← DictionaryDependency
Work that cannot start until something else is complete or supplied.
The thing that has to happen first.
What It Is
Dependency sits on the Execution side of the work, in the Engagement area. The working definition is simple: work that cannot start until something else is complete or supplied.
It is a label with a settled working definition, so the value is in using it the same way every time. That is the version worth keeping, because it survives contact with a real project.
How It's Used
Dependency comes up in project delivery, scheduling and the handover between people doing the work. It normally appears alongside Timeline, Bottleneck and Project Management. The practical test is whether everyone in the room means the same thing by it.
Why It Matters
Getting Dependency wrong is expensive in a quiet way. When it is unclear, work still happens — it just happens twice. Clarity here removes a surprising amount of downstream argument.
Picture a word everyone in the room has agreed to use the same way. The thing that has to happen first.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
Professionally, Dependency carries the narrow meaning: work that cannot start until something else is complete or supplied.
Explained to someone with no marketing background, Dependency is the thing that has to happen first.
The Bottom Line
Treat Dependency as a decision, not a description. The thing that has to happen first.