It is written for Kendis admins, collection managers, and the Jira or Azure DevOps admins who work with them. For how to use the Dependency Explorer and the Dependency Tree day to day, see the Dependency Explorer: Help Guide.
Contents
1. How dependencies work in Kendis
A dependency in Kendis is a link between two items in Jira or Azure DevOps that your company treats as a dependency, for example PROJ-12 blocks PROJ-40 in Jira or a Successor link in Azure DevOps.
You decide which link types count. Jira and Azure DevOps have many kinds of links. You pick the ones that mean "dependency" for your company. Links of other types are ignored.
Links flow in from the tool. When Kendis syncs items from Jira or Azure DevOps, it reads their links. Links of the chosen types become dependencies in Kendis, and links removed in the tool are removed in Kendis too.
Links flow out from Kendis. When someone creates or removes a dependency in Kendis, the link is created or removed in the tool.
Kendis adds what the tool doesn't have. Each dependency gets its own status (from a dependency workflow), owner, reporter, raised-on and target dates, summary, description and conversation. These live in Kendis.
The Dependencies module adds the Dependency Explorer page to a collection. Dependency actions are also available in the collection's Backlog.
2. Before you start
You need:
Prerequisite | Where | Notes |
A Jira or Azure DevOps account in Kendis | Administration → ALM Accounts | Dependencies work with Jira (Cloud, Server and Data Center) and Azure DevOps. |
An items hierarchy linked to that account | Administration → Item Hierarchy | Pick the account in Select ALM Account and map the item types to each level. |
A collection that uses that hierarchy and account | The collection's Basic Details | Select Items Hierarchy and Select ALM Account under Select Agile Tool (ALM Account) & Hierarchy. |
Items synced into the collection | The collection's Backlog | Through Jira filters or Azure DevOps queries. |
Permission to manage the collection |
| To change the collection's settings. |
Dependencies connect items that come from Jira or Azure DevOps. A collection set to Kendis only (Not linked to Agile tool), and Kendis-only items, can't have dependencies.
3. Step 1: Turn on Dependencies for a collection
Open the collection's settings
Use any of these:
Org View: right-click the collection (or use its ⋯ menu), choose Customize, then Edit details….
Inside the collection: click About in the left navigation, then Settings (gear icon) at the top right.
Administration: Administration → Board Collections → Org View Collections, then click the collection's title.
Switch on the module
Open the Configuration tab.
Under Select options, find Dependencies and switch it on.
Optionally:
drag it by the Move handle to change where it appears in the navigation;
click the pencil to rename it.
Click Save.
Dependencies now appears in the collection's left navigation and opens the Dependency Explorer.
Good to know
The switch appears only for Jira and Azure DevOps hierarchies. If the collection's items hierarchy isn't linked to a Jira or Azure DevOps account, there is no Dependencies switch.
New collections on a Jira or Azure DevOps hierarchy start with Dependencies on. Existing collections keep their current modules, so you switch Dependencies on yourself.
Switching the module on doesn't create any dependencies. Kendis also needs to know which links count, which is the next step.
4. Step 2: Choose which links count as dependencies
This is the step that makes dependencies appear. Until link types are chosen, no Jira or Azure DevOps link is treated as a dependency, and the New dependency form has no link types to offer.
Where
Open the collection and click About in the left navigation.
Open the Agile Tool (Jira) or Agile Tool (Azure DevOps) tab, at the top right.
Find the Jira Dependency Link Types or Azure DevOps Dependency Link Types section.
Adding and removing link types
Add Link Types: pick a link type from the list. It is added to Link Types below and saved straight away (Dependency link types saved successfully).
Both directions are added together. Picking blocks also adds is blocked by; picking Successor also adds Predecessor.
Remove a link type: click × next to it and confirm. Its opposite direction is removed too.
This setting is shared
The chosen link types belong to the Jira or Azure DevOps account, not to one collection. Every collection connected to the same account uses the same list, so a change here affects all of them. Agree on the list with the other collection owners before you change it.
Recommended link types
Tool | Choose | Usually leave out |
Jira | blocks / is blocked by (and any link types your company created for dependencies, for example depends on / is depended on by) | relates to, duplicates, clones, and the Epic / parent link entry. Parent and child relationships are part of the hierarchy, not dependencies. |
Azure DevOps | Successor / Predecessor (the Dependency link type) | Related, Duplicate, Tested By, Affects. Parent and child links aren't offered. |
You can also choose an undirected type such as relates to if your teams use it for dependencies. It shows without an arrow on the tree.
What happens after a change
Adding a link type doesn't change existing items straight away. Their links of that type arrive the next time each item is synced. See Step 3.
Removing a link type removes the dependencies of that type from Kendis as their items are next synced, together with their Kendis status, owner, dates, summary and conversation. The links themselves stay in Jira or Azure DevOps.
5. Step 3: Bring in the links that already exist
Saving link types doesn't trigger a sync. To bring in the links that already exist between your items:
Open the collection's Backlog.
Settings → Manage Jira Filters (or Manage Azure DevOps Filters).
Click Resync on each filter or query.
As items sync, their links of the chosen types become dependencies. Open Dependencies to see them; set the Time Period to All if you want to see every period.
The other end of a link doesn't need to be in the collection. If it is in Kendis (in any collection on the same account), you see its details. If it exists only in Jira or Azure DevOps, it shows as an external dependency with its key and a link to the tool.
6. Step 4: Keep links up to date automatically
Once set up, links stay up to date in two ways:
Notifications from the tool (webhooks) bring changes in as they happen.
Syncs (Auto Sync, and Resync in the Backlog) bring in the current links of every item they sync.
Jira
Kendis tries to create the Jira webhook automatically when the Jira account is added to Kendis. For dependencies the webhook needs these events:
Issue: created, updated, deleted;
Issue link: created, deleted.
To check or create it yourself:
In Kendis, open Administration → ALM Accounts and open your Jira account. The Webhook section shows the Webhook URL, and a note if the automatic creation didn't succeed. If the webhook is in place it reads Webhook is configured.
Under Configure Webhook, click Open jira webhook settings (Jira admin rights needed), then + Create a WebHook.
Enter a Name, paste the Webhook URL from Kendis into URL, and under Events tick the events above.
Click Create.
If the webhook doesn't send Issue link events, link changes made in Jira arrive with the next sync of the item instead of straight away.
Azure DevOps
Kendis creates service hooks in each Azure DevOps project automatically when the project is linked to Kendis, for Work item created, Work item updated and Work item deleted. Link changes arrive with Work item updated.
If a project is missing its service hooks:
In Kendis, open Administration → ALM Accounts and open your Azure DevOps account to copy the Webhook URL.
In Azure DevOps, open the project's Project settings → Service hooks, add a Web Hooks subscription for Work item updated (and Work item created / Work item deleted), and paste the URL.
7. Step 5: Set up the dependency statuses
Every dependency has its own status, separate from the status of its two items. Statuses come from your company's dependency workflow.
Kendis creates a Default Dependency Workflow for you:
Category | Statuses |
To Do | Waiting for Acceptance, Accepted, Not Started |
In Progress | In Progress |
Done | Done, Done with Acceptance |
Other | Blocked, Ignored, Integrated |
To change it, open Administration → Workflows and edit the workflow of type Dependency, for example to rename statuses or add the ones your teams use.
Good to know:
One workflow for the whole company. Kendis uses a single dependency workflow. Edit the existing one rather than creating another.
The first status is the starting status of new dependencies.
The categories matter. Statuses in the Done category count as completed in the Completed tile, and dependencies in other categories become Overdue once their target date passes.
Any status can be chosen at any time; there are no transition rules.
Dependencies synced from the tool start without a status and show To Do until someone sets one.
8. Step 6: Choose the team field
The Cross-team and Within team numbers and the team charts on the Dependency Explorer dashboard need to know which field means "team".
In the Dependency Explorer, click Options and choose the Team field:
Azure DevOps: ADO Team.
Jira: the Jira Team field when your Jira has one, or a single-choice field your teams use for their team (for example Squad).
This choice is kept in each person's browser, so let your users know which field to pick.
9. Setting up Jira
In Jira
What | Why |
Issue linking is switched on (Jira admin → Issues → Issue linking) | Without it, Jira has no link types to offer. |
The link types you want exist, for example Blocks (blocks / is blocked by) | You choose from these in Kendis. |
The account Kendis uses can browse the projects | To read the issues and their links. |
The account can link issues (Link Issues project permission) | To create and remove links when people manage dependencies in Kendis. |
A webhook with issue and issue link events | To bring link changes in straight away. See Step 4. |
Whose Jira access is used
Reading links: the access used by the sync (the filter's owner or the collection's account, as set in the Backlog's filter settings).
Creating and removing links: the person's own Jira access when they have connected it in their Kendis profile; otherwise the Jira account connected to Kendis. In Jira, the link then appears as made by that account.
How Jira links appear in Kendis
A Jira link type has two phrases, for example blocks and is blocked by. Kendis shows the right phrase for each side: PROJ-12 blocks PROJ-40 on one item, PROJ-40 is blocked by PROJ-12 on the other.
Links whose two phrases are the same, such as relates to, have no direction.
If a link type you just created in Jira isn't in the Add Link Types list, contact Kendis support to refresh the list of link types for your Jira account.
10. Setting up Azure DevOps
In Azure DevOps
What | Why |
The account Kendis uses can view and edit work items in the area paths your collections cover | To read links, and to create and remove them when people manage dependencies in Kendis. |
Service hooks for the projects (created automatically when you link a project) | To bring link changes in straight away. See Step 4. |
Whose Azure DevOps access is used
Reading links: the access used by the sync.
Creating and removing links: the person's own Azure DevOps access when they have connected it in their Kendis profile; otherwise the Azure DevOps account connected to Kendis.
How Azure DevOps links appear in Kendis
The Dependency link type has two directions: Successor and Predecessor. Kendis shows the right one for each side.
Links are read from both ends, so a link added on either work item shows up as one dependency.
11. What is kept in Kendis and what is kept in the tool
| Kept in Jira / Azure DevOps | Kept in Kendis |
The link between the two items | Yes | Yes (in step with the tool) |
Link type and direction | Yes | Yes |
Dependency status |
| Yes |
Summary and description |
| Yes |
Responsible, reporter |
| Yes |
Raised on, target resolution |
| Yes |
Conversation and watchers |
| Yes |
Change | Where it is made | What happens in the other place |
A link is added in the tool | Jira / Azure DevOps | It appears in Kendis (if its type is chosen) |
A link is removed in the tool | Jira / Azure DevOps | The dependency is removed from Kendis |
A dependency is created in Kendis | Kendis | The link is created in the tool |
A dependency is removed in Kendis | Kendis | The link is removed in the tool |
A dependency's status, owner, dates or text change | Kendis | Nothing changes in the tool |
12. Who can do what
Action | Who |
Turn the Dependencies module on or off | Company admins and users who can manage the collection |
Choose the dependency link types (About → Agile Tool) | Users who can open the collection's About page. Because the list is shared by every collection on the same account, we recommend that only admins change it. |
Edit the dependency workflow (Administration → Workflows) | Company admins |
Create webhooks and service hooks | Admins of Jira or Azure DevOps |
View, create, update and remove dependencies | Users with access to the collection |
13. Troubleshooting
Symptom | Check |
There is no Dependencies switch in Configuration. | The collection's items hierarchy isn't linked to a Jira or Azure DevOps account. Link the account to the hierarchy in Administration → Item Hierarchy. |
Dependencies isn't in the collection's navigation. | Switch it on in Configuration and click Save. |
The Dependency Explorer is empty. | 1. Choose link types (Step 2). 2. Resync the collection's filters (Step 3). 3. In the Explorer, set the Time Period to All and Reset all filters. |
The Add Link Types list is empty. | Issue linking may be off in Jira, or Kendis can't reach the tool with the account's access. Check the account in Administration → ALM Accounts. |
A link made in Jira or Azure DevOps doesn't show. | Its type isn't one of the chosen link types, or the item hasn't synced since. Resync the item from the Backlog. Check the webhook (Step 4) for automatic updates. |
Add dependency does nothing, or there are no link types in the form. | No link types are chosen for the collection's account (Step 2). |
Some dependencies disappeared. | Their link type was removed from the list, or the links were removed in the tool. |
A dependency created in Kendis isn't in the tool. | The account used may not be allowed to link items (Jira Link Issues permission, or edit rights in Azure DevOps). Look for a sync error tag on the item in the Backlog and hover it for the tool's message. |
Cross-team and Within team are always 0. | No team field is chosen (Step 6). |
A collection connected to two accounts shows only one account's dependencies. | The Dependency Explorer uses the collection's first connected account. |
14. Setup checklist
Added the Jira or Azure DevOps account in Administration → ALM Accounts
Linked the items hierarchy to that account in Administration → Item Hierarchy
Set the collection to use that hierarchy and account
Switched on Dependencies in the collection’s Configuration
Chosen the dependency link types in About → Agile Tool
Resynced the collection’s filters or queries
Set up the webhook (Jira) or service hooks (Azure DevOps), with link events
Reviewed the dependency workflow in Administration → Workflows
Agreed on the team field and shared it with users