Moderator: Hello. Welcome to another expert discussion video. This time we're going to be talking about a small but important part of the programme, dependencies and dependency management. So, of course, it wouldn't be an expert discussion without my fellow expert, Margaret, so welcome again, Margaret.

Margaret: Hello, Michael.

Moderator: So, let's start by talking about why dependencies matter so much.

Margaret: Okay. So, in our programme we have multiple projects, yeah, and there will be dependencies between those projects, yeah, where outputs from one project will be required by others. We also need to think about dependencies between our projects and our business-as-usual, where we need to be aware of what's happening in business-as-usual so that we can-, we, we can work at, at a pace with them, you know, so we can walk hand-in-hand. Those dependencies help us identify risk, yeah, so wherever we're dependent on something over which we don't have control, we always need to think about, 'Okay, what happens if it goes wrong?'

Moderator: Yeah, and that, kind of, makes them a bit of a, sort of, fault line through the programme.

Margaret: Indeed.

Moderator: You know, I've often seen programmes go wrong because of dependencies, particularly for me, interdependencies are the worst ones, where, 'cause ironically you've, as a programme manager, you've got control of all of them, but just, it can be a domino effect where just something just gets delayed by a day and suddenly something else is delayed by a month, very frustrating.

Margaret: Absolutely, yeah.

Moderator: So, how do we identify dependencies?

Margaret: As with many elements of our programme, Michael, we, we could just run workshops, yeah, get our project teams together, get our business-as-usual, people in a room along with those project managers and just think about the best timelines for, for our programme. We could have discussions with experts, perhaps with other programme managers, especially if we're thinking about intra-dependencies, dependencies between our programme and other programmes, or projects out with our control. We might have discussions with our business leaders about those kind of external dependencies. Of course, our best friends, whenever we're thinking about multiple projects or multiple programme, is our programme office, and they should have an overview of all of the change that's going on and be able to help us with those dependencies.

Moderator: Yeah, the programme office really are the unsung heroes of programme management, I think.

Margaret: Indeed.

Moderator: So, then finally we've got this dependency information. How can we use it in the programme?

Margaret: Okay. So, we can use the information on dependencies when we're talking to our sponsoring group, yeah, when we're thinking about-, you know, especially if we're dependent on things that are outside of our control or external dependencies, intra-dependencies, yeah, is important the sponsoring group understand that there is an interaction between projects and programmes that are running concurrently. We might want to report to our business, our business-as-usual, the business units are being impacted, but we can also use the information about our dependencies to engage with the resources, with our project teams, yeah, and give them that sense of urgency, why do we need it now, yeah, why is it important that it's finished by the end of the month or whatever.

Moderator: Yeah, I mean, I think, from my experience as a project manager, I often found that, that would be a bit strange that sometimes, you know, senior managers would say to you, 'It's got to be by the end of the month,' and you'd be, like, 'Well, why?' and if they gave you the bigger picture and explained it might make you feel like they were-, less like they were just doing it on purpose, you know, that there was a, kind of, knock-on effect to it.

Margaret: Indeed, yes.

Moderator: Well, that's great, so I think we all understand a little bit more about dependencies now, so thanks very much for your time again, Margaret.

Margaret: No problem.

Expert discussion: Dependencies

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