TCFBO #042: The Triple Constraint

Read Time: 3 minutes

When it comes to strategic planning, one thing we’ve seen business owners struggle with is being fixated with delivery dates but not recognising the impact this has on the other aspects of a project.

There’s nothing wrong with setting a date you want to complete something by.

But the larger the project and the longer the duration, the harder it is to accurately set an exact delivery date.

And if you then fail to meet the delivery date, if you’re not careful, it can have a detrimental impact on your morale and that of your team.

So, if you do decide to fix the date to complete a project by, you need to be prepared to be flexible in other areas.

Because with every deliverable there are three things that constrain the quality of what is being created or delivered.

They are:

• Scope – what’s included in the deliverable and what isn’t; the features

• Resources – the money, equipment and people available

• Time – the amount of time available

These are known as the Triple Constraint.

And understanding the Triple Constraint is crucial, whether you're launching a new product, overhauling a process, or building a business from the ground up.

Because any changes to one constraint will lead to changes needing to be made in the others.

For example, you may be able to reduce the time required to complete a deliverable if you have more people working on it.

Or you could reduce the time required by reducing the scope and therefore the amount of work that needs to be done.

However, if you reduce the scope, resources and time, then it is almost certain that the quality of the deliverable will also reduce.

So, if you fix the time element by defining a date by which something must be completed, you must be prepared to be flexible with the scope, resources and quality.

And the larger and more complex the deliverable, and the further out your fixed delivery date is, the more flexible you must be prepared to be.

This is because there are going to be far more variables to consider as time progresses.

You only have to look at news reports on large infrastructure projects such as the building of a major new road, airport or hospital, to see how costs (i.e. resources) can dramatically increase and scope and quality can decrease, in order to meet a deadline.

Even with an increased budget, it’s not always possible to meet the deadline as there comes a point where simply throwing money and people at an already fully resourced project doesn’t increase the speed at which it can be delivered.

A classic example is, if it takes an hour to cook a loaf of bread in an oven, you can’t reduce the time it takes to cook the bread to ten minutes by simply adding more bakers or more ovens.

So next time you’re about to start a project and decide to fix a delivery date, consider whether the date really does need to be fixed.

And if it does, then consider how flexible you are prepared to be with the scope or the resourcing of the project in order to meet the deadline.

Ultimately, it's about finding that sweet spot where scope, resources, and time align to produce the best possible outcome without compromising on quality.

Let us know how you get on and we’ll see you next week.

Paul & Philly

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