F U N D A M E N TA L S

OF PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
PROJ 605
POST GRAD PROJECT MANAGEMENT
C E RT I F I C AT E
 Discuss the six constraints and their impact on project quality
1. Define project constraints
2. Describe how each of the constraints impact the project
3. Discuss how the constraints interact with each other

LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSTRAINTS

• A project constraint is defined as a factor that limits the options of

the project management team.

• How many constraints are there in project management?

PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSTRAINTS

Think of an
example of each
of these
constraints.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSTRAINTS
GENERAL CONSTRAINTS - EXAMPLES
• Consider a major sporting event like the Olympics. Such a mega event starts with an opening
ceremony at a scheduled date and time. Do you think it is possible to delay the opening
ceremony by a day or even an hour? No, with thousands of people in the stadium and millions
of people glued to their TVs, the opening ceremony of such an event cannot be delayed. There
is a hard time constraint on the start date and start time of such an event.

• A medical equipment company announces that it will launch a new pace maker on a designated
date. Just before the launch of the product, the company’s’ engineers realize that there is a
small snag in the design that can increase the chances of malfunction by a factor of 0.01%.
They believe that they will need another 6 months and additional $10 million to rectify the
snag. Should the company delay the launch, given that the chances of malfunctioning are just
0.01% and the potential loss of $10 million? Yes, here we are talking about human lives. If the
product is good, the company can recoup the losses, but human lives cannot be compromised.
The quality constraint is most important in such type of projects.
GENERAL CONSTRAINTS - EXAMPLES
• A bulk mobile phone manufacturing company announced that it will launch their cheapest
mobile phone for only $10. However, a few weeks before the launch, the company’s engineers
realized that they will need to use slightly older technology to meet the internal cost objective.
They believe that the cost of the end product cannot be increased, and that the sales will not be
impacted by using older technology. Should the company move forward with older technology
given that it will reduce the quality? Yes, the cost of the end product should be kept as low as
possible because the company wants to produce the cheapest mobile phone. The cost constraint
is paramount in such type of projects.

• A Government department has announced a public welfare scheme that should benefit every
citizen. Can the department’s officials decide to leave out even 1% of the citizens to save time
or cost? No, 100% of the citizens should be covered even if it means extra time and cost. The
scope constraint becomes most important in such types of projects.
 ASSUMPTIONS AND CONSTRAINTS
• Constraints

• Assumptions
• Limitations placed upon the project .
scope time
– The main constraints in project
• Things that you believe to be

6
management are: scope, schedule, cost,
true, based on your
quality, risk and resources.
knowledge, experience, or
based on information • This was formerly known as the “triple
provided by your team constraint” of project management, or the
stakeholders. cost project management triangle, but has now
been updated to include quality, risk and
• Assumptions should be
resources.
documented.
• Assumptions can also be used
in risk identification. For
each assumption ask , “if this
assumption is wrong, what
will happen ?”.
 EXERCISES
Can you figure out the constraint that’s causing the biggest headache
for the project manager in each of these scenarios?

• The project was running late, so the project manager decided to

release it on time even though it was missing some of its features.

Constraint affected:
Scope - The PM stuck to the original budget and schedule, but released
a product that wasn’t complete. That means the scope was affected.
EXERCISES
• The team wanted to add more testers to find defects, but the project
manager overruled them.

Constraint affected:
Quality - Any time you’re talking about tests and defects, you’re
talking about quality.

• The project manager didn’t take software license fees into account,
which caused the budget to balloon out of control.

Constraint affected:
Cost - It’s the project manager’s job to always look after the bottom
line.
 EXERCISES
• The company didn’t have enough money to invest in the project, so they
had to draft people from other departments to work part time to get the job
done.

Constraint affected:
Resources - Resources are people or materials that you need
for your project, and when you cut corners you end up straining them.
EXERCISES
• A construction project manager assumed that the weather would cooperate
with the plans to complete the job, but thunderstorms have derailed the
project.

Constraint affected:
Risk - Whenever you make assumptions about a project, you’re
introducing risk.
EXERCISES
• About halfway through the project, the PM realized that the money
was running out faster than expected. She went through the
schedule to try to find ways to move up the deadline.

Constraint affected:
Time - There are lots of ways to change how long it’ll take to do your
project, but sometimes there simply isn’t enough time.
EXERCISES
• About halfway through the project, the PM realized that the money
was running out faster than expected. She went through the
schedule to try to find ways to move up the deadline.

Constraint affected:
Time - There are lots of ways to change how long it’ll take to do your
project, but sometimes there simply isn’t enough time.
HOW EACH CONSTRAINT IMPACTS THE PROJECT
Time/Cost:

The project manager is expected to deliver the final products/

deliverables within the agreed ranges. If the project is running late
and/or costing more than the specified range, the sponsor/
stakeholders/ Project Board need to be informed, so they can decide
how to proceed. If the project will end below the time or cost range,
they also want to know, as other projects may be able to start earlier,
or be able to use the unneeded funds.

Example:
HOW EACH CONSTRAINT IMPACTS THE PROJECT
Risk:

We have agreement on the level of risk the sponsor/ stakeholders/ Project

Board are willing to live with in the course of the project (their risk
tolerance). If the project manager cannot control (mitigate/ transfer, etc.)
major risks, then the sponsor/ stakeholders/ Project Board need to decide
if they are willing to live with the greater risk exposure, or want the
project to close down (“It's just too risky for us to move forward if we
cannot mitigate, or don't have a contingency plan for risk ABC.”).

Example:
RISK ANALYSIS AND RESPONSE
NEGATIVE RISK RESPONSES (THREATS)
POSITIVE RISK RESPONSES (OPPORTUNITIES)
 HOW EACH CONSTRAINT IMPACTS THE PROJECT
Quality:

The scope items are to be delivered with the defined characteristics (no
deviation allowed if quality tolerance is zero), and all deliverables must be
reliable – ie, the characteristics have been quality tested/ checked to the
extent specified, so that they function as agreed.

Example:
HOW EACH CONSTRAINT IMPACTS THE PROJECT
Scope:

This is what the project is expected to deliver (if the scope tolerance is
zero, the project must deliver no more and no less than what is
specified). Project
Boundary

• Clearly defines what WILL be

done and what will NOT be done
THE SCOPE STATEMENT
The project scope statement is a document that clearly describes the scope of the
projection.

The minimum content will include: A deliverable is “Any

• The Project Scope Description unique and verifiable
product, result, or
• Project Deliverables
capability to perform a
• Project Exceptions (Project Boundaries) service that is required
• Assumptions and Constraints to be produced to
complete a process,
• Acceptance Criteria
phase , or project.”
REQUIREMENTS
• The Project Management
Body of Knowledge
defines requirement as “a
condition or capability that
is required to be present in
a product, service, or result
to satisfy a contract or
other formally imposed
specification.” Think about building a house. What would some of your
requirements be? How many do you think you would
have? What would a contractor need to know to build
exactly what you wanted?
REQUIREMENTS MANAGEMENT
PITFALLS
• Not well written Must have vs
• Incomplete nice to have. Types
• Unstated expectations • Regulatory
• Inflexible process • Business
• Inadequate definition process • Stakeholder
• Lack of education • Product
• Ineffective Review process • Functional, Non
• Wrong tool for the job Functional
 DELIVERABLES
ANY ITEM PRODUCED AS THE OUTCOME OF A PROJECT OR ANY PART
OF A PROJECT.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROJECT DELIVERABLES

DELIVERABLES
• These are specific to the
• These are the project planning product that the project
2 types
documents that should be will create.
stored in a shared location and
under version control.

Remember this for Work Breakdown in

PROJ 607. Project deliverables also take
the project team’s time so need to be
considered in the schedule and budget.
HOW THE CONSTRAINTS INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER
• Any time your project changes, you’ll need to know how that
change affects all of the constraints.

• You probably cannot shorten the schedule without causing a

negative impact on the on cost, risk, etc. For example, an additional
activity may only take one day, but the cost of adding the activity
must be evaluated, along with the impact to the critical path

• It is important to evaluate the effect a change to one constraint has

on another.
WHO DETERMINES THE CONSTRAINTS
• Management directly or indirectly sets the priority of each
constraint.
• This prioritization is then used to plan the project, evaluate impact
changes, and prove successful project completion
WHEN IS IT DETERMINED
• At a high level during initiation.
• Detailed during planning.
• Managed during Monitoring and Control.
WHERE SHOULD CONSTRAINTS BE DOCUMENTED
• In definition documents (Charter).
• In the Scope Statement.
• In Planning documents.