Manage and Edit Dependencies

Managing and editing dependencies in DevStride

DevStride lets you record how work items relate to one another, so your team can see what blocks what before it becomes a problem. Relationships are managed from the Relationships dialog, and on the 2D Board view they appear as connector lines drawn directly between item cards.

There are three kinds of relationships:

• Dependencies — items the current item is blocked by.
• Related — items that are connected without a direction (a peer or reference relationship).
• Dependents — items the current item blocks.

Opening the Relationships dialog

Every work item and folder card shows a circular relationship indicator (an organization icon) in its header. The icon is purple when the item already has one or more relationships, and shows the tooltip Manage Relationships on hover.

Click the indicator to open the Relationships dialog.

Reading the Relationships dialog

The Relationships dialog gives you an at-a-glance view of an item's connections:

• A Summary at the top breaks down each relationship type, showing the count, how many are completed, and how many are blocked.
• A View Graph button opens the Dependency Graph, where you can explore relationships visually across items.
• Three sections list the relationships by type: Dependencies, Related, and Dependents.

Adding relationships

1. Open the Relationships dialog from the item's relationship indicator.
2. Find the section for the kind of relationship you want to add — Dependencies, Related, or Dependents.
3. Click the section's Manage button. A Select picker opens.
4. Search for and select the item or items you want to add.
5. Click Save in the picker. The relationship is applied to that section right away.

Removing relationships

1. In the Relationships dialog, locate the item you want to remove within its section.
2. Click the remove control (tooltip Remove relationship) next to the item.
3. Confirm in the Remove Relationship dialog.

Closing the dialog

Your edits are saved as you make them, so closing the dialog does not discard anything. Click Done to close it (or press Ctrl/Cmd + Enter); you can also click Cancel or press Esc. Use the arrow keys to move focus between the View Graph button and each section's Manage button.

Viewing dependency lines on the 2D Board view

On the 2D Board view (the board layout where work is arranged across two configurable axes), relationships are drawn as connector lines between item cards. This makes it easy to trace what blocks what across the board.

Dependency lines are on by default on the 2D Board view.

To turn them on or off, use the circular toggle button in the board toolbar (an organization icon, tooltip Show or hide dependencies). The button is filled purple when dependency lines are showing and outlined when they are hidden.

When you hide dependency lines, a green Hide dependencies pill appears in the filter bar. Clear that pill to instantly restore the lines.

How to read the lines

• A solid purple line with an arrow indicates a directional relationship — a blocks or blocked-by dependency. The arrow points in the direction of the dependency.
• A dashed purple line indicates a direction-agnostic Related relationship. The dashed line becomes solid when you hover over it.

Hover over any line to see a tooltip naming the two connected items by their item numbers — for example, ITEM-12 → ITEM-34 for a dependency, or ITEM-12 ↔ ITEM-34 for a related relationship.

When dependency lines are visible, each 2D-board card also shows the purple circular relationship connector in its header, which opens the Relationships dialog for that card.

For more on the 2D Board view and other board layouts, see Track and Move Work with Board Views.

Board and folder context menus

In the Boards module, each board and folder card has a kebab menu (the rotated horizontal "more" icon) with quick actions:

• Edit — edit the board or folder.
• Permissions — manage who can access the board or folder.
• Archive (for folders) / Delete (for boards).

The kebab menu only appears when you have permission to update or delete the item. Edit and Permissions require update permission; Archive/Delete requires delete permission. For details on managing access, see Board & Folder Permissions.

Tips for managing dependencies

• Regularly review relationships so they reflect the current state of your project.
• Use the View Graph button to step back and see how an item connects to the rest of your work.
• Discuss dependencies with your team so everyone is aware of what blocks what.

By keeping relationships up to date, you give everyone clear visibility into how work connects — and dependency lines on the 2D Board view turn that into a picture the whole team can read at a glance.