Preface

“How long have I got?

“How much can I spend? How much help do I get? What tools will I have?”

“What exactly does this puppy have to do, anyway?”

These are the first three questions of concern to a project manager, and they relate to one of the fundamental—and yet surprisingly unexplored—concepts of project management: the triple constraints, a triangle of time, cost, and performance that bounds the universe within which every project must be accomplished.

The triple constraints derive from the definition of a project: a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service.

Section 1.2 of the PMBOK® Guide, which contains this definition, also identifies by implication another important characteristic of projects: they take place inside organizations. And in every organization, from the building of the Pyramids down to the present day, regardless of subject matter or sector, there is a virtually infinite amount of useful, desirable stuff (both projects and ongoing work) to be done—and finite resources with which to do them. It follows, therefore, that every time we give you a dollar, or a body, or a week for your project, that’s a dollar, a body, or a week we can’t give someone else for a job that also has merit.

The result is scarcity, and scarcity gives us the triple constraints: a deadline, a budget, and at least a minimum acceptable level of performance.

Choices must be made, priorities must be set, and project managers must get the job done.

From the novice to the most experienced and senior project manager, triple constraint issues are at the core of the most crucial decisions about a project. Failure to understand them, interpret them, and exploit them correctly and effectively is enough to doom your project even if all else is done to a high standard of excellence.

Why is this so? First, because the limits of the project are what make it challenging or in some cases impossible. There is little we cannot accomplish given unlimited stores of time and wealth along with extremely flexible project requirements. But that, of course, is seldom the project manager’s lot in life.

Second, because the constraints lead us to that most valuable of project management benefits: the discovery of hidden resources and opportunities within the boundaries set for us.

The great secret of the triple constraints, to our great fortune, is that they are not equally constraining. They exist in a hierarchy of “driver,” “middle,” and “weak” constraint. The driver is the constraint we have to meet, or else the project fails. The weak constraint, at the other extreme, has the greatest flexibility, and that flexibility gives us opportunity. What’s worst? Miss a deadline, go over budget, or not deliver every iota of the performance? In practice, it all depends on the situation.

In the context of this framework, we reach the fourth and most important question—and the one most often overlooked in the project management process. We don’t do projects for our health, of course. As Woody Allen observed in Annie Hall, we do it because we need the eggs. That is, we need the output of the project, the benefit that the project is intended to supply. The goal of the project, not the project itself, is the prime mover.

What is that most important question? It’s “Why?” Why are we doing this project? Why not a different project? Why this direction? Why this outcome? Why these specifications? Why not other ones?

The driver of the project isn’t chosen or decided upon, but rather is discovered growing organically out of the project’s purpose. What must we accomplish to be successful? Perhaps more to the point: what failures might be fatal to our project? And keep in mind that if the customer or client hasn’t figured out the purpose enough to explain the “why” when asked, then it’s a very dangerous idea to start the project. Customers who don’t know what they want at the outset always seem to develop a keen awareness when you haven’t delivered what they want at the end.

THE “WHY” OF THE PROJECT

Although the fundamental concept of the triple constraints is fairly straightforward, its implications are numerous and sometimes subtle, and often come as a surprise to project managers, even quite senior ones. The study of the triple constraints is one of the most-overlooked fundamentals of project management. On its foundation, you can build a substantial and powerful understanding of your project that can empower you through a wide range of challenges.

Without the triple constraints, projects run the risk of becoming divorced from purpose. Alfred L. Loomis, the Wall Street tycoon and amateur scientist who invented ultrasound, financed the development of the cyclotron, and oversaw the development of radar, told this story of his World War I days at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, where he served as the military officer in charge of the research and development division. While working with a unit of cannoneers, he was puzzled to notice that one soldier walked fifty paces in back of the rest of the unit, and would stand at attention for hours at a time with one arm slightly raised. Curious, Loomis inquired as to his role. It turned out that this soldier historically was the one who held the horses. The horses had been replaced, but the soldier remained on the job.

When a project manager and a team are assigned a project, there’s pressure, both internal and external, to get started ASAP. Where’s the project plan? How soon can we see the first deliverable? Have we finished writing down the specifications and requirements yet? While the drive to be productive is commendable, the rush to get busy often proves counterproductive. The “why” is assumed rather than explored and examined, with consequences that may not become fully apparent until much later (often too late) in the project life cycle.

Questions like the following may help client and project manager alike gain a much deeper understanding of the why—and consequently the what—of the project at hand:

What is the problem we’re trying to solve, or the opportunity we’re hoping to exploit?

Is this the best way to do it? Have we considered other ways to achieve the underlying objective?

What are the potential side effects of this project? Will we create new problems in the attempt to solve the issue at hand?

How will the environment be different when the project is finished? What new behaviors or actions will take place using the product or function created by the project?

While holding nonexistent horses is wasteful, it’s often valuable to remind yourself and the members of your project team to hold your horses just a little bit when starting your project. Slow down at the outset long enough to figure out what the real objective is. You’ll make up the time—and more—with the problems you’ll avoid when you get busy.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

This book uses a case study approach, in which we’ll take apart some fairly well-known projects to see how we discover and rank the triple constraints and use the information to improve our understanding and management of the project. Of necessity, these projects cannot be presented in their fullest detail; there has been some simplification for the purpose of illustration.

However, the cases are not what’s important. Your projects are the ones that really matter. As you’re reading the cases, ask yourself how these situations might echo projects with which you’ve been involved, and whether the insights and tools would have led to changes in the decisions and approaches you took in managing the projects. Consider the following:

Have I been involved in a project with the same triple constraints hierarchy (e.g., “time/cost/performance,” “performance/time/cost”)?

What issues in this case parallel issues in projects I’ve experienced?

How do the problems and solutions compare to those I faced?

How would knowing the order of constraints and applying the associated techniques have changed my outcomes?

Think about your current projects as well. What problems, challenges, and risks are you facing? Where will you get the resources and reserves necessary to face them? Apply the same questions to your future projects, and consider how exploiting the flexibility in the weak constraint as a tool to meet the absolute requirement of the driver might help you develop a strategy for managing risks and resources on your new project.

I’ve used these ideas in my own projects over a quarter of a century as a project manager and a project management consultant and trainer. Working with thousands of students, hundreds of organizations, and uncounted numbers of projects, I have seen time and time again how an understanding of the principles of the triple constraints and the hierarchy of constraints has given project managers breakthrough insights that have turned projects around. On a personal level, I can tell you that this knowledge has saved at least two major projects of mine from disaster.

When the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems look like nails. There are no universal tools, and the practical project manager cultivates a rich collection of tools to be sure of having something useful to fit any occasion. But some tools get used more often than others, and for me, the triple constraints and the hierarchy of constraints are the first tools out of the box on any new project. I believe you’ll find them every bit as useful on your own projects.

I speak and train on project management topics and can be contacted through Management Concepts’ Project Management Division (www.managementconcepts.com) or through my own website (www.dobsonbooks.com).

Michael S. Dobson
Bethesda, Maryland
March 2004