Dependencies are crucial in scaled agile for coordinating work across teams. This guide provides detailed steps to enable and manage two-way dependency synchronization between your Kendis board and Jira, ensuring real-time visibility and alignment.

In Jira, a dependency is simply a link type between two items. However, Kendis enhances this by adding contextual information, making it the best practice to create dependencies from Kendis to ensure better visualization and linking in Jira.

Dependency Visibility

Please note that the visibility of Jira-synced dependencies depends on the work item level and the board's viewing mode.

Epics/Features and Epics/Stories Dependencies (Jira Links): These will only be visible on the board when using "Phoenix Mode."

Story-to-Story Dependencies (Jira Links): These are visible across Alicanto, Griffin, and Phoenix modes.

Dependencies in Kendis offer rich context beyond the simple link provided by Jira.

To activate the two-way sync, you must enable the Jira Dependencies and select the appropriate Jira Link Type.

From your Kendis board, click on the "Settings" tab, and then select "Edit Board Settings."

In the "Edit Board Settings" dialogue, click on the "Additional Settings" tab.

Check the box next to "Enable Jira Dependency" (this is the same setting for Jira/ALM tools).

After enabling, a drop-down menu will appear to "Select Link Types."

Click the dropdown and select the specific Jira link types you use to represent dependencies (e.g., Successor, Predecessor).

Click the "Save" button at the bottom right.

A confirmation pop-up (e.g., "Are you sure?") will appear. Confirm your action.

Your board will now resync, importing any existing Jira dependencies associated with the features and stories on the board. Changes made in either Kendis or Jira will now be reflected in real-time.

Important Note on Link Type

Jira link types are commonly used for both dependency (e.g., Blocks/Blocked By) and parent-child relationships (e.g., Parent/Child between a Feature/Epic and Story).

In Kendis, a single link type can only be used for one purpose.

Once a link type is selected as a dependency link in the steps above, it will no longer be used to bring new child stories through Jira Filters to the board. Ensure you select link types that are exclusively intended for dependencies.

Once enabled, you can create dependencies directly on the Kendis board.

Hover over the feature or story card you want to start the dependency from.

Click and drag the dependency counter (a small red colored circle) on the corner of the card.

Drag the resulting line to the dependency counter of the second card (the dependent item).

Releasing the click will open the dependency creation pop-up.

Jira dependencies are visible as a sub-section under the main "Dependencies" for each feature/story.

Choose one of the pre-selected Jira Link Types from the dropdown.

Add context for the dependency.

Choose the current status (e.g., Open, Resolved).

Click "Save."

Once saved, the dependency link will be created in both Kendis and Jira simultaneously.

Please note that if you create a dependency between one item sourced from Jira and one item created as a Kendis-only item, the changes will not be synced to Jira. Both items must originate from Jira for two-way synchronization.

Dependencies are visualized on the Kendis board as lines connecting the dependent cards. You can view them on all three board modes: Phoenix, Griffin, and Alicanto.

The color of the line provides a quick status check:

The platform offers two primary views for dependencies.

Individual Item Dependencies View

Shows all dependencies related to a single Feature or Story, displaying the Predecessor and Successor relationship (including the Jira Link Type).

Click on the dependency line or the dependency counter on the work item card.

View All Dependencies

A centralized dashboard and listing view for managing all dependencies across the Program Increment (PI). It includes key metrics like Overdue, Cross-Team, and Reverse Dependencies, and allows for extensive filtering.

Navigate to the "Dependencies Tracking" tab, typically found near Objectives and Risks.

You can include Jira dependency information in your Kendis reports for detailed analysis.

Click on the "Dashboards" button from the Left Navigation menu and switch to the “Reports” tab.

Create a new Data Report by clicking “+ Create Report”.

Enter the Report title and choose whether you want to create a "Data Report" or a "Comparison Report".

Here, select your board, Jira, and link type.

The report will now display the corresponding Jira items.

Click on the dependency line on the board or the dependency counter on the feature/story card to open the Individual Item Dependencies View.

In the list of dependencies, find the specific link you want to remove.

Click on the Delete icon (often a trash bin) or the "Delete Link" option associated with that dependency.

The link will be removed from the Kendis board, and the corresponding link will be deleted from the linked work items in Jira.