RS Glossary
Workaround Dependency
A workaround that was put in place as a temporary fix and that other work has since come to rely on, so that removing it now would break something.
- Review state
- Reviewed in POC
- Freshness
- Current
- Version
- 3
- Workaround Dependency
Remember it this wayTemporary became load-bearing.
In plain language
An extra step created to get past a short-term problem becomes part of how the organization delivers work. Removing it now causes failure because people, data, timing, or downstream processes rely on it.
Why it matters
A hidden dependency can be fragile, unsupported, and concentrated in a few people. Improvement work must understand what the workaround now provides before removing it.
Example
A spreadsheet created during a software outage becomes the unofficial scheduling system, and dispatch can no longer operate without its formulas and manual updates.
Common misconception
A workaround dependency is more than a workaround that has existed for a long time. Other operations now rely on the behavior or information it provides.
Related terms
Sources
- Zhenbin Yang and colleagues, “Workarounds in the use of IS in healthcare”case study of how system-process misfits create workarounds and how those accommodations affect system efficiency and effectiveness over time.
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, *Guide to Reducing Unintended Consequences of Electronic Health Records*documents recurring workarounds around health-IT blocks and recommends deciding whether to redesign the system or formally accommodate an effective workaround. These sources support the persistence and operational-risk mechanism behind the Renaissance Solutions term; neither uses the label “Workaround Dependency.”
Learn more
- Compare with [[workaround|Workaround]] and [[manual-reconciliation|Manual Reconciliation]].
Public history
25 recorded events · 25 public summaries
A potential shared concept was discussed and selected for initial glossary drafting.
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definition approved by a human reviewer.
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why-it-matters approved by a human reviewer.
example approved by a human reviewer.
common-misconception approved by a human reviewer.
remember-it-this-way approved by a human reviewer.
related-terms approved by a human reviewer.
sources approved by a human reviewer.
learn-more approved by a human reviewer.
All section gates are approved; content version 1 is now a fully approved term.
Definition review recorded as replace.
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Source: vault/Glossary/terms/workaround-dependency/term.md · sha256:c3bcfebfbf8fb1da639138a7877b7e96fcdb94b6972d492f198ee15f12c18530 · Release: rs-glossary-glossary-team-poc-0.5.5-2026-09-02