Project Management Triangle

A Project Management Triangle is a project management model of constraints which contends that the project outcomes are constrained by the project's budget, product deadlines and project scope.

• See: Project Manager, Project Management, Quality (Business).

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2023

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  • Q: What is the "project management triangle"? provide some examples.
  • A: The "project management triangle" is a concept that describes the relationship between the three key elements of any project: scope (the work that needs to be done), time (the duration of the project), and resources (including workers, materials, and budget). It is also commonly referred to as the "triple constraint" of project management. The triangle implies that any change to one element will have an impact on the other two elements, which requires project managers to carefully balance the needs and constraints of each element to ensure that the project is completed successfully.

    Here are some examples of the project management triangle in action:

    • A software development project has a fixed deadline and a set of features that need to be implemented. The project manager must balance the available resources (such as the number of developers and the budget) with the scope of the project to ensure that the project is completed on time and that all the required features are implemented. If the deadline cannot be moved, the manager may need to adjust the scope of the project or increase the resources to ensure that the project is completed within the given time frame.
    • A construction project has a fixed budget and a set of requirements for the building to be constructed. The project manager must balance the available resources (such as the number of workers and the materials) with the scope of the project to ensure that the project is completed within the budget and that all the requirements are met. If the requirements cannot be changed, the manager may need to adjust the resources or find ways to optimize the building design to stay within the budget.
    • A marketing campaign has a set of objectives to achieve and a fixed timeline. The project manager must balance the available resources (such as the number of team members and the budget) with the scope of the campaign to ensure that the objectives are achieved within the given time frame. If the timeline cannot be extended, the manager may need to adjust the scope of the campaign or increase the resources to ensure that the objectives are achieved on time.
  • In summary, the project management triangle is a fundamental principle of project management that describes the relationship between scope, time, and resources. By understanding and managing this relationship, project managers can effectively balance the needs and constraints of each element and deliver projects that meet the expectations of all stakeholders.

2023

• (Wikipedia, 2023) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management_triangle Retrieved:2023-2-17.
  • The project management triangle (called also the triple constraint, iron triangle and project triangle) is a model of the constraints of project management. While its origins are unclear, it has been used since at least the 1950s. It contends that: # The quality of work is constrained by the project's budget, deadlines and scope (features). # The project manager can trade between constraints. # Changes in one constraint necessitate changes in others to compensate or quality will suffer. For example, a project can be completed faster by increasing budget or cutting scope. Similarly, increasing scope may require equivalent increases in budget and schedule. Cutting budget without adjusting schedule or scope will lead to lower quality.

    "Good, fast, cheap. Choose two." as stated in the Common Law of Business Balance (often expressed as "You get what you pay for.") which is attributed to John Ruskin but without any evidence and similar statements are often used to encapsulate the triangle's constraints concisely. Martin Barnes (1968) proposed a project cost model based on cost, time and resources (CTR) in his PhD thesis and in 1969, he designed a course entitled "Time and Cost in Contract Control" in which he drew a triangle with each apex representing cost, time and quality (CTQ). Later, he expanded quality with performance, becoming CTQ. It is understood that the area of the triangle represents the scope of a project which is fixed and known for a fixed cost and time. In fact the scope can be a function of cost, time and performance, requiring a trade off among the factors. In practice, however, trading between constraints is not always possible. For example, throwing money (and people) at a fully staffed project can slow it down. Moreover, in poorly run projects it is often impossible to improve budget, schedule or scope without adversely affecting quality. The Project Management Triangle is used to analyze projects. It is often misused to define success as delivering the required scope, at a reasonable quality, within the established budget and schedule. The Project Management Triangle is considered insufficient as a model of project success because it omits crucial dimensions of success including impact on stakeholders, learning and user satisfaction. Subsequently, several enhancements of the basic triple constraints have been proposed such as the diamond model, the pyramid model, six or multiple constraints and theory of constraints. Accordingly, the project success criteria have been enhanced as well from three to multiple parameters.

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