The constraints that make up the triple constraint relate to scope, time, and cost.
Scope refers to deliverables the project is responsible for providing. This can include many things from specific processes that should be included in the project, what the team is expected to accomplish, or what is expected by the customer, sponsor, or company.
Time refers to the duration of the overall project and all the duration of each stage in the project. Time can also include scheduling constraints of employees. Time will track the progress of the project and its parts and determine which member of the project is in charge of project scheduling.
Cost constraints can refer to the total cost to the company of materials, human resources, software, hardware etc. and the budget provided for the project by management. Cost will track how money is spent as well as name a person in charge of budget changes.
The scope, time, and cost constraints will change relative to each other. For instance, if the budget is decreased, the scope of the project may decrease as well. If time becomes an issue, scope may be decreased again, but perhaps the budget will be increased to give the project team more resources to complete the project in time.
Some consider 'quality' a fourth constraint. A project may fall within the time, cost and scope but fail to deliver a quality product.
ReplyDeleteI consider quality to be more expectation based. If costs, time, and scope are high, expectations will be high too. Quality isn't guaranteed, but expectations are relative to the triple constraints. Once the product is delivered quality can be measured, but is not necessarily relative to the constraints.
ReplyDeleteGood!
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