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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/8131
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

As Lauren [said](https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/6436/1993), the outline is a tool for your use, not a deliverable in its own right, so if you deviate from it, that's ok.

You asked how to track these dependencies in an outline. A technique I have used is to _diagram_ my outline, using arrows to point from an entry to each one that it depends on. (This helps identify circular dependencies, too.) This diagram can be with a pen (I recommend a whiteboard for easy modification), or in a diagramming tool such as Visio, or -- this is low-tech but it works in some settings (see below) -- sticky notes on a wall with string between them (knot one end of the string to stand in as an arrowhead). With any of these, you can update as you go along, so when you discover a new dependency you can add it in. If you need to move "nodes" around, that's easy with a diagramming tool or the sticky notes.

I usually use the whiteboard approach and sometimes the online diagram. The sticky-note approach is useful in meetings early in the development of a project, where lots of people need to have input and we don't really know where the dependencies are yet, but it's more cumbersome once the problem is better understood.

Original score: 2