(^98) 97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know
The Holy Trinity of Project Management
Paul Waggoner, MBA, PMP, MCSE, CHP, CHSS
Waukee, Iowa, U.S.
ThE SoFTWARE PRojECT MAnAgER usually defines the role of each team
member at the beginning of a new project, documenting why each team mem-
ber’s skills are vital and the general responsibilities each person should anticipate.
However, these documents seldom include an explanation of the software project
manager’s role during the project life cycle.
The challenge for the project manager, especially when working with a new
team, is to convey the essence of project management in a 30-minute overview,
without overwhelming the team with methodology details.
With a busy organization and team members whose first priority is taking care
of their primary work assignment, your challenge as PM is to convey, as con-
cisely as possible, one primary point that team members will take away from
your meeting: the “Holy Trinity,” also know as the triple constraint.
To introduce this core concept, prepare a slide or other visual depicting the
triple constraint. This is an equilateral triangle with its three points labeled
Time, Cost, and Scope. Together, they outline a space in their center, which
is the project Quality. This geometric representation of the project work illus-
trates that increasing the length of any one of the three sides forces a corre-
sponding change in at least one of the other sides of the triangle. Thus, change
also affects the project quality.
Point out that this fixed relationship among the three constraints explains why
defining scope becomes a critical first step, and a primary limitation. While
you may have your own key points depending on the project management
maturity of your organization, the type of project you are helming, the maturity
of the project management effort, and past experiences with your customers, be
sure to cover these: