Project Baselines and the Triple Constraints

Today I want to summarize the PM e-learning content. I'll write down them all here. This is the second article of study material.

A fundamental concept in project management is that projects are managed to established baselines. The three primary baselines in project management are scope, cost, and schedule.  They answer the questions: "What are we doing?", "What will it cost?", and "When will it be done?" 

These three baselines are often referred to as the project triple constraints or the golden triangle because there is a direct relationship between each of these in a project. You cannot change one constraint without impacting one or both of the other constraints.

For example, if additional work (scope) is added to a project, the project will take more time to complete (schedule), or it will require more resources to complete (cost), or some combination of additional schedule and cost will be required.

Likewise, if a project sponsor wants a project to deliver earlier (schedule), the project will need additional resources (cost), or it will require that some deliverables be removed or postponed (scope), or some combination of additional cost and less scope will be required. 

Project performance is ultimately a function of the triple constraints. What a project is able to deliver is a function of available time and budget.Whena project is able to deliver is a function of how much work has to be done and how many resources are available to complete the work.How mucha project costs to deliver is a function of how much work needs to be done and how soon. These relationships are a given in any project-based activity. They do not exist some times and disappear at other times. They are always present in a project. Did the project deliver what it committed, when it committed, and at the cost that was committed?

To be successful, leaders and organizations that are responsible for project performance must always keep in mind that they are managing the project to meet these triple constraint baselines. Changes and requests for changes occur in every project. When this happens, project managers should always ask themselves if the change is to one of the triple constraints and what the impacts to the other 2 constraints are. Understanding the relationships between the triple constraints in any project can help project managers communicate better with project stakeholders, manage change, and negotiate properly with all involved parties so that expectations are met.