Review their combined effect on milestones
When to escalate
Escalate when
A missing business decision prevents safe technical progress.
Who decides
The accountable integration or dependency owner
Example
Configuration waits for an approved policy rule, while policy review uses a working example from the technical team.
Mistake to avoid
Assuming only technical tasks belong on the delivery schedule.
Prevent a repeat
Verify dependency completion with the consuming team and test the integrated outcome early enough to act.
Suggested ApprovedFlow setup
- Tasks
- Documents
- Projects
Keep dependency owners, required evidence and dates with linked work records, confirming supported link behavior in the current build. See the platform
Related cases
- A dependency is complete, but the receiving team was not told. How do we prevent this?Unconfirmed handoff
- How do we track dependencies without building an unreadable chart?Dependency information overload
- How do we manage a fixed launch date with uncertain technical work?Uncertainty near a hard date
- Management compares story points between teams. Is that useful?Invalid cross-team comparison