Coordination Decay (aka Orphaned Work)

Work spans multiple teams, systems, or functions, but no single role owns end-to-end outcomes. Handoffs multiply. Accountability fragments. Progress depends on informal follow-ups rather than explicit coordination mechanisms.

The system still moves, but only because individuals push work across boundaries manually. Delays, rework, and dropped tasks accumulate invisibly between teams. Failures appear intermittent and situational rather than systemic.

End-to-end ownership of work that spans teams, systems, or functions. Tasks move locally but stall globally. No one is accountable for outcomes across handoffs.

Organizations scale by specialization without redesigning coordination mechanisms. Work is decomposed faster than ownership models evolve. Coordination is assumed to be a social skill instead of an architectural requirement.

• Work appears "in progress" everywhere
• Individual teams report success locally
• Delays occur between systems, not within them
• Failures manifest as timing issues, not errors
• Progress depends on informal follow-ups

The gaps live between dashboards.

• Collaboration problems
• Communication breakdowns
• Personality conflicts
• Lack of alignment
• Insufficient resourcing

The system blames people for what design failed to specify.

Fatal misread: Misalignment is treated as a people problem instead of a coordination design failure.

• Work "falls between teams"
• Progress depends on specific individuals
• Repeated clarification of "who owns this?"
• Status updates outnumber decisions
• Tasks stall after handoff

If these are present, coordination has already decayed.

• "This is just cross-functional complexity"
• "We need better collaboration"
• "Teams aren't aligned"
• "People need to communicate more"
• "This is a resourcing issue"

Explicit end-to-end ownership with authority across handoffs.

Not:

• More meetings
• Better documentation
• Clearer RACI diagrams

But:

• Named owners for outcomes, not steps
• Structural authority that spans teams
• Fewer handoffs, not better ones
• Designed coordination paths, not social escalation

If ownership does not cross the boundary, the boundary will fail.

Work is either formally integrated or formally killed.

Stop execution until ownership and integration point are defined.

Upstream: FM-03 Responsibility Without Authority, FM-05 Normalized Workarounds

Downstream: FM-02 Escalation Inversion, FM-06 Exception Inflation