hastadepending

Hastadepending is a term used in workflow and project-management discourse to describe a pattern in which urgent work is repeatedly delayed by lingering dependencies, producing cycles of last-minute action followed by new delays. The term combines elements of haste and pending work to capture how perceived urgency can coexist with blockers that obstruct progress.

Origin and usage

The phrase appears in discussions about agile and lean practices, where teams routinely contend with interdependent tasks. Hastadepending is not widely formalized as a standalone theory but is employed as a descriptive concept to explain recurring bottlenecks in complex projects. Proponents argue it highlights the tension between speed and the need to resolve prerequisites, while critics view it as overlapping with established ideas such as dependency management and planning fallacy.

Mechanism

The phenomenon arises when tasks depend on other unfinished work, decisions, or milestones. Teams may delay starting work to avoid rework caused by incomplete dependencies, only to rush when blockers clear. This rush can introduce quality risks, misestimation of remaining effort, and subsequent delays as new dependencies become visible. The cycle is often reinforced by visibility gaps, fragmented communication, and insufficient buffer time.

Implications and mitigation

Hastadepending can reduce overall throughput and increase stress. Mitigation strategies include explicit dependency mapping, smaller incremental deliveries, tighter WIP (work in progress) limits, buffer management, and more frequent review cycles to identify blockers early.

See also

Planning fallacy, procrastination, dependency management, critical path method, lean and agile project management.