How it works
Dependency accumulates through data, integrations, connected products, workflows, relationships, and habits. Each addition raises the cost of an exit.
Because customer departure is what makes an adverse change expensive, rising dependency lowers the practical cost of imposing one. The company's leverage grows as a by-product of the customer's convenience.
Recognition checklist
What to look for
Exit cost rises before terms change
Dependency is built during the period when the relationship is favorable to the customer.
Adverse changes follow accumulation
Price, restriction, or advertising increases arrive after switching has become expensive, not before.
Departure stops disciplining the deal
Customers register dissatisfaction without leaving, and the change holds.
How it is applied
Applying the principle
Raising a price is much safer when leaving requires migrating years of data, replacing connected products, and rebuilding established workflows.
The principle underpins Dependency Stack, Platform Lock-In, and Exit Resistance. It is applied during assessment rather than scored on its own.
Important distinction
Theoretical, not an accusation.
The Dependency Principle is a theoretical CHI principle. It describes a structural relationship between dependency and leverage. It does not assert that any particular company has used that leverage.
It is what makes lock-in worth measuring. Dependency Stack describes the accumulated position; this principle explains why that position matters.