“I need this project finished by Friday, I need the budget cut by twenty percent, and I need it to be the best work we’ve ever done.”
Every project manager has heard some version of this. It’s the holy grail of business: faster, cheaper, and better. But here is the hard truth you need to tell your stakeholders: You can have any two, but you can never have all three.
This isn't just an opinion; it’s the law of project management. We call it the Iron Triangle, or the Triple Constraint. If you don't learn how to balance these, your project—and your sanity—will break.
Today on the pmStudent Insider, we’re considering how to manage the ultimate balancing act. Now, you have other constraints besides these three. The reason we still talk about the triple constraints or the iron triangle is that they still tend to be our biggest challenge.
Watch this short clip for some tips on how to handle impossible requests and the expectation that you can magically do more, with exceptional quality, and fewer resources.
Remember next time your sponsor asks you to cut the scope, schedule, or budget; or change other constraints, when one thing changes, so does another.
Wishing you every success,
Margaret Meloni
pmStudentStudying for the updated PMP exam?
