The iron triangle as an analytical tool
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== The Iron Triangle and its most relevant variations == | == The Iron Triangle and its most relevant variations == | ||
− | The | + | The Iron Trinalge (also known as Project Management Trinalge, Project Triangle, and Triple Constratint Triangle) is an essential tool that aims to present the concept of which project success should be understood. |
− | The | + | The Iron Triangle represents the key project performance metrics that any project success is measured by; [[time]] and [[cost]], and to varying and extend |
+ | of the most basic criteria by which project success is measured; namely whether the project is delivered by the due date, within budget, and to some agreed level of quality, performance or scope. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Taking this discussion further, the relation between the key project performance metrics, that is | ||
+ | time and cost, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Hereby, the main focus of the tool is defined to be Project Management, as some of the most cited project management standards have somewhat aligned views of protect success in comparison to the core principals of the Iron Trinanlge. For example, ''the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge'' <ref name="PMBOK" /> presents a comparative overview of the the definition of success in Project, Program, and Portfolio Management as seen in the Table below. | ||
{| class="wikitable" style="font-weight:bold; text-align:center; background-color:#efefef;" | {| class="wikitable" style="font-weight:bold; text-align:center; background-color:#efefef;" | ||
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| style="font-weight:normal;" | Success is measured in terms of the <br />aggregate investment performance <br />and benefit realization of the portfolio. | | style="font-weight:normal;" | Success is measured in terms of the <br />aggregate investment performance <br />and benefit realization of the portfolio. | ||
|} | |} | ||
+ | |||
+ | The concept of the Iron Triangle, also sometimes referred to as the Triple Constraint, or the Project Management Triangle, is a fundamental aspect of how we understand success in projects. The Iron Triangle is a representation of the most basic criteria by which project success is measured; namely whether the project is delivered by the due date, within budget, and to some agreed level of quality, performance or scope. The Iron Triangle has become the standard for routinely assessing project performance (Pinto, 2010, p. 35). | ||
+ | |||
+ | The concept of the Iron Triangle is an effective way of communicating the interrelationships between these central success criteria. It is typically depicted as a triangle with the criteria on the vertices. Movement of one criteria, for example in response to client demands or resource limitations, can put pressure on the other criteria. Failure in one constraint will likely lead to negative pressure on one or both of the other two (Mokoena et al, 2013, p. 814). This is sometimes expressed as “good, fast or cheap - pick two” (van Wyngaard et al, 2012, p. 1993). Misunderstanding or misinterpreting the Iron Triangle can lead to project failure despite effective management of all other aspects of a project (Mokoena et al, 2013, p. 813). Effectively managing the Iron Triangle has been found to be central to project success, however it has also been found that research into the Iron Triangle is “…one of the most overlooked fundamentals of project management” (Van Wyngaard et al, 2012, p. 1993). | ||
Test <ref name="CHANGE">Pollack, J., Helm, J. and Adler, D. (2018), "What is the Iron Triangle, and how has it changed?", International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 527-547.''</ref> | Test <ref name="CHANGE">Pollack, J., Helm, J. and Adler, D. (2018), "What is the Iron Triangle, and how has it changed?", International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 527-547.''</ref> |
Revision as of 13:44, 21 February 2021
Contents |
Abstract
This article aims to present the Iron Triangle (also known as Project Management Triangle, Project Triangle, and Triple Constraint Triangle) with a focus on Project Management through the perspective of Purpose. The Iron Triangle is an analytical tool based on the essential triple constraints of project management; Time, Cost, and Scope/Quality. While scope and quality cannot be directly interchangeable with each other, the choice of constraint definition varies through literature, whereas the PMI standards most often use Scope, and the British standards, Quality. This article is initially going to refer to the triple constraints including Scope, as PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge, a key reference of this article, uses this standard.
Regarding the application of the tool, PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge courses of action regarding the management of the triple constraints will firstly be briefly introduced. Then, various practical and strategic approaches to the application of the triple constraints will be presented. Here, the perspective of the Four Levels of Management (Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2) will be included to illuminate how the Iron Triangle should not only be considered from a management perspective but also a delivering perspective. Lastly, it will be discussed how the Iron Triangle can be leveraged from representing a set of pre-defined specifications (classic view of projects) to an analytical tool focusing on value creation (state of the art view of projects) based on relevant success criteria. Here the methodology of conformance (value protection) vs. performance (value creation) will also be included.
Through above-presented observations, various limitations of the Iron Triangle will also inevitably emerge. These will be presented including varying takes on the Iron Triangle which could mitigate these limitations. Some of the limitations could be: The Iron Triangle does not include all constraints regarding project success. The perspective of which the constraints of the Iron Triangle are measured can have varying effects on the application of the tool. Also, even with the above-presented courses of action regarding the managing of constraints, the risk of unrealistic and uncertain measuring of the constraints could have critical consequences regarding the application of the tool.
The Iron Triangle and its most relevant variations
The Iron Trinalge (also known as Project Management Trinalge, Project Triangle, and Triple Constratint Triangle) is an essential tool that aims to present the concept of which project success should be understood.
The Iron Triangle represents the key project performance metrics that any project success is measured by; time and cost, and to varying and extend
of the most basic criteria by which project success is measured; namely whether the project is delivered by the due date, within budget, and to some agreed level of quality, performance or scope.
Taking this discussion further, the relation between the key project performance metrics, that is time and cost,
Hereby, the main focus of the tool is defined to be Project Management, as some of the most cited project management standards have somewhat aligned views of protect success in comparison to the core principals of the Iron Trinanlge. For example, the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge [1] presents a comparative overview of the the definition of success in Project, Program, and Portfolio Management as seen in the Table below.
Projects | Programs | Portfolios | |
---|---|---|---|
Success | Success is measured by product and project quality, timeliness, budget compliance, and degree of customer satisfaction. |
A program’s success is measured by the program’s ability to deliver its intended benefits to an organization, and by the program’s efficiency and effectiveness in delivering those benefits. |
Success is measured in terms of the aggregate investment performance and benefit realization of the portfolio. |
The concept of the Iron Triangle, also sometimes referred to as the Triple Constraint, or the Project Management Triangle, is a fundamental aspect of how we understand success in projects. The Iron Triangle is a representation of the most basic criteria by which project success is measured; namely whether the project is delivered by the due date, within budget, and to some agreed level of quality, performance or scope. The Iron Triangle has become the standard for routinely assessing project performance (Pinto, 2010, p. 35).
The concept of the Iron Triangle is an effective way of communicating the interrelationships between these central success criteria. It is typically depicted as a triangle with the criteria on the vertices. Movement of one criteria, for example in response to client demands or resource limitations, can put pressure on the other criteria. Failure in one constraint will likely lead to negative pressure on one or both of the other two (Mokoena et al, 2013, p. 814). This is sometimes expressed as “good, fast or cheap - pick two” (van Wyngaard et al, 2012, p. 1993). Misunderstanding or misinterpreting the Iron Triangle can lead to project failure despite effective management of all other aspects of a project (Mokoena et al, 2013, p. 813). Effectively managing the Iron Triangle has been found to be central to project success, however it has also been found that research into the Iron Triangle is “…one of the most overlooked fundamentals of project management” (Van Wyngaard et al, 2012, p. 1993).
Test [2]
Test [3]
Test. [1]
Test. [4]
Test. [5]
Test. [6]
Test. [1]
Application
Test.
Limitations
Test.
Annotated bibliography
Key references:
A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide), 6th Edition (2017)
Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017)
Bibliography
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition) - 2. Initiating Process Group. Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). pp. XXX. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group
- ↑ Pollack, J., Helm, J. and Adler, D. (2018), "What is the Iron Triangle, and how has it changed?", International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 527-547.
- ↑ AXELOS. Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2 2017 Edition, The Stationery Office Ltd, 2017. pp. XXX. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.proxy.findit.dtu.dk/lib/DTUDK/detail.action?docID=4863041.
- ↑ Wright, Andrew, and Therese Lawlor-Wright. “Project Success and Quality: Balancing the Iron Triangle.” Project Success and Quality: Balancing the Iron Triangle, Taylor and Francis, 2018, pp. 171–177. doi:10.4324/9781351213271.
- ↑ Roger Atkinson, Project management: cost, time and quality, two best guesses and a phenomenon, its time to accept other success criteria, International Journal of Project Management, Volume 17, Issue 6, 1999, Pages 337-342.
- ↑ Gabriella Cserháti, Lajos Szabó, The relationship between success criteria and success factors in organisational event projects, International Journal of Project Management, Volume 32, Issue 4, 2014, Pages 613-624. ISSN 0263-7863.