Practical relevance
This principle is particularly evident in SAFe:
• Team structure: Cross-functional teams instead of specialized silos.
• ART design: Tailored along value streams, not technologies.
• Portfolio management: Cut epics so that dependencies remain minimal.
• Solution level: Use of shared enabling teams or platform teams.
Practices for implementation:
• Value stream mapping → Make dependencies visible.
• Team Topologies → Design teams to deliver value as autonomously as possible.
• Dependency Boards → Track dependencies transparently, but don't "organize them away."
Typical misunderstandings
❌ "Dependencies are normal, you just have to manage them" – The goal is reduction, not management.
❌ "Every specialization creates dependency" – Specialization is possible as long as teams can still deliver autonomously.
❌ "Handoffs are harmless" – Studies show that every handoff significantly increases the risk of errors and delays.
Relevance for organizations
• Speed: Fewer waiting times and handovers = faster value flow.
• Quality: Fewer misunderstandings and friction losses.
• Motivation: Autonomous teams are more committed and effective.
• Resilience: Fewer single points of failure (specialist bottlenecks).
Organizations that minimize dependencies are noticeably more adaptive and less prone to disruption.
Practical example
An automotive supplier organized teams according to technologies (front end, back end, testing). Result: High dependencies, delays, and poor delivery reliability. By reorganizing the teams along customer value streams (e.g., "order management" instead of "backend team"), handoffs were massively reduced. Result: 30% shorter throughput times and significantly more personal responsibility.
Application outside of SAFe
Even without SAFe, handovers are poison for flow.
• In classic projects: Clear end-to-end responsibility instead of small-scale handovers.
• In change initiatives: Multifunctional teams instead of siloed departments.
• In startups: Small, autonomous teams aligned with customer value instead of functional separation.
Pragmatic: Fewer handovers = faster value delivery – universally valid.
How good coaches use the principle in practice
• Analysis: Perform value stream mapping & dependency mapping with teams.
• Workshops: Discuss how teams can be restructured to increase autonomy.
• Experiments: Put together small cross-functional pilot teams.
• Cultural work: Promote understanding that "minimizing handoffs" does not mean eliminating specialists—but rather integrating them in a meaningful way.
CALADE perspective
At CALADE, we pay attention to minimizing handoffs and dependencies in every organizational and ART design. We combine approaches from SAFe, Team Topologies, and Living Transformation® to design structures that enable teams to deliver value autonomously. Not theory, but pragmatic design that works in practice.
Related terms
• Team Topologies
• Agile Release Train (ART)
• Value Stream Mapping
• Dependency Board (SAFe)
• Flow Efficiency
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