FREE TOOL · DEPENDENCY PLAYGROUND
See how one change travels.
Map the work that needs other work. Add extra days to one item and see which finishes move, which stay the same, and which are still unknown.
An illustrative comparison.
Build the map. Try one change.
All links and estimates are yours to choose. The tool does not find missing needs or decide a delivery date.
Three steps to explore a change
- Add the work. Name a few items. Choose an estimate, or leave it Unknown.
- Add the needs. Select an item and tick the items it needs before it starts.
- Try extra days. Select one item, add extra days, and compare its finish and the finishes after it.
Use Graph to see the links, or List to read the same items and their needs. Select an item in either view to edit it.
Add a few items and the needs between them, or try the labelled example.
Your assumptions
WORK ITEMS · 0 / 16
Follow the needs.
Start with a few connected pieces.
Add an item, or load the labelled example to see how a change can travel through the map.
ONE CHANGE · SAME MAP
What moves when this takes longer?
What-if adds this time to the selected item’s estimate. Unknown estimates and blocked work stay unknown.
Baseline
- Whole-map finish
- Unknown
What-if · +0 days
- Whole-map finish
- Unknown
Follow the change
- Downstream items
- 0
- Known finishes that move
- 0
Downstream means linked after the selected item. It does not always mean the finish changes.
Day 0 is the start of this comparison. Items start after every declared need finishes, and independent items can run together with no limit. The map uses no calendar, people or resource limits. Its days illustrate a change; they are not promised dates.
Keep the map and the assumptions.
Exports include every item, its needs, notes, estimates, blocks, both comparisons and the model assumptions.
Local saving starts after your first edit.Terms explained
- Work item
- One piece of work in this map. Keep it small enough to describe and estimate. It can need other items before it starts.
- Needs
- Items that must finish before this item can start. Add only needs you know about. An arrow points from the needed item to the item that waits for it.
- Items that need this
- Items that need the selected item before they can start. Other items may depend on it through several steps.
- Estimated days
- How many full days this item may take once it starts. Choose Unknown if you do not have an estimate. Unknown is not zero days.
- Blocked
- You know this item cannot move forward, but you have not set when the block will end. Its finish, and the finish of items that need it, stay unknown.
- Baseline
- The comparison using the estimates, needs and blocks in your map, before adding extra days to the selected item.
- What-if
- The same map with extra days added to the selected item’s known estimate. All needs and blocks stay the same. It is a comparison, not a promise.
- Extra days
- Extra time added to the selected item in What-if. This changes its length, not its needs or its modeled start day. An unknown estimate stays unknown.
- Downstream items
- Items linked after the selected item, through one or more needs. A link can carry a change, but another longer need may mean the finish does not move.
- Finishes that move
- Items with known finish days in both comparisons that finish later in What-if. A downstream item may keep the same finish day.
- Modeled days
- Day 0 is the start of this comparison. Items with no needs can start together. These are elapsed days, not calendar dates or a delivery forecast.
- Whole-map finish
- The latest finish day across all items, only when every item has a known finish. If any finish is unknown, the whole-map finish is unknown too.
- Dependency cycle
- Items that need one another in a loop. None can start under this model. Review or remove a need to break the loop; independent items can still have known finishes.
- Your assumptions
- Things you expect to be true but still need to check, such as access to an outside service. Notes do not change the calculation.
EXPLORE THE LINKS
A model to discuss.
A map you can change.
Work can wait for other work. A change may travel through several items, or a longer branch may leave the final finish unchanged. The Playground makes those declared links visible.
What this model assumes
- This is a learning map based on your estimates and links. A person must review it before making a delivery promise.
- B needs A means A must finish before B can start. Arrows point from the needed item to the item that needs it.
- Day 0 is the start of the model. Days are elapsed model time, not calendar dates or working-day bookings.
- Independent work can run at the same time, with unlimited people and resources. The model does not include weekends, holidays or other work.
- Each estimate is a whole number of model days. A missing estimate stays unknown; it does not count as zero.
- A blocked item and all items that need it have unknown times. A dependency cycle and its later dependent items also have unknown times. Other branches can still have known times.
- The experiment adds the chosen delay to the selected item’s estimate only. It keeps the same items, links and blocked flags. A join may absorb a delay while it waits for another branch.
- A dependency level shows how items are linked, not a date, a priority or a delivery order. A cycle group is a group of related items, not an ordered path.
- Whole-map finish is unknown if any item has an unknown finish. The latest known finish covers only the known part of the map.
- This tool does not assign people, choose priorities, change real work or predict a real delivery date. Your draft stays in this browser until you copy or download it.
Review the real people, resources, dates and needs before using this map to plan delivery. This tool compares your inputs; it does not discover missing work or make commitments.
Your map stays with you.
No account or workspace connection. Your map is saved only in this browser after an edit. You choose when to copy or download it. This tool does not create work items, publish a plan or schedule work.