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

Question

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?

Answer 1

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)