LEARN. PRACTICE. GROW.Define a verifiable handoff
A dependency needs more than an arrow between tasks. Record what the consumer needs, the version, acceptance examples, an owner on each side, and the required time. If the producer promises a file on Tuesday, confirm format, representative data, and how the outcome will be validated. The contractual receipt milestone may be met while internal integration remains pending. Preserve both facts. In case Format, the consumer tested 2.0 but receives 2.1 with a relevant field changed. The delivery manager coordinates impact analysis and applicable acceptance evidence rather than changing the version number in the old report. Team autonomy remains possible when teams share an interface, criteria, and synchronization points. Coordinating a handoff does not require standardizing every internal detail.
Consolidate shared capacity
Two initiatives each book eight hours from a specialist with ten available. The gap is six hours even if each isolated plan appears to fit. If an eight-hour migration competes with six incident-support hours, the gap is four. Expose the total to the priority decision maker and confirm any reinforcement before counting it. Free development hours do not automatically replace TLS-validation capacity or risk-acceptance authority. Environments can also constrain execution: two two-hour validations require four hours if the only environment cannot run them concurrently. Keep work interrupted by urgent demand visible and agree when allocation will be reassessed. A necessary service-recovery exception should not become an invisible indefinite reservation.
Find the last useful moment
A window starts at 18:00 UTC. After the decision, two preparation hours and one validation hour are sequentially required. The last instant in the no-slack model is 15:00; uncertainty may require an earlier decision. If the committee meets at 17:00, communicate the incompatibility before the decision becomes useless. Use the authorized exceptional channel and present options; being the main contact does not confer approval authority. If the decision is late, revise execution. For international coordination, convert schedules to a common basis and check their intersection. With Lisbon at UTC+1 and another team at UTC+5:30, both working 09:00–17:00 locally, overlap is 08:00–11:30 UTC. A continuous four-hour rehearsal does not fit. Offsets are stipulated exercise inputs, not permanent calendar rules.
Unblock without hiding risk
In a dependency cycle, infrastructure waits for an account while the application team waits for an environment identifier to request that account. The case permits reserving the identifier without creating resources. Agree that initial sequence with both teams, including owners and handoff criteria. A useful map should help uncover an executable action. When the dependency is external approval, independent recovery tests may proceed with confirmed capacity. Keep the blockage and pending decision visible while doing that work. Do not remove blocked cards from WIP merely to make room on the board. Waiting remains within agreed boundaries; any exception should be explicit. Close the meeting with the next action, who owns it, when it is needed, and what changes if it fails.
dependency = {
'artifact': 'position-file format 2.1',
'acceptance': 'consumer validates affected reconciliation fields',
'decision_by_utc': '15:00',
'if_late': 'revisit the 18:00 window',
}
# Exercise assumptions only; no bank policy or release authorization.Ten available hours against eight for migration and six for an incident leave four unresolved hours; a different work category does not create capacity.
Common pitfalls
Duplicate bookings; receipt as acceptance; local time as UTC; committee after the useful decision time; silence as approval.
Related topics: Capacity and forecasting · Dependencies and outcomes
Coordinate the outcome across boundaries: artifact, capacity, evidence, authority, and the next decision point.
Reference: Running more than one service team · Service Manual current public guidance; Kanban Guide May2025; DORA five-metric model; primary references reviewed 2026-09-30