In the world of project management, every new project brings its own set of dependencies and constraints that influence how tasks are managed and planned.
Simply put, dependencies help determine the order in which project tasks must be executed. When managed effectively, they allow you to prevent bottlenecks, mitigate unforeseen delays, and deliver the project on schedule.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what dependencies are, what the main types of dependencies you may encounter are, and how to handle them successfully.
What Are Project Dependencies?
Dependencies are relationships between two project tasks or activities where the completion of one task depends on the completion of another. In general, dependencies influence how project managers schedule tasks.
Here is a simple real-world example that will help you better understand how dependencies work:
Imagine you have just started a new project.
Before you can get started and assign tasks to each team member, you need to create a project plan.
This means you need to break the project work down into smaller activities, define their order, and then determine the resources required to complete those activities.
In other words, assigning tasks to the team depends on you having a project plan in the first place.
What Are the Main Types of Dependencies in Project Management?
To create a viable project plan, you need to understand the different types of dependencies you may encounter when managing a project. There are several ways to classify dependencies.
First of all, based on the degree of control, you can have the following two types of dependencies:
Internal Dependencies
These tasks depend on other tasks within the project and are under the control of the project management team.
External Dependencies
These tasks depend on third parties for their completion and lie outside the control of the internal project management team — which represents a significant risk to project delivery.
Then, based on task relationships, there are four types of dependencies:
Finish to Start
This is the most common dependency in project management, where the successor task cannot begin until the predecessor task has finished. For example, if you are organizing an event, you cannot send out invitations until you have set a date and booked a venue.
Start to Finish
This is a rarely used type of dependency, where the successor task cannot finish until the predecessor task has started. For example, if you work in shifts at a grocery store, you cannot end your shift and go home before your colleague who covers the next shift arrives and takes over.
Finish to Finish
This type of dependency occurs when the successor task cannot finish before the predecessor task has finished. For example, you cannot finalize your project report if you have not analyzed all the data you collected.
Start to Start
This last dependency means that the successor task cannot begin until the predecessor task has also begun. For example, if you are preparing a table for your guests, you can start preparing the side dish as soon as you have put the main course in the oven to cook.
Finally, depending on project conditions, you may encounter the following categories of dependencies:
Logical Dependencies
These dependencies are inherent in the nature of the tasks and activities involved in a project and cannot be avoided. For example, you cannot launch a social media advertising campaign for your company without first creating the visuals and copy for the ads.
Resource-Based Dependencies
Resource-based dependencies are determined by project constraints. For example, if you are planning a rebranding of your website but can only afford to work with a freelancer rather than an agency, the tasks will be completed sequentially since there is only one person doing everything.
Preferred Dependencies
These dependencies are not strictly necessary like logical ones, but you can include them in the project plan to increase the quality of deliverables. For example, it may make sense to proofread an article twice before it is published on your website, even though technically one thorough proofread should be more than enough.
Why Is Managing Dependencies Important?
By their nature, dependencies tend to create bottlenecks and introduce additional risks into your projects.
However, if you identify and manage them efficiently, you can reduce project risk, allocate resources more effectively, and deliver your project on time and within budget.
Most of the time, you will need to wait for other people within the project team to complete their tasks before moving on to the next phase. But that is nothing compared to dealing with delays that come from external parties involved in your project.
And as much as you may try to run multiple tasks in parallel to speed up delivery, your constraints only allow you to go so far.
Before we dive deeper into dependencies and their role, a brief note on constraints.
Constraints are the boundaries within which project tasks must be completed — the most common ones are scope, time, and budget. Sometimes constraints can lead to dependencies and dependencies can lead to constraints, but they are entirely different things.
Returning to dependency management: understanding the relationships between project tasks is crucial for accurately estimating the duration of your project — especially when we are talking about tasks on the critical path.
To give you a quick overview: the critical path is the longest chain of dependent activities that must be completed in order to finish the project successfully. If an activity on the critical path is delayed, the entire project is delayed — unless other tasks on the path are completed earlier than planned.
This is why identifying dependencies between tasks on the critical path can help you prioritize which activities to monitor closely and prepare a backup plan in case things go wrong.
Knowing the sequence of tasks and their estimated duration also makes it easier to deploy resources where they are needed most urgently.
How to Manage Project Dependencies Like a Pro
Now that we have covered the main types of dependencies you may encounter and why it is important to keep track of them, let’s move on to the next step: managing project dependencies.
1. Identify Dependencies and Constraints Within Your Project
You can do this on your own or organize a quick brainstorming session with your team to speed up the process. This step helps you get a comprehensive overview of how tasks relate to each other and which constraints affect project delivery — before you start planning your project activities.
Once you have identified the key dependencies and constraints of your project, you should include them in your project charter so that all key stakeholders are on the same page. Don’t forget to list external dependencies in the project risk register, as they pose the greatest risk to your project.
2. Use the Critical Path Method to Build Your Project Plan
Once you have calculated the critical path, you can see which critical tasks and dependencies you need to prioritize in order to deliver your project on time.
To map out the critical path of your project, you first need to create a Gantt chart. This chart gives you an overview of project tasks and dependencies, task owners, start and end dates, milestones, deadlines — and, most importantly, progress.
Using a project management tool like Allegra can help you visualize your tasks and dependencies in a Gantt chart view and determine the critical path with ease.
3. Keep Relevant Stakeholders Informed and Up to Date
When you know which key dependencies affect project delivery, important stakeholders can set realistic expectations about the project timeline and duration.
To present the latest updates in an easy-to-understand format for both executives and clients, you can use a Gantt chart. This way, your audience can see how project tasks relate to one another while reviewing current progress.
4. Have Contingency Plans Ready, Just in Case
Sometimes things don’t go as planned. That’s why it’s important to have a Plan B ready to ensure your project stays on track and you meet the originally set deadlines.
An effective strategy for minimizing the impact of dependencies on the overall project plan is to build in buffers. In short, adding a buffer — whether related to time, budget, or resources — to your project plan ensures that even if a critical task is delayed, you can recover without too much difficulty.
Closing Thoughts
Dependencies are an unavoidable part of project management — not to mention that they have a major influence on the success of your projects.
The key to managing them effectively and meeting deadlines is project management software that automates your work and makes your life easier.
Allegra is a comprehensive solution that lets you plan, organize, and track every aspect of your project in real time. You can effortlessly create interactive Gantt charts that help you map out hierarchical projects, visualize dependencies, and determine the critical path.
On top of that, the tool features advanced scheduling capabilities that allow you to make quick changes within your project timeline while automatically rescheduling all dependent tasks or activities.
Start your 30-day trial today and make managing dependencies a stress-free experience.
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