Triple Constraint - Origins?

[Prothios]

I was writing up a presentation, and approached the executive assistant on whether presenting the Triple Constraint (Cost, Scope, Time/Schedule) triangle to the executive management was proper or would insult them; At that point I learned that she (who was a Program Manager in the engineering realm) never heard of the triangle before; One of the VP's (who used to consult as a Project Manager) walked by - and he too did not hear of it before.

I went back to my cube, and looked in my Project Management books - and discovered that only 2 of the 4 books referenced the triangle.

Is the triangle as a method of describing the triple constraint relatively new?

 

[PDQBach]

I'm older than you (trust me on this one). It's been around practically forever (I think you'll see some hieroglyphs referencing it).

I think research will show that it has always been there but it wasn't always packaged so cogently.

Should you put it in a slide? Absolutely! It pops up in lots of presentations: for some in the audience, it's a reminder; for others it's a new (and very good) way to understand the issue.

 

[Prothios]

I had a presentation to senior staff this morning and had it on the slide! Of course when I specified that a specific item was excluded from the scope, but could be put in (with appropriate approvals and understanding of the time/cost increases) - still had some people up at arms! By the end they understood that adding in scope is ok, but you have to understand what you were adding in.

Despite the arm waving, at least the slide (and subsequent slides) allowed for proper managing of expectations and in turn scope!

 

[PDQBach]

I guess the only thing remaining for you is to make certain that you have a solid change management process -- before anything gets added to the schedule or the plan, it needs appropriate sign-offs *including* additional funding. Good luck.