agile# How to Use the Brand Extension Method to Manage Dependencies Between Teams for Healthcare Marketplace Enterprises (1/50)
A healthcare marketplace enterprise running DSDM with medium-sized teams of six to fifteen people faces a persistent problem: managing dependencies between teams. The company builds a patient referral platform connecting hospitals, specialist clinics, insurance providers, and patients. It handles appointment scheduling, referral management, insurance verification, and care coordination. (2/50)
The company has been around for nine years. It has 2,800 employees across twelve offices in six countries. The product development organization has six DSDM teams totaling 72 people. These teams build new features for the platform. More features mean platform growth. Platform growth means more users. More users mean more revenue. (3/50)
But managing dependencies between teams is a real problem. The six DSDM teams don't handle cross-team dependencies well. Teams build features that depend on other teams. That means waiting. Waiting means delays. Delays mean the platform doesn't grow.
Last year, the 72-person DSDM organization released 36 features. But 22 of those 36 features had cross-team dependencies that caused delays. The average delay was 3.8 weeks per feature. That's a total of 83.6 lost weeks across the year. (4/50)
The productivity cost of those lost weeks was $627,000. The organization also lost eleven hospital contracts due to missed commitments. The lifetime revenue impact of those lost contracts was $3.3 million. The combined revenue impact was $3.927 million.
The root cause was straightforward: the six DSDM teams didn't manage dependencies between teams. That failure cost nearly $4 million. The teams need a better approach.
## The Brand Extension Method (5/50)
Richard Branson built Virgin using the brand extension method. His insight was simple. The biggest problem in business is treating every new venture as completely separate from the core business. When you do that, you build everything from scratch. Building from scratch wastes resources. Wasting resources means losing to competitors who leverage what they already have. (6/50)
Branson attacked this tendency head-on. He created a method based on one principle: extend what you already have into the new space instead of building from scratch. When you extend, you leverage existing strengths. When you leverage existing strengths, you save resources. When you save resources, you win. (7/50)
Branson applied this thinking to every business challenge. He never asked, How do we build something completely new? He asked, How do we extend what we already have into this new challenge? (8/50)
For a healthcare marketplace enterprise, the dependency management problem is the same. The six DSDM teams treat each dependency as something completely separate from the existing team structure. So they build new coordination processes from scratch. Building from scratch wastes resources. That waste cost $3.927 million last year. (9/50)
Branson's brand extension method, adapted for dependency management, says this: extend your existing team structure into dependency management instead of building new coordination processes from scratch. When you extend your existing team structure, you leverage existing team strengths. When you leverage existing strengths, you save resources. When you save resources, you win.
## The Core Principle (10/50)
The best way to manage dependencies between teams is to stop treating each dependency as something completely separate from the existing team structure. Start extending your existing team structure into dependency management the way Branson extended what he already had into new spaces. (11/50)
Branson didn't build Virgin by treating each new venture as separate and building from scratch. He built it by extending what he already had. That meant leveraging existing strengths. Leveraging existing strengths meant saving resources. Saving resources meant winning.
For a healthcare marketplace enterprise, the situation is identical. The six DSDM teams treat each dependency as separate from the existing team structure. That approach cost $3.927 million last year. (12/50)
The adapted brand extension method says: extend your existing team structure into dependency management instead of building new coordination processes from scratch. When you extend, you leverage existing team strengths. When you leverage existing strengths, you save resources. When you save resources, you win.
## Four Steps to Apply the Brand Extension Method
### Step 1: Extend What You Already Have into the New Space Instead of Building from Scratch (13/50)
Extend the existing DSDM team structure to include dependency owners. This stops the teams from building new coordination processes from scratch and starts them leveraging existing team roles to manage dependencies.
Branson extended what he already had into new spaces at Virgin. He extended existing roles. Extending existing roles meant leveraging existing strengths. Leveraging existing strengths meant saving resources. (14/50)
For a healthcare marketplace enterprise, here's how the dependency owner extension works. The six DSDM teams extend the existing team structure to include dependency owners. This means leveraging existing team roles to manage dependencies instead of creating new ones. (15/50)
Identify the existing team role closest to dependency management. For DSDM, that role is the team leader. The team leader already coordinates work within the team. The team leader already communicates with other teams. The team leader is the natural choice for dependency owner. (16/50)
Extend the team leader role to include dependency ownership. The team leader role now has two parts. Part one covers existing responsibilities: facilitating daily standups, removing blockers, managing the team backlog. Part two covers new dependency owner responsibilities: identifying cross-team dependencies, tracking them, and communicating with other team leaders about them. (17/50)
Define the dependency owner responsibilities. There are four. First, identify all cross-team dependencies for each feature at the start of every timebox. Second, track the status of each cross-team dependency daily. Third, communicate with other team leaders about dependencies every day. Fourth, escalate blocked dependencies to the project manager within 24 hours. (18/50)
Communicate the extended role to all six teams. The project manager presents the extended role at the next project kickoff. The project manager explains why the team leader role was extended and that the team leader is now also the dependency owner. (19/50)
Last year, the six DSDM teams used the dependency owner extension for six months across twelve timeboxes. Before the extension, the teams built new coordination processes from scratch. They released 36 features. Twenty-two had cross-team dependencies that caused delays. (20/50)
After the extension, the teams leveraged existing team roles. They identified the team leader as the closest role to dependency management. They extended the team leader role to include dependency ownership. They defined four dependency owner responsibilities. They communicated the extended role to all six teams. (21/50)
The teams released 24 features. Eight had cross-team dependencies that caused delays. They decreased the percentage of features with delayed dependencies from 61% to 33%. They saved $627,000 in productivity costs.
For DSDM teams of six to fifteen, the dependency owner extension should have four steps. Identify the existing team role closest to dependency management. Extend that role to include dependency ownership. For DSDM, this should be part of the team's timebox planning practice. (22/50)
### Step 2: When You Extend What You Already Have, You Leverage Existing Strengths
Extend the existing DSDM daily standup to include a dependency check. This stops the teams from discovering dependencies after they cause delays and starts them identifying and addressing dependencies every day.
Branson leveraged existing strengths at Virgin. He extended existing meetings. Extending existing meetings meant saving resources. Saving resources meant building Virgin. (23/50)
For a healthcare marketplace enterprise, here's how the dependency check extension works. The six DSDM teams extend the existing daily standup to include a dependency check. This means identifying and addressing dependencies every day.
Add a dependency check segment to the daily standup agenda. The daily standup happens every day. Add the dependency check segment after the standard standup questions. It takes five minutes. (24/50)
Ask three dependency questions during the segment. Question one: Are there any cross-team dependencies blocking your work today? Question two: Are there any cross-team dependencies you're blocking for another team today? Question three: Are there any cross-team dependencies that will become a blocker in the next two days? (25/50)
Record all dependency issues on a shared dependency board. The dependency owner records each issue. The shared dependency board is a digital board all six teams can see. It has four columns: New, In Progress, Blocked, and Resolved. Each dependency is a card with four pieces of information: the dependency description, the teams involved, the expected resolution date, and the dependency owner. (26/50)
Resolve dependency issues within 24 hours. If a dependency is identified during the standup, the dependency owners from the involved teams meet within 24 hours. They discuss the dependency, agree on a resolution plan, and update the shared board. (27/50)
Last year, the six DSDM teams used the dependency check extension for six months across 120 daily standups. Before the extension, the teams discovered dependencies after they caused delays. They released 36 features. Twenty-two had cross-team dependencies that caused delays. (28/50)
After the extension, the teams identified and addressed dependencies every day. They added a dependency check segment to 120 daily standups. They asked three dependency questions 120 times. They recorded 68 dependency issues on the shared board. They resolved 64 of those within 24 hours. (29/50)
The teams released 24 features. Eight had cross-team dependencies that caused delays. They decreased the percentage of features with delayed dependencies from 61% to 33%. They saved $627,000 in productivity costs.
For DSDM teams of six to fifteen, the dependency check extension should have four steps. Add a dependency check segment to the daily standup agenda. Ask three dependency questions. For DSDM, this should be part of the team's daily standup practice. (30/50)
### Step 3: When You Leverage Existing Strengths, You Save Resources
Extend the existing DSDM timebox review to include a dependency retrospective. This stops the teams from repeating the same dependency mistakes and starts them learning from every dependency issue.
Branson saved resources at Virgin. He extended existing reviews. Extending existing reviews meant saving resources. Saving resources meant winning. (31/50)
For a healthcare marketplace enterprise, here's how the dependency retrospective extension works. The six DSDM teams extend the existing timebox review to include a dependency retrospective. This means learning from every dependency issue.
Add a dependency retrospective segment to the timebox review agenda. The timebox review happens at the end of each timebox. Add the dependency retrospective segment after the standard review. It takes 15 minutes. (32/50)
Review all dependency issues from the timebox. The teams review the shared dependency board. They identify all dependency issues created during the timebox, all issues resolved during the timebox, and all issues still blocked. (33/50)
Ask three learning questions during the segment. Question one: What dependency issue caused the most delay this timebox and why? Question two: What could we have done differently to prevent or resolve that dependency issue faster? Question three: What is one thing we will do differently in the next timebox to improve dependency management? (34/50)
Capture the learning in a dependency lessons log. The log is a shared document with four columns: Timebox, Dependency Issue, Root Cause, and Action for Next Timebox. The teams review the log at the start of each timebox. (35/50)
Last year, the six DSDM teams used the dependency retrospective extension for six months across twelve timebox reviews. Before the extension, the teams repeated the same dependency mistakes. They released 36 features. Twenty-two had cross-team dependencies that caused delays. (36/50)
After the extension, the teams learned from every dependency issue. They added a dependency retrospective segment to twelve timebox reviews. They reviewed 102 dependency issues. They asked three learning questions twelve times. They captured 36 dependency lessons. They reviewed those 36 lessons at the start of each timebox. (37/50)
The teams released 24 features. Eight had cross-team dependencies that caused delays. They decreased the percentage of features with delayed dependencies from 61% to 33%. They saved $627,000 in productivity costs. They also saved $3.3 million in lost hospital revenue. (38/50)
For DSDM teams of six to fifteen, the dependency retrospective extension should have four steps. Add a dependency retrospective segment to the timebox review agenda. Review all dependency issues from the timebox. For DSDM, this should be part of the team's timebox review practice.
### Step 4: When You Save Resources, You Win (39/50)
Create a dependency health dashboard that tracks the number of cross-team dependencies, the average time to resolve a dependency, and the percentage of dependencies resolved within 24 hours over time. This stops the teams from assuming dependencies are managed and starts them measuring and improving with data.
Branson won at Virgin. He created health dashboards. Creating dashboards meant measuring. Measuring meant winning. (40/50)
For a healthcare marketplace enterprise, here's how the dependency health dashboard works. The six DSDM teams create a dashboard that tracks dependency management with data.
Define three dashboard metrics. Metric one: the number of cross-team dependencies identified per timebox. Metric two: the average time to resolve a dependency, measured in hours from identification to resolution. Metric three: the percentage of dependencies resolved within 24 hours of being identified. (41/50)
Set targets for each metric. For the number of cross-team dependencies, the target is below ten per timebox. For average resolution time, the target is below 24 hours. For the percentage resolved within 24 hours, the target is above 80%.
Update the dashboard every timebox. The project manager updates all three metrics at the end of each timebox. (42/50)
Review the dashboard every three timeboxes. The teams review it during the project status meeting. They identify metrics above target and create improvement actions. If dependencies are above ten per timebox, they review the dependency owner process. If resolution time is above 24 hours, they review the dependency check process for bottlenecks. If the 24-hour resolution rate is below 80%, they review the dependency retrospective process for lessons that weren't applied. (43/50)
Last year, the six DSDM teams used the dependency health dashboard for six months across twelve timeboxes. Before the dashboard, the teams assumed dependencies were managed. They released 36 features. Twenty-two had cross-team dependencies that caused delays. (44/50)
After the dashboard, the teams measured and improved with data. They updated the dashboard twelve times. They reviewed it four times. The number of cross-team dependencies decreased from 28 to 9 per timebox. The average resolution time decreased from 48 hours to 18 hours. The percentage resolved within 24 hours increased from 43% to 85%.
The teams saved $627,000 in productivity costs. They also saved $3.3 million in lost hospital revenue. (45/50)