{"id":2997,"date":"2019-09-30T11:45:21","date_gmt":"2019-09-30T15:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/?p=2997"},"modified":"2019-09-30T11:45:21","modified_gmt":"2019-09-30T15:45:21","slug":"adding-another-dimension-to-the-project-management-triangle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2019\/09\/30\/adding-another-dimension-to-the-project-management-triangle\/","title":{"rendered":"Adding another dimension to the project management triangle"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
By Mapto – Own work, Public Domain, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=2690261<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The project management triangle<\/a> is a well-known model showing that the quality of the delivery is constrained by the budget, the deadlines, and the scope. The idea is that it is possible to trade between constraints: ask for an earlier delivery with a smaller scope, for example. And If you don’t trade, then the quality of the delivery will suffer.<\/p>\n

During a discussion with a team, one of the team members brought that the way they were working was damaging the quality of the product and its long term maintainability. His point was that the fixed set of features (scope), associated with a 3-months deadline for the release, without changing the team, was blocking all the constraints, so the only thing that could vary was the quality.<\/p>\n

I have to admit that I was totally in agreement, and while he was talking, I draw the well-known triangle on the whiteboard of the meeting room.<\/p>\n

Another team member surprised us by stating calmly: “I always disagreed with that triangle<\/strong>. There is another variable that is not taken into account.”<\/p>\n

He got all our attention, and finish his sentence: “The other variable is the effort that you are willing to put into the project.” Two other team members approved immediately in support of that claim. The other team members said nothing and did not move, probably waiting to see where that discussion would go.<\/p>\n

After a quick glimpse at the only person in the room who seemed to disagree with that claim, I tried to explain that you could envision that the people could work longer hours, increasing the capacity of the team artificially without changing the cost, but that it will not be sustainable and there was an invisible cost to that burst. A debt that the team will have to pay later. Furthermore, after several days of working long hours, I was pretty sure that the quality would suffer anyway.<\/p>\n

I tried to argue that pushing your “best” individuals to deliver could get short term results, but will also damage the ability of the people to collaborate, to support and help each other, to onboard new people in the team, and so on.<\/p>\n

They continued to disagree explaining that some people were able to work for a longer time, with a strong focus on their work without damaging the quality of their delivery. This was the “effort” they wanted to celebrate and incentivized.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So do you think we should add “effort” as another dimension to the project management triangle?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Featured image is by Ryan McGuire<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The project management triangle is a well-known model showing that the quality of the delivery is constrained by the budget, the deadlines, and the scope. The idea is that it is possible to trade between constraints: ask for an earlier delivery with a smaller scope, for example. And If you don’t trade, then the quality […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[284],"class_list":["post-2997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","tag-management"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/09\/gratisography-paper-eyes.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paNjQG-Ml","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5678,"url":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2026\/04\/15\/the-rise-of-the-micro-squad\/","url_meta":{"origin":2997,"position":0},"title":"The Rise of the Micro-Squad","author":"Alexis","date":"April 15, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"We need to talk about process fatigue. If you\u2019ve spent any time in modern corporate software or product development, you know the feeling. The endless sprint planning sessions. The two-week agile cycles that feel like a relentless treadmill. The daily stand-ups where a dozen people justify their existence to a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/unsplash-community-x71Hr39C-T0-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/unsplash-community-x71Hr39C-T0-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/unsplash-community-x71Hr39C-T0-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/unsplash-community-x71Hr39C-T0-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/unsplash-community-x71Hr39C-T0-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2664,"url":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2018\/09\/17\/project-aristotle-a-conversation-starter\/","url_meta":{"origin":2997,"position":1},"title":"Project Aristotle – A Conversation Starter","author":"Alexis","date":"September 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In Measure What Matters, John Doerr speaks about the quality prized by Andy Grove: collective accountability, fearless risktaking, measurable achievements. John explains that Google studied 180 teams using five questions. The internal project code name was Project Aristotle. The results? Standout performances correlated with affirmative answers to these questions: Structure\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/538px-Aristotle_Altemps_Inv8575.jpg?fit=538%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/538px-Aristotle_Altemps_Inv8575.jpg?fit=538%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/538px-Aristotle_Altemps_Inv8575.jpg?fit=538%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4064,"url":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2022\/12\/30\/the-best-framework-to-grow-yourself-as-a-leader\/","url_meta":{"origin":2997,"position":2},"title":"The best framework to grow yourself as a leader","author":"Alexis","date":"December 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This is Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership. I am OpenAI. I am the host of today\u2019s podcast. The BEPS framework is useful for understanding a leader's different roles and responsibilities. It helps clarify the various areas a leader should focus on to be effective and achieve success.","rel":"","context":"In "Le Podcast"","block_context":{"text":"Le Podcast","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/category\/podcast\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/01\/Le-Podcast-on-Emerging-Leadership-Square-e1611488942222.png?fit=400%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2123,"url":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2015\/09\/16\/manage-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":2997,"position":3},"title":"Manage it!","author":"Alexis","date":"September 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Manage it! is a book by Johanna Rothman published by Pragmatic Programmers. You probably know already Pragmatic Programmers, they published Agile Retrospectives by Esther Derby and Diana Larsen, and also Agile Coaching by Rachel Davies and Liz Sedley that my friend Fabrice Aimetti translated into French. If don't know Pragmatic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "livre"","block_context":{"text":"livre","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/category\/livre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/09\/201509manage-it.jpg?fit=540%2C648&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/09\/201509manage-it.jpg?fit=540%2C648&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/09\/201509manage-it.jpg?fit=540%2C648&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2396,"url":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2017\/07\/25\/team-identity\/","url_meta":{"origin":2997,"position":4},"title":"Team Identity","author":"Alexis","date":"July 25, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The sense of belonging is an important experience to have. Belonging means that we are accepted as part of, as a member of the group, the team, the company. We want to be part of a team because what defines the team identity is appealing to us. The team is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/07\/425H.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/07\/425H.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/07\/425H.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/07\/425H.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/07\/425H.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2796,"url":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2019\/03\/25\/can-we-be-offended-by-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":2997,"position":5},"title":"Can we be offended by change?","author":"Alexis","date":"March 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I woke up one morning, and there was a heated conversation on my favorite mailing-list. Someone had made a point that for the annual donation, and among other possible charities, we should pick Sandy Hook Promise. Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) trains students and adults to know the signs of gun\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/gratisography-super-nerd-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/gratisography-super-nerd-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/gratisography-super-nerd-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/gratisography-super-nerd-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/gratisography-super-nerd-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2997"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3005,"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2997\/revisions\/3005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}