I have spent a fair amount of time trying to parse this message in the dependency:tree output.
I think that it is trying to tell me that a <dependency> entry, declared as part of a <dependencyManagement> stanza somewhere--and thus a description of constraints that should apply throughout the project for dependencies of this kind, regardless of how they're pulled in--is overriding an explicit or implicit scope of an actual dependency. Specifically, it is overriding a scope that would otherwise be "compile", if left unchecked. Is that correct? Or do I have it backwards? Could a better message be substituted here? Best, Laird -- http://about.me/lairdnelson
