VS-02
Cyclic Dependency Detected
Value Stream Graph
Default severity: medium
PrioritizationProcessOutputRisk
What it detects
A directed cycle exists in the dependency graph — issue A depends on B which depends on C which depends on A. Cycles make delivery order undefined and will deadlock the initiative unless manually broken. G = build_directed_graph(issues, edge_type IN config.graph.dependency_edge_types) cycles = detect_cycles(G) // Tarjan\'s or Johnson\'s algorithm
Detection formula
IF COUNT(cycles) > 0 THEN CRITICAL FOR each_cycle: report all nodes and edge types in cycle Recommend: identify which edge can be removed or converted to a soft dependencyExamples in practice
- Dependency links or initiative graph paths are missing, cyclic, or blocked.
- Downstream work waits on unresolved upstream dependencies.
- A team shows a directed cycle exists in the dependency graph during analysis.
Suggested response
Repair dependency and initiative graph links so delivery paths and handoffs are explicit.
Coaching playbook
Symptom
A directed cycle exists in the dependency graph — issue A depends on B which depends on C which depends on A. Cycles make delivery order undefined and will deadlock the initiative unless manually broken. G = build_directed_graph(issues, edge_type IN config.graph.dependency_edge_types) cycles = detect_cycles(G) // Tarjan\'s or Johnson\'s algorithm
Why it matters
When "Cyclic Dependency Detected" keeps appearing, the team is signalling a repeatable process gap. Left unexamined, the pattern hides where work really stalls and makes improvement metrics harder to trust.
What you can achieve
Repair dependency and initiative graph links so delivery paths and handoffs are explicit.
Facilitation questions
- What system change would stop "Cyclic Dependency Detected" from firing again?
- What do the cited issues have in common — same root cause or same workaround?
- Who owns the two-week experiment and how will we verify on the next import?
Run this rule against your own tracker data with Flow Analyzer.