Primary Constraint

Quick reference

• 00:04 Hi, I'm Ray Sheen.
• 00:05 Let's talk today about an important principle to follow
• 00:09 when managing a project, and that's understanding the primary constraint.
• 00:13 We often describe a project as having three constraints,
• 00:17 which are represented by the three sides of the project management triangle.
• 00:21 These constraints are the scope or deliverables, the schedule,
• 00:25 and the resources.
• 00:27 A project is planned, executed, and
• 00:29 controlled to fit within these three constraints.
• 00:32 Meeting all three of those is usually the goal of the project management team.
• 00:36 I want to be very clear at this point,
• 00:39 all three sides of the triangle are important and should be met.
• 00:42 But, as I like to say, missing one side of the triangle will get you fired,
• 00:47 whereas missing another side, will just get a sharp reprimand.
• 00:51 Normally, one of these sides is more important than the other.
• 00:54 This side may be more important because the requirements,
• 00:58 the rationale of a project, or
• 01:00 it may be because of another external constraint, such as a compliance issue.
• 01:06 The reason one side is most important,
• 01:08 may be totally outside the control of the team of the organization.
• 01:12 Whichever side is most important will govern how we approach the other phases of
• 01:17 project management.
• 01:18 So it's critical that we determine this now during project initiation.
• 01:22 Let's start with what we do when the scope is most important.
• 01:27 This means that the quality or type of deliverables being created are more
• 01:31 important than how long it takes or how much it costs.
• 01:35 We start with defining the deliverables.
• 01:37 These are often listed in the project charter or
• 01:39 the project requirements documents.
• 01:41 Once we have the deliverables, we set the quality objective for each deliverable,
• 01:46 the definition of done, then we determine the resources we need to achieve that
• 01:51 quality level on that deliverable.
• 01:53 Now that we know the activities that must be done and the resource types
• 01:57 that are required, we can estimate the effort needed for each activity.
• 02:01 We can convert that estimate into a schedule duration, and create a project
• 02:05 schedule, and we can convert that estimate into an amount of money and
• 02:10 create a budget baseline.
• 02:11 Incidentally, this is the approach associated with what's called
• 02:15 the predictive or traditional project lifecycle.
• 02:18 And it's what has been taught in most business schools as the best practice,
• 02:22 it is the best practice when the scope is most important.
• 02:26 Sometimes the schedule is most important.
• 02:29 We must add a specific end date for the project.
• 02:32 We can modify the scope and miss the budget target, but we can't be late.
• 02:36 Some of you may be old enough to remember the Y2K projects which were in this
• 02:40 category.
• 02:41 We start with the schedule boundary, the end date of the project.
• 02:46 With that end date in mind, we create some interim project milestones that would lead
• 02:51 us from where we are now to the end of the project, we can determine what resources
• 02:56 are available within each of those time periods defined by the milestones.
• 03:00 Given those resources, and the time that is allocated between the milestones,
• 03:05 we decide what deliverables can be created, and
• 03:08 at what quality level can they be completed.
• 03:10 We've now determined the timing, the resources and the scope.
• 03:14 We can create a budget baseline by costing those resources.
• 03:17 This technique is often associated with adaptive projects.
• 03:22 The third type of project constraint is a resource constraint,
• 03:26 there is a limited amount of resource available, and
• 03:30 the project plan comes down to what can be done for that much money.
• 03:34 Start with the resource constraint, it's normally money, but it may actually
• 03:39 be another resource, such as a raw material, or computer processing capacity.
• 03:45 Also the resource constraint may be how much of that resource exists, or
• 03:49 could even be when that resource is available.
• 03:53 Once we understand the resource constraints, then we can estimate
• 03:57 the deliverables and the quality level that that resource is able to achieve.
• 04:03 We then schedule those deliverables based upon the resource availability.
• 04:07 And once again, we create a budget baseline by costing those resources and
• 04:11 assigning them at the scheduled time to complete the identified requirements.
• 04:16 Whichever constraint is the most important should
• 04:20 determine your project management approach,
• 04:24 by following a project management process that ensures you meet the primary
• 04:31 constraint first, you reduce the overall risk on the project

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