Analysis of project dependencies

Project dependency analysis is very useful when you're working in a multi-project environment, or when your project is part of a program. This analysis is often neglected, because the project manager tends to see his project as a whole that is already complicated enough to manage. Depending on the complexity of the project, the project manager quickly suffers from the tunnel effect, and consequently forgets the projects around him. However, the analysis of project dependencies provides him with valuable information that enables him to act on the risks, the interfaces between the tasks of his project and those of others, and the project schedule.

This method allows the project manager, in collaboration with the project office, to answer the following questions:

• How is the project influenced by other projects in terms of cost/quality/time?

• How does the project influence other projects?

• What are the priorities for your own project?

• How can you defuse dependencies that slow down your own project?