Does The Project Management Triple Constraint Still Matter?
- October 29, 2019
- Posted by: Admin
- Category: Project Management
Does The Project Management Triple Constraint Still Matter?
Why does the triple constraint matter, and why are we talking about it?
Monitoring the three elements of the Triple Constraint as you manage a project will help you adapt to changes in project conditions while still delivering projects on schedule, budget, and scope.
Change is a given when managing projects, and by being prepared ensures that changes will not jeopardize the whole project objectives. This is why the project management Triple Constraint is important, and we have to manage it effectively.
The Triple Constraint, aka the “Iron Triangle,” represents the relationship between a project’s scope, time, and cost. They’re usually expressed like this:
Let’s dive into each side of the triangle to explain this further:
Project Scope is the extent or spread of the work that’s to be done on a project. It comprises what to be provided, and describing what’s to be done and how much of it.
Simply put, the amount of time you need to complete the project or tasks within the project.
Cost refers to the resources—financial and otherwise—required for the project. It might include labor costs, hardware, software, and other charges.
How Does The Triple Constraint Actually Work?
The Triple Constraints of project management reminds us that the three factors of scope, time, and cost are inseparably linked.
The Triple Constraint concept states that if you make any changes to any one side of the triangle i.e., scope, it will have impacts on other sides of the triangle i.e., cost and schedule. In a nutshell, there is a give and take relationship among these constraints.
Most models place “quality” at the center of the triangle. This is to demonstrate that the quality of a project work depends on the scope, budget, and time spent on the project. The point is if you are to maintain a steady level of quality when making any form of change to one side of the triangle, in response, the other sides must also adjust: Integrated change control.
For example – let’s say you want an item to be delivered to you faster than usual (time), then you have to pay more (cost). Also If you’re trying to save money on a product (cost), you may do this by choosing a simpler version of the product with lesser but useable functions (scope).
Is the Project Management Triple Constraint still a Triangle?
One thing that every PM knows is that there are more constraints to a project than just the scope, time, and cost. In a practical sense, managing a project is more complex than the Iron Triangle variables suggest, but it is a good start.
Recognizing the limitation of this model, the Project Management Institute (PMI) has added three more constraints. In the 6th version of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). The PMBOK Guide now states the following in their list of constraints:
1. Scope
2. Quality
3. Schedule
4. Budget
5. Benefit
6. Risk
Let’s look at the PMBOK’s additional constraints, Quality, Benefit, and Risk:
The Quality constraint is similar to Scope—except that Quality focuses on the characteristics of a deliverable.
Benefits represent the value the project is expected to deliver to the organization; for example, increasing sales or improving customer service.
Risk refers to the probability that an event which affects the project will occur and its potential impact. This constraint has to do with the level of risk the project stakeholders or team are willing to tolerate.
These additional variables are legitimate project management constraints, but the simple model of the Triple Constraint is still great for conceptualizing the relationship between the high-level dynamics involved in project management.
Practicality of Project Management Triangle
Understanding the theoretical relationship between project constraints is important. However, it doesn’t do us much good if we don’t know how to manage them in all the grittiness and grey area of real life.
The following section summarizes some best practice info for applying the Triple Constraint model to projects in real life.
Best Practice For Effectively Managing The Triple Constraints
Although admittedly simplistic, the project management Triangle is often a useful way to represent expectations in a project. Here’s how to use it in real life to figure out your clients’ priorities and, in turn, establish parameters that make the most sense.
Deciding on priorities is only the first step. Moving forward, you have to ensure you’re monitoring the right metrics so you can keep tabs on your scope, time, and cost.
If you absolutely have to stay within a fixed budget, then the client may need to be more flexible on time frame and scope. With cost as the biggest priority, it’s likely that only the most business-critical change requests will be approved.
So, when changes come up, you’ll probably look to these measures:
- adjust the project deadlines
- scale back the scope of the project
- agree upon reduced quality of certain deliverables
To help you communicate the costs and cost estimates of the project to your clients, use a resource management software, where you can draw up reports on your team’s capacity, resource utilization, and performance for projects, clients, and individuals.
You’ll also want to use a Gantt chart to create a detailed work breakdown structure—here’s a review of project management software for creating Gantt Charts.
In cases where the deadline matters most, then more flexibility will be required with respect to the cost and/or scope.
Expediting the project to satisfy the time constraint might mean:
- putting more resources on the line, increasing cost
- cutting back the scope and/or quality of the end product
Especially when precise time estimates and deadlines are a priority, you should take a moment to set yourself up with the right time-tracking tools: use past project reports to make accurate time estimates and track team hours to make sure you’re staying on schedule.
If scope matters most, it might be important for the client to be able to add features throughout the project as they discover more about their customers. If what matters most is having exactly the features that they put in scope, then they have to remain open to:
- flexible timing as the team accommodates scope changes
- increased cost for deliverables added to the scope
No matter your project, you need a detailed, specific Statement of Work document that defines overarching project information as well as details on deliverables, standards, criteria and requirements for each phase. Here’s a complete guide to creating a Scope of Work.
Conclusion
Even though the Iron Triangle appears to be simple, it is still a valuable approach for thinking about priorities in a project and trade-offs between the priorities on a top-level.
There will always be project constraints. One way to approach constraints is by weighing changes in one constraint against the impacts on other constraints in the Iron Triangle. As a result, it’s up to you to communicate the required trade-offs to your clients, so they understand: if one constraint changes, the other constraints are likely to be affected.