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Can someone show me what a good dependency matrix looks like and specify why?

I would like to start using DSM, but not sure how to get started.

What does a good dependency matrix look like and why? How does it work?

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JavaRocky Avatar asked Aug 20 '10 23:08

JavaRocky


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1 Answers

Erik Dörnenburg gives the best description I've seen, including some good examples of how arrangements of the graph can expose structural issues. Briefly:

  • as others have mentioned, anything above the diagonal indicates a cycle, which essentially means that your boundaries are "fuzzy" (not clean)
  • smallish squares (well, lower triangles) along the diagonal == good, if the components are grouped according to hierarchy
  • on the other hand, heavily weighted rows or columns == possible issues: either
    • rows: you have a component/group that lots of others depend on (maybe it's trying to serve too many features), or
    • columns: you have a component/group that depends on lots of others (maybe it's trying to take care of everything itself, instead of delegating)
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Zac Thompson Avatar answered Sep 21 '22 11:09

Zac Thompson