Imagine that one client has asked for a project, and everything is running smoothly until one thing happens: Your team hasn’t adjusted the budget as well as they thought. They need a thousand dollars more than they expected, and they don’t know how to communicate so to the client, which will leave the client upset. Overall, this affects both the scope and time of the project. It will take you longer to deliver as you have to reorganize the project and methodology again – Not to mention the drop in quality if the client refuses to pay more.

That is what’s commonly known as the iron triangle, meaning that one of these three factors (scope, budget, and time) cannot change without affecting the rest or one of them. Knowing that, you can include the iron triangle management in your agile methodologies and become an iron triangle of project management master. Or not. But keep reading if it sounds interesting to you, as it can change your work style.

The Iron Triangle Project Management

Everyone knows that small changes in one area can make a big impact on others. This is known as the Butterfly Effect. The iron triangle in project management consists of three top constraints:

• Scope: The scope involves the tasks necessary to complete the project. Controlling this part of the triangle is critical to succeeding, as adjustments to the scope will result in an impact (probably negative) on cost and time. Imagine the client originally required 10 hours of work, but then a second stakeholder requests an addition that increases the work hours by 15. This will destroy the iron triangle balance and increase project costs and time.
• Budget/Cost: The budget is the financial constraint of the iron triangle. Project costs can include any type of resources, from materials to people and even external help. Sometimes, the budget is fixed, and there is nothing to do about it. Other times, the budget is more flexible and can compensate for other areas. For example, if a project requires contract workers for longer than anticipated, the total cost will definitely increase. The wisest decision is to include an “extra” in the initial project budget to prevent these things from happening and avoid resentment or anger from the client.
• Schedule/Time. The iron triangle time constraint represents the project completion schedule. Managing time means managing individual tasks and completing them on time. Agile methodologies like Scrum or Waterfall can be of tremendous help here.

The quality triangle in the iron triangle

How would you apply all of this knowledge to project management? It is now evident that the iron triangle consists of giving and taking in accordance with the current situation.
Although we already gave some hints during the iron triangle article, here are some key takeaways not to forget:

• Always include an “extra” to the total budget to prevent a lack of resources and resentment from the client.
• Use agile methodologies to have constant feedback from stakeholders and make any changes to tasks before it affects project quality. Clients’ budgets are not limited, and they want the project finished as soon as possible. These methodologies can help avoid errors and deliver on time.
• Identify all the activities and tasks and establish a correct sequence. Don’t let anyone forget or overlook this sequence.
• Make sure you estimate a reasonable amount of time for each activity and task to prevent resentment from the client or too much stress on your team.
• Never compromise on quality. Make any changes necessary to other constraints of the triangle: take more time to deliver; re-plan the project to still deliver on time; or change the scope. But never the quality.

We hope you have gained a better understanding of what the iron triangle project management is and why it is of such importance to your organization.

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