You can list and group dependencies, narrow them by level, time period, team and any Jira or Azure DevOps field, look at them as a dashboard of team-to-team load, and follow a chain of dependencies visually on the Dependency Tree. You can also create, update and remove dependencies, and each one carries its own status, owner, target date, description and conversation.
Dependencies come from the links between items in Jira or Azure DevOps. When you create or remove a dependency in Kendis, the link is created or removed in the tool too. The status, owner, dates and conversation of a dependency are kept in Kendis.
Related guides. Before dependencies can appear, an admin turns them on for the collection and chooses which Jira or Azure DevOps link types count as dependencies. See Setting up Dependencies: Admin Guide. Dependencies are also available from the Backlog (see Dependencies in the Backlog).
Contents
1. Before you start
Term | Meaning |
Dependency | A link between two items where one relates to the other in a way your company treats as a dependency, for example PROJ-12 blocks PROJ-40. One link is one dependency, even when both of its items are in the list. |
Link type | The kind of link, as named in Jira (blocks / is blocked by, relates to, …) or Azure DevOps (Successor / Predecessor, …). An admin chooses which link types count as dependencies. |
Sender and receiver | The two ends of a dependency. The sender is the item on the left of the link phrase (PROJ-12 in PROJ-12 blocks PROJ-40); the receiver is the item on the right. |
Incoming / outgoing | Seen from one item: an incoming link points to the item (PROJ-12 blocks this item); an outgoing link points from the item to another (this item blocks PROJ-40). |
Dependency status | The status of the dependency itself, for example Waiting for Acceptance, Accepted, In Progress, Done. It belongs to the link, is managed in Kendis and is separate from the status of the two items. |
Item status | The item's own status in Jira, Azure DevOps or Kendis. |
External dependency | A dependency whose other end exists in Jira or Azure DevOps but has not been brought into Kendis. You see its key and can open it in the tool. |
Team field | The field that defines a "team" for the team statistics and charts: ADO Team for Azure DevOps, or the Jira Team field (or another single-choice Jira field) for Jira. See Explorer options. |
PI Boards | Your planning boards. If your company uses its own name for them, that name is shown instead throughout the Explorer. |
2. Opening the Dependency Explorer
Open the collection and click Dependencies in its left navigation. The address looks like https://acme.kendis.io/org#/art/ART-1/dependencies.
The page title reads Dependency Explorer.
When you open it for the first time:
the list shows only the collection's items that have dependencies (you can change this in Filters);
the Time Period is set to Current & upcoming, so you see dependencies around the work that is running now and coming next. If nothing in the collection falls in that range, Kendis shows All periods instead.
If you don't see Dependencies in the navigation, the module isn't switched on for this collection, or the collection isn't connected to Jira or Azure DevOps. See the setup guide.
If you don't have access to the collection, the page doesn't open.
3. The page at a glance
From top to bottom:
The header: back arrow, the collection name, Saved Views, Options, Add dependency, and the Items / Dashboard tabs with the Time Period menu.
The Time Period band: quick chips for quarters or PI Boards, with counts.
On the Items tab:
summary tiles with the key numbers;
the toolbar: search, Filters, Level, Group, Columns;
the Filtered by bar, when filters are applied;
the list of items and their dependencies;
the footer with paging.
On the Dashboard tab: tiles, the team matrix and the team charts.
4. The header
Control | What it does |
Back arrow / collection name | Go back to the page you came from. |
Saved Views | Apply, save and delete saved views. See Saved views. |
Options | Choose the team field. See Explorer options. |
Add dependency | Create a new dependency, choosing both items in the form. See Creating a dependency. |
Items / Dashboard | Switch between the list and the dashboard. The page always opens on Items. |
Time Period | Choose quarters, half-years, years or PI Boards. See Time Period. |
5. Summary tiles
The tiles across the top of the Items tab give you the key numbers for everything that matches your filters, level and time period. The big number is a count of dependencies (links). The Total deps tile also shows how many listed items those dependencies involve, for example 48 links · 31 items. The two numbers differ because one dependency can involve two listed items.
Tile | What it counts |
Total deps | Every dependency that matches. Click it to clear a tile filter. |
Overdue | Dependencies that aren't done and whose Target resolution date has passed. |
Completed | Dependencies whose dependency status is in the Done category. |
Cross-team | Dependencies whose two items belong to different teams (using the team field). Items without a team are not counted. |
Within team | Dependencies whose two items belong to the same team. |
External Dependencies | Dependencies whose other end exists only in Jira or Azure DevOps and hasn't been brought into Kendis. |
Reverse Dependencies | Dependencies with a timing conflict: the item that depends on another is planned to finish earlier than the item it depends on. Kendis compares the finish dates of their iterations (Azure DevOps) or latest sprints (Jira). |
Cross Collection | Dependencies that cross the collection boundary: one item is in this collection and the other isn't. |
Within Collection | Dependencies whose two items are both in this collection. |
Hover a tile for its explanation.
Using a tile as a filter
Click a tile to show only the items and dependencies it counts. The tile gets a coloured ring, each row shows only its matching links, and the footer shows Filtered: tile name with ✕ to clear it. Click the tile again, or Total deps, to go back.
Good to know:
Tiles are not affected by the search box.
Applying a saved view or resetting filters clears the tile filter.
If Cross-team and Within team stay at 0, no team field is set for this collection. See Explorer options.
6. Working with the list
Each row of the list is an item of this collection, with its dependencies underneath.
Rows
The Dependencies cell shows two chips and a small bar:
← n (purple): incoming links, which point to this item;
n → (orange): outgoing links, which point from this item to another;
the bar shows the balance between the two.
The Tree cell has a tree icon when the item has dependencies. Click it to open the item on the Dependency Tree.
Click anywhere else on the row to open or close its dependencies.
Right-click the row for its menu (see Menus).
The dependency rows underneath
When you open a row, each dependency appears as a row underneath it, incoming ones first:
The first cell shows the direction and the link phrase, for example ← is blocked by or → blocks (in Azure DevOps, for example → Successor). Click it to open the dependency and update it.
The rest of the row, including Status, describes the other item: its key, title, workflow status and fields. To see the dependency status, open the dependency, or check Link status in the item’s List.
The Dependency Responsible column shows who owns the dependency.
Click the other item's title to open its item card. If the other item exists only in Jira or Azure DevOps, the click opens the dependency instead.
Keys and titles
Key: shows the Jira issue-type icon or the Azure DevOps work-item icon. When the item exists in Jira or Azure DevOps, the key opens it there in a new tab.
Item (title): click to open the Kendis item card. A loader Opening item… appears while it opens; Cancel (Esc) stops it.
Columns
Column | Shows | Shown by default |
Key | Type icon and key | Always (can't be hidden) |
Item | Title | Always (can't be hidden) |
Status | The item’s workflow status (on dependency rows: the other item’s workflow status) | Yes |
Dependency Responsible | The owner of each dependency | Yes |
ADO Team | The item's Azure DevOps team | Yes, Azure DevOps only |
Area Path / Iteration Path | The last part of the path; hover for the full path | Yes, Azure DevOps only |
Project | Jira project or Azure DevOps project | Jira collections |
Issue Type | Jira issue type | Jira collections |
Item Type | Azure DevOps work item type | No, Azure DevOps only |
Kendis Team | Kendis teams | No |
Kendis Sprint | Kendis sprint | No |
PI Boards | The PI Boards the item is on | No |
Quarter / PI | The item's time period and PI Boards, editable (see below) | No |
Solution Boards, Batches | Chips | No |
Your custom fields | The field's value | No |
Showing, hiding and ordering columns
Click Columns on the toolbar (Show & order columns):
tick or untick columns; use Search columns… to find one;
Show all or Clear in one click; the header shows 8 of 20 shown;
use ▲ / ▼ to move a column up or down.
Your columns are remembered for this collection and are saved with saved views.
Editing the time period and PI Boards in the list
Show the Quarter / PI column to change an item's time period or PI Boards straight from the list. It works the same way as in the Backlog: pick a quarter, half-year or year from your fiscal calendar (the current one is marked Now), or Clear period; click the PI chip to change PI Boards. The list and the Time Period counts update after the change.
Sorting
Click a column header to sort by it (Sort by Status). Click again to reverse, and a third time to stop sorting. Without a sort, the newest items come first. Sorting isn't available while the list is grouped.
Grouping
Click Group and pick a field: Status, Project, Area Path, Iteration Path, Item Type or Issue Type, ADO Team, Kendis Team, Kendis Sprint, Solution Boards, PI Boards, Batches, Team (Jira), or one of your custom fields. Use Search group by… to find one, and No group to turn grouping off.
Groups start closed. Each header shows the value and the number of items, for example Platform · 12 items. Click it to open it.
Collapse all groups / Expand all groups (next to Group) open or close every group.
An item with several values (for example two teams) appears in each of their groups.
Items without a value are in No Group, at the end.
While grouped, sorting and paging are switched off.
The grouping is remembered for this collection and saved with saved views.
Paging
The footer reads Showing 1–25 of 140 items. Choose Per page (10, 25, 50 or 100) and move between pages with the arrows. When grouped, it reads Grouped by Status · 5 groups · 140 items.
Menus
Right-click an item row:
Entry | What it does |
Open item card | Opens the Kendis item card. |
View dependencies | Opens the item's dependency list. The number shows how many it has. |
Open dependency tree | Opens the item on the Dependency Tree. |
Create dependency… | Creates a dependency with this item as the sender. |
Open in Jira / Azure DevOps | Opens the item in the tool, in a new tab. |
Right-click a dependency row:
Entry | What it does |
Edit link | Opens the dependency to update it. |
Open KEY card | Opens the other item's card. |
Dependency tree of KEY | Opens the other item on the tree. |
Delete link | Opens the dependency, where you confirm the removal. See Removing a dependency. |
Press Esc or click elsewhere to close a menu.
Empty states
Loading dependencies…
No dependencies found. Try a different search or clear the filters.
7. Narrowing the view
Search, Level, Time Period and Filters work together: an item must pass all of them to be listed.
Search
Type in Search items, keys, teams…. Kendis searches the collection's items (not only the rows on screen) for a match in the title. You can also type an Azure DevOps work item ID or a Kendis key (for example K-415). The search applies to the list only, not to the tiles or the dashboard, and it isn't saved in views.
Level
The Level button appears when the collection has hierarchy levels (for example Epic, Feature, Story).
Pick one or more levels to list only items at those levels. The button shows the level's name, or 2 levels.
All levels clears the choice.
The tiles and dashboard count a dependency when either of its items is at a selected level.
Time Period
Use the Time Period to focus on dependencies around a stretch of time or a set of PI Boards. It has two parts: the Time Period menu on the tab row, and the band of chips under the header.
Quarters or PI Boards
The menu has two modes, each with its own choices:
Quarters: your fiscal calendar's quarters, half-years and years, from one year back to three years ahead, each with a count, plus Unplanned (items with no dates, no time period and no PI Board). All periods clears the choice.
PI Boards: the collection's PI Boards, newest first, with their dates and a count. Search with Search PI Boards…. All periods clears the choice.
The button shows what is chosen: Time Period, a single period such as Q4 FY26, 3 periods, or 2 PI Boards.
The band of chips
The band shows the periods (or PI Boards) that actually have dependencies, with a count on each chip.
Scope buttons on the left:
All: every period;
Past: periods that ended before today;
Current & upcoming (the default): the running period and the ones after it;
Undated (PI Boards only): PI Boards without dates.
You can combine Past and Current & upcoming.
Chips: click one or more to narrow to those periods. Quarters come first, then half-years and years; an amber Unplanned chip comes last. In PI Board mode each chip reads like Q4 FY26 · PI-5.
Up to ten chips fit in the row; +n more opens the rest. A chip you pick from there moves into the row.
Hover a chip for its dates and how many items with dependencies it has. A PI Board chip also offers Open PI board ↗.
When no chip is picked, everything in the chosen scope counts.
How matching works
A dependency matters to a period when either of its items is in that period. So an item is listed when it, or any item it is linked to, falls in the period. This keeps the other side of each dependency in view even when it is planned elsewhere.
An item is in a period when its start date (or end date, if it has no start date) falls inside the period, when its time period is set to that period, or when it is on a PI Board that runs in that period. In PI Board mode, an item matches when it is on a chosen PI Board.
The chip counts are based on the collection's items with dependencies and aren't changed by the other filters.
Advanced filters
Click Filters to open Advanced filters.
Conditions on the listed items
Under Conditions · source items (Chain each rule — items must match every condition):
Pick a field. Type to search; each field can be used once.
Pick one or more values. A condition matches when the item has any of the values you picked (is any of).
Add condition for more. An item must match every condition.
Click Apply filters.
Field | Values |
Status | Grouped by category (To Do, In Progress, Done, Other). Tick a category to tick all of its statuses. |
Project | Jira or Azure DevOps projects |
Area Path, Iteration Path | A tree; ticking a path also ticks everything below it. Search with Search paths…. Azure DevOps only. |
Item Type / Issue Type | Azure DevOps work item types / Jira issue types |
Has dependency | With dependencies or Without dependencies |
ADO Team | Azure DevOps teams |
Kendis Team, Kendis Sprint (grouped by board), Solution Boards, PI Boards, Batches | Kendis values |
Team (Jira) | Text, when your Jira has a Team field |
Your custom fields | A list of values, true/false, or text (date fields aren't offered) |
Conditions on the linked items
Switch on Target dependency item filters (Applied to linked items) to filter the other end of each dependency, with the same fields. Click Add target condition to add one.
For example, list your collection's items but only their dependencies on items in the Platform team: add a target condition ADO Team is any of Platform. Dependencies whose other item doesn't match are hidden, and items left with no dependency disappear from the list. Dependencies on items that exist only in Jira or Azure DevOps are hidden while target conditions are on.
The footer
The preview reads 3 conditions applied, or All items — no rules applied yet.
Reset clears the conditions in the drawer and applies that straight away. This also removes the default Has dependency condition, so items without dependencies appear too. Level and Time Period stay as they are.
Save view / Update view save your filters as a view (see Saved views).
Apply filters applies and closes the drawer. Closing with ✕ or clicking outside discards unapplied changes.
Saved filters / Browse opens the saved views library.
By default the list starts with Has dependency: With dependencies, so only items with dependencies are shown.
The "Filtered by" bar
While filters are applied, Filtered by appears under the toolbar with a chip that names the filtered fields and how many there are. Click the chip to see every condition (Filter criteria); conditions on linked items carry a Target tag.
Reset, Reset all or the chip's ✕ clear everything at once: the filters, the tile filter, Level and Time Period choices, and go back to Current & upcoming.
8. Saved views
A saved view keeps a way of looking at dependencies so you, or your team, can come back to it in one click.
What a view keeps
Kept | Not kept |
Filters on the listed items and on the linked items | Search text |
Level | Sort and page |
Time Period (mode, chosen periods or PI Boards, scope) | The tile filter |
Visible columns and their order | The tab and dashboard choices |
Grouping | The team field |
Private and shared views
Shared views are visible to everyone who opens this collection's Dependency Explorer, and anyone who can see a shared view can update or delete it.
Private views are visible only to you.
Saving a view
From Saved Views in the header: under Save current view, type a name (Name this view…) and click Save (or press Enter). Views saved this way are shared.
From the Filters drawer: click Save view, enter a name, and tick Make this view private (only me) if it's just for you. Click Save view. The drawer's filters are applied too, and the new view becomes the active one.
Updating a view
While a view is active, the drawer offers Update view: Overwrite "name" with the current filters, columns and grouping. You can also rename it below. Change the name or the private setting if you like, then click Update view.
Applying a view
Saved Views in the header lists every view with a Private or Shared badge. Click one to apply it.
Filters → Saved filters → Browse opens the Saved views library: search the views, see what each one contains (2 conditions · 6 columns · grouped by Status) and click Apply.
Applying a view replaces your filters, level, time period, columns and grouping, and clears the tile filter.
Deleting a view
Hover a view and click ✕ (Delete view), then confirm with Yes, delete it. This can't be undone.
The last view or set of filters you used is remembered for this collection, and opens again next time.
9. Explorer options: choosing the team field
The team statistics (Cross-team, Within team) and the team charts on the dashboard need to know which field means "team".
Click Options in the header to open Explorer Options, choose the Team field and click Save:
Azure DevOps collections: ADO Team.
Jira collections: the Jira Team field when your Jira has one, or any single-choice Jira field (for example a Squad field).
When no team field is available, the popup says so and team statistics stay empty. Your choice is remembered in your browser for this collection.
10. The Dashboard
The Dashboard tab turns the same filtered set of dependencies into a picture of how teams depend on each other. It uses your filters, level and time period, but not the search box or the tile filter.
Tiles
The same nine numbers as the summary tiles, for reference.
The team matrix
Team-to-team dependencies (the title follows the chosen dimension, for example ADO Team-to-ADO Team dependencies).
Rows depend on columns. Each cell shows how many dependencies the row's items have on the column's items. Darker cells mean more dependencies (Fewer → More). Each row shows its total.
Choose what the rows and columns are with Group by:
Azure DevOps: ADO Team (default), Area Path, Project, Iteration Path, Status (items);
Jira: Project, Status (items), Issue Type, and your team field when one is set (the default when available).
Click a cell to see those dependencies (Payments → Platform). Click a row or column name to see every dependency of that team, on either side.
Cross vs within team
A ring chart of how many dependencies stay within a team and how many go across teams. Click the ring, or one of its legend entries, to list those dependencies.
Dependencies by team
One bar per team, busiest first:
Incoming (purple): dependencies where other items depend on this team's items;
Outgoing (orange): dependencies where this team's items depend on others.
Click a bar to list those dependencies.
The dependency list window
Clicking any number, cell or bar opens a list of the dependencies behind it:
columns Source, Link, Target and Status (the dependency status);
Search by key, title or team…;
click a key or title to open the item card;
the tree button opens the source item on the Dependency Tree, the pencil opens the dependency;
+ Create dependency creates a new one.
11. The Dependency Tree
The Dependency Tree shows an item and the chain of items around it as a map, so you can see what it waits on, what waits on it, and how far a delay could travel.
Opening the tree
In the Dependency Explorer: the tree icon on a row, Open dependency tree in a row's menu, Dependency tree of KEY on a dependency row, or the tree button in a dashboard list.
In the Backlog: Dependency tree in a row's menu, or the dependency count in the Dependencies column.
The tree opens full screen, centred on the item you chose (the focus, with a green border).
Reading the tree
Cards. Each item is a card showing:
the type icon (hover it for the type) and the key;
the item's status, with a coloured dot;
the title (two lines);
the team, when the item has one;
chips for the item's quarter and its PI Board (+2 when it is on more than one).
Links. Each dependency is a dashed line from the sender to the receiver:
the line's colour shows the link type (for example orange for blocks, blue for Successor); the legend at the bottom left lists them;
directed link types have an arrowhead and dashes that flow from sender to receiver; undirected types such as relates to are dotted, without an arrow;
hover a line for PROJ-12 blocks PROJ-40 and whether it is a Cross-team or Same team dependency;
Aa in the toolbar (Show link labels on the lines) writes the link phrase on every line.
The colours of lines show link types, not dependency status. The dependency status is shown in the List.
Ports. The small circles on a card's edges open and close its links:
the blue circle on the left (top, in vertical layout) is for incoming links; the orange circle on the right (bottom) is for outgoing links;
+3 means three linked items are hidden; + means that side hasn't been loaded yet; − means it is open;
click a port to open or close that side; hover it for Show incoming (3) and the link types behind it, for example 2 × is blocked by.
Moving around
Action | How |
Focus another item | Double-click its card, or Make focus in its menu. |
Go back to the previous focus | ‹ KEY in the header. |
Open an item's card | Click its title. |
Highlight a chain | Click a card: the whole chain before and after it stands out and the other lines turn grey. |
Open a dependency | Click its line. |
Zoom | Mouse wheel, or − / + in the toolbar; click the percentage to go back to 100%. |
See everything | Fit. |
Find your way | The overview map at the bottom right. |
The toolbar
Control | What it does |
Search tree… | Hides cards that don't match the key, title or team. The focus card always stays. |
Both / Incoming / Outgoing | Show links in both directions, or only one. |
Link types | Tick or untick link types (LINK TYPES, Show all). Each shows how many links of that type are loaded. Unticked types are hidden, together with the cards that are only reachable through them. Types come from your Jira / Azure DevOps link settings. |
DEPTH 1 / 2 / 3 / All | How many steps out from the focus to show. All goes up to eight steps. The tree opens at depth 2. |
All quarters | Show only cards in one quarter. |
All teams | Show only cards of one team. |
n cards hidden / Clear | Appears when search, quarter or team hide cards; Clear shows them again. |
⇆ Horizontal / ⇅ Vertical | Lay the tree out from left to right, or from top to bottom. |
−, n%, +, Fit | Zoom. |
Aa | Show link phrases on the lines. |
limit reached | Appears when the tree reached its maximum of 600 items: Focus a card further out to continue from there. |
Menus
Right-click a card:
Entry | What it does |
Make focus (Dbl-click) | Centres the tree on this item. |
Show incoming (n) / Show outgoing (n) | Opens that side. |
Expand full chain | Opens everything reachable on both sides, up to eight steps. |
Collapse incoming / Collapse outgoing | Closes that side. |
Create dependency… | Creates a dependency with this item as the sender. |
View dependencies | Opens the item's List. |
Open item card | Opens the Kendis item card. |
Open in Jira / Azure DevOps | Opens the item in the tool. |
Right-click a line:
Entry | What it does |
Edit link | Opens the dependency. |
Focus KEY (for either end) | Centres the tree on that item. |
Hide all "phrase" links | Unticks that link type. |
Delete link | Opens the dependency, where you confirm the removal. |
The header
Tree | List switches to the List of the focus item.
The collection name closes the tree.
+ Create dependency creates a dependency with the focus item as the sender.
× closes the tree. Esc closes an open list or menu first, then the tree.
Short messages confirm what happened: Link created · PROJ-12 → PROJ-40, Link updated, Link removed.
Which items appear on the tree
The tree follows dependencies from item to item across your company's work in the same Jira or Azure DevOps connection, so it can lead you into other collections. Dependencies on items that exist only in Jira or Azure DevOps appear too.
12. An item's dependencies (the List)
The List shows every dependency of one item in a table, with the details the tree doesn't show: the dependency status, its summary and target date.
Open it with View dependencies (Explorer row menu, Backlog row menu, or a tree card's menu), or with List in the tree header.
Header
The item's key, title, status, team, quarter and PI Board.
◎ Focus in tree opens the item on the tree.
Tiles: Incoming, Outgoing, Cross-team, and Unresolved (dependencies that aren't resolved, done or closed).
Tabs and search
All, then one tab per link phrase (for example blocks, is blocked by), each with a count.
Search key, title, team….
+ Create dependency.
The table
Dependencies are grouped by link type and direction, for example ← is blocked by: PROJ-7 is blocked by these 3 items.
Column | Shows |
Item | The other item: type icon, key (opens it in Jira or Azure DevOps), title (opens the item card), Cross-team badge |
Summary | The dependency's summary |
Team | The other item's team and status |
Quarter | The other item's quarter and PI Board |
Link status | The dependency status |
Target date | The dependency's target resolution date. Shown in red with · overdue when it has passed and the dependency is unresolved. |
Row actions: ◎ (focus in tree), Edit link, and ✕ (remove; it opens the dependency to confirm). Double-click a row to edit it.
The footer shows, for example, 8 links · 3 teams · 2 link types.
13. Creating a dependency
Where to start
Starting point | Sender |
Add dependency (Explorer header) | You choose it in the form |
Create dependency… on an Explorer row, a tree card, or a Backlog row | That item |
+ Create dependency on the tree header | The focus item |
+ Create dependency in the List or a dashboard list | That item, or you choose it |
The form: New dependency
Choose two items and how they relate.
SENDER and RECEIVER. Click + Choose target item (or + Choose the sender item, or Change) to pick an item:
search with Search by key, title or team…; press Enter to take the first result;
Collection lets you look in another collection connected to the same Jira or Azure DevOps account (Same ALM account as PROJ-12 (Acme Jira));
Level starts on the other item's level; choose All levels to widen it;
items already linked to the other end, and the other end itself, aren't offered.
LINK TYPE. Pick how the two relate. The list shows the link types your admin has chosen, in both directions, for example blocks and is blocked by, or Successor and Predecessor. The arrow shows which way the link points.
⇄ Swap exchanges sender and receiver.
Fill in the details:
Field | Notes |
Summary | One line, for example Payments API needed before checkout release. |
Description | Rich text: what is needed, by when, and what happens if it slips. |
Status | The dependency status. Starts on the first status of your company's dependency workflow. |
Responsible | Who owns the dependency. Can be left unassigned. |
Reporter | Starts as you. |
Raised on | Starts as today. |
Target resolution | When it must be resolved. Drives the Overdue tile and the red overdue marker. |
Click Save dependency. It is enabled once both items are chosen, a link type is picked and a status is set.
What happens when you save
The dependency is saved in Kendis with its status, people, dates, summary and description.
The link is created in Jira or Azure DevOps with the link type you chose, using your own Jira or Azure DevOps access when you have connected it in your profile, otherwise the collection's connected account.
The list, tiles, tree and Backlog refresh.
Dependencies connect items that come from Jira or Azure DevOps. Kendis-only items can't be part of a dependency.
Tip. Click outside the form only when you are done: clicking the dark background closes the form without saving.
14. Updating a dependency
Open a dependency by clicking its link chip in the list, its line on the tree, Edit link in a menu, or a row in the List. The form reads Edit dependency, with the link in the subtitle, for example PROJ-12 blocks PROJ-40.
You can change the Summary, Description, Status, Responsible, Reporter, Raised on and Target resolution. These are kept in Kendis; they aren't sent to Jira or Azure DevOps.
The two items and the link type can't be changed. To change them, remove the dependency and create a new one.
Conversations: discuss the dependency. Type in Add a comment… and click Send.
Watched by: who follows the dependency.
Click Save dependency to keep your changes.
15. Removing a dependency
Open the dependency (or choose Delete link in a menu, or ✕ in the List, which opens it for you).
Click Delete link at the bottom left of the form.
Check the summary of the link and confirm with Remove link.
The dependency is removed from Kendis, and the link is removed in Jira or Azure DevOps too. The two items themselves don't change.
16. Dependencies in the Backlog
You can work with dependencies without leaving the Backlog.
Row menu. Click ⋯ at the end of a Backlog row, or right-click it:
Entry | What it does |
View dependencies | Opens the tree with the item's List on top. |
Dependency tree | Opens the tree focused on the item. |
Create dependency… | Opens the New dependency form with the item as the sender. |
A short Opening dependencies… message appears the first time, while the dependency views load.
These entries appear on rows that come from the collection's Jira or Azure DevOps account. They don't appear on Kendis-only items.
The Dependencies column. Add Dependencies from Columns to see how many dependencies each item has. Click the number to open the item on the tree. You can also filter the Backlog by Has dependency.
Changes you make in the tree, List or form refresh the Backlog automatically.
17. Which dependencies you see
The list shows the collection's items from its Jira or Azure DevOps account. Milestones and phases aren't listed.
Each item's dependencies include both directions. The other item can be in this collection, in another collection on the same Jira or Azure DevOps account, or only in Jira or Azure DevOps (an external dependency).
A dependency between two items of this collection appears under both of them.
Only link types your admin has chosen count as dependencies. Other Jira or Azure DevOps links (and parent/child links) aren't shown.
Dependencies on PI Boards and Solution Boards are managed on those boards and aren't part of the Dependency Explorer.
When a collection is connected to more than one Jira or Azure DevOps account, the Dependency Explorer uses its first connected account.
18. What Kendis remembers
Per collection, in your browser:
Remembered: the last saved view or set of filters, the filters on listed and linked items, Level, Time Period (mode, choices and scope), visible columns and their order, grouping, and the team field.
Not remembered: search text, sort, page and page size, the tile filter, the tab, which rows or groups are open, and the tree's settings.
19. Who can do what
Action | Who |
Open the Dependency Explorer, the tree and the List | Company admins, and users with access to the collection. |
Create, update and remove dependencies | Users with access to the collection. |
Save, update and delete shared views | Users with access to the collection. |
Private views | Only the person who saved them. |
Turn the Dependencies module on or off | Company admins and users who can manage the collection. |
Choose the link types that count as dependencies | See the setup guide. |
Creating and removing links in Jira and Azure DevOps also depends on the permissions of the account used in the tool.
20. Troubleshooting and FAQ
I don't see Dependencies in the collection's navigation. The module isn't switched on for this collection, or the collection isn't connected to Jira or Azure DevOps. Ask someone who can manage the collection. See the setup guide.
The Dependency Explorer is empty. Check, in this order:
The Time Period: switch the band to All.
The filters: Reset all under the toolbar.
Whether link types are chosen for the collection: if none are, no Jira or Azure DevOps links count as dependencies. See the setup guide.
Whether the items have been synced since the link types were chosen: resync the collection's filters in the Backlog.
A link I created in Jira or Azure DevOps doesn't show. Its link type may not be one of the chosen dependency link types, or the item hasn't been synced since the link was added. Resync the item from the Backlog (row menu → Resync from Jira or Resync from Azure DevOps).
Add dependency does nothing, or the link type list is empty. No link types are chosen for the collection's Jira or Azure DevOps account. Ask your admin to choose them (see the setup guide).
Cross-team and Within team are always 0. No team field is set. Open Options and choose one. In Jira this needs a Team field or a single-choice field that holds the team.
Why is an item in the list that doesn't match my time period? An item is listed when it, or an item it depends on or that depends on it, is in the period. This keeps both sides of each dependency in view.
Why does a dependency appear under two rows? Both of its items are in this collection, so it appears under each of them. It is still one dependency, and the tiles count it once.
I can't create a dependency on a Kendis-only item. Dependencies connect items that come from Jira or Azure DevOps. Kendis-only items can't be part of one.
I can't change the link type of a dependency. The link type and the two items are fixed once a dependency exists. Remove it and create a new one.
The tree stopped growing. It shows at most 600 items. Double-click a card further out to continue from there.
My dependency's status didn't change in Jira. The dependency status, summary, people and dates are kept in Kendis only. The link itself is what lives in Jira or Azure DevOps.
Someone changed or deleted our shared view. Shared views can be updated and deleted by anyone who can see them. Save a private copy if you want one only you control.