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About this lesson

The approach taken when planning a project should be based upon the primary project constraint.  Attributes of that constraint are planned first and then other aspects of the project are planned to support the primary constraint. 

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Quick reference

Primary Constraint

The approach taken when planning a project should be based upon the primary project constraint.  Attributes of that constraint are planned first and then other aspects of the project are planned to support the primary constraint.

When to use

The principles of managing from the primary constraint are applied when creating the detailed project plan.  This will be at the beginning of a project and often at the beginning of each stage when using a stage and gate project management methodology.

Instructions

First determine which is the primary constraint:  scope/quality, schedule, or resources.  Depending upon the constraint, follow the steps in the listed order.

Scope constraint

  1. Identify all project deliverables.
  2. Set quality objectives for each deliverable.
  3. Determine best resource to complete each deliverable.
  4. Estimate amount of resource needed to complete the deliverable.
  5. Schedule based upon resource availability.
  6. Budget based upon deliverables, cost of resource and schedule.

Schedule constraint

  1. Identify project schedule boundary.
  2. Set interim project milestones to support boundary.
  3. Determine resources available to support each milestone.
  4. Estimate deliverables and quality level that available resource could complete in available time.
  5. Budget based upon deliverables, cost of resource and schedule.

Resource constraint

  1. Identify project resource constraint:
    • Cash, personnel, equipment
    • Both amount and timing
  2. Estimate deliverables and quality level that available resources could generate.
  3. Schedule deliverables based upon resource availability.
  4. Create budget based upon deliverable, cost of resource and schedule.
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  • 00:05 Hi I'm Ray Sheen, and let's talk now about an important principle to follow when
  • 00:09 planning a project.
  • 00:11 And that's to stay focused upon the primary project constraint.
  • 00:16 We often describe a project as having three constraints,
  • 00:19 which are represented by the three sides of the project management triangle.
  • 00:23 These constraints are scope or deliverables, schedule, and resources.
  • 00:29 A project is planned to fit within these three constraints.
  • 00:32 Meeting all three of them is usually the goal of the project management team.
  • 00:35 I want to be very clear at this point, all three sides of the triangle are important,
  • 00:41 and all three should be met.
  • 00:43 Cuz I like to say missing one side might get you fired,
  • 00:46 where else missing other sides will just get you yell at.
  • 00:49 Normally one of those sides is more important than the other.
  • 00:53 Now that side may be more important because of the reason or rationale for
  • 00:56 the project.
  • 00:57 Or maybe because of some external constraints such as a compliance issue.
  • 01:02 Whichever side is most important, will govern how I approach project planning.
  • 01:07 Let's start with what we do when scope is most important.
  • 01:10 This means that the quality or the type of deliverables being created
  • 01:15 are more important than how long it takes or how much it cost.
  • 01:19 We start with defining the deliverables,
  • 01:21 these are often listed in the project chart or project requirements documents.
  • 01:26 Once we have the deliverables we set the quality objective for each deliverable.
  • 01:30 The definition of done for that deliverable.
  • 01:33 Then we determine the resources that are needed
  • 01:35 to achieve that level of quality for that deliverable.
  • 01:39 Now that we know the activity that must be done and the resource types required,
  • 01:43 we can estimate the effort that's needed for each activity.
  • 01:46 We can convert that estimate into a scheduled duration and
  • 01:49 create the project schedule.
  • 01:51 And we can convert that estimate into an amount of money and
  • 01:54 create the project budget.
  • 01:56 Incidentally this is the approach associated with the predictive life cycle
  • 02:00 and is what is taught in most business schools as the best practice.
  • 02:04 It's the best practice when the scope is most important.
  • 02:09 Sometimes the schedule is most important.
  • 02:12 We must hit a specific date for the project.
  • 02:15 We can modify the scope and miss the budget but we can not relate.
  • 02:20 Some of you maybe old enough to remember the Y2K projects
  • 02:23 which were in this category.
  • 02:25 We start with the schedule boundary.
  • 02:27 The end date of the project.
  • 02:29 With that end date in mind, we create some interim project milestones
  • 02:33 that would lead us from where we are to the end of the project.
  • 02:36 We can determine what resources are available within each of the time periods
  • 02:40 to support each milestone.
  • 02:42 Given those resources and that much time, we decide what deliverables can be created
  • 02:47 and at what quality level they can be completed.
  • 02:50 We now determine the timing, the resources and the scope.
  • 02:53 We can create a budget base line by costing these resources.
  • 02:57 Whichever constraint is the most important should determine your
  • 03:02 project planning approach.
  • 03:04 By following a project planning approach that ensures you meet
  • 03:08 the primary constraint first, you reduce the overall risk on the project.

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