External Dependency

Noun · Hacker Culture

Definitions

  1. A dependency outside the direct control of a team, such as another vendor, team, service, regulator, or partner. In planning culture, external dependencies are often where schedules become optimistic and then unravel.

    In plain English: A dependency controlled by someone outside your immediate team.

    Example: "The timeline slipped not because the team worked slowly, but because the biggest milestone depended on an external dependency that kept changing its API contract."

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