1.2.2 The Triple Constraint Flashcards
Scope/Quality
What are the products/services that the
project will produce?
What tasks/activities/work is required to produce these deliverables?
Cost/Resources
What money, materials, and personnel are available to deliver the project product/services and to complete the comprehensive work of the project?
- Time/Schedule
What is the amount of time required to complete the all activities of the project?
The job of the project manager is to
Ensure that the Triple Constraint Triangle stays in balance.
The Triple Constraint Interdependency
If one side of the Triple Constraint Triangle changes, so do the other two sides. Take, for example,
a humanitarian NFI (non-food item) distribution project in which the original scope indicated that
10,000 families would be provided with NFI kits (blankets, soaps, etc.). Suddenly, the project
team gets a request to increase the number of families served from 10,000 to 12,000, increasing
the number of kits required by 2,000. This is an increase in the scope of work for the project and
will require that the cost/resources and the time to complete the distribution also increase in
order to successfully implement these activities.
The project manager needs to
understand
1-the relationships
2-trade-offs
that exist between each of
the constraints to effectively manage the project.
When considering constraints, it may be helpful to
think about them
within the context of inflexible
adaptable
may concede.
Inflexible –
Indicates that this constraint is
the most critical
must be constrained.
Any change in this constraint results in a negative impact on the project.
For example, if you are
implementing a winterization project (providing blankets, winter clothing, etc.) for beneficiaries that needs to take place before the winter season begins, the time is an inflexible constraint.
Another example
is an inflexible resource/cost if the project donors’ policies do not allow changes in the
budget.
If you spend less than originally planned on a specific activity, it doesn’t mean
the balance can
be shifted to other activities or transferred to other projects.
Even though there will be a balance at the end of the project, no adaptation or change is allowed in the budget.
Some donors require that
you report the unused funds, which will be deducted from the following project funds transfer or returned
to the donor.
Adaptable, May concede
Indicates that there is some flexibility within the constraint,
but it should be
optimized as much as possible.
If there is a change needed for the project that affects one of the constraints and that constraint is adaptable, actions can be taken to accommodate the change.
