The Project
Management Triangle

To begin, project control can only be achieved when cost, schedule, and
features/scope are clearly documented, realistically derived, and managed
deliberately.

This seems basic enough, doesn’t
it?  All this talk of RUP, RAD, AGILE, Six Sigma and other project management, product development SDLC methodologies
are great, worthwhile and very useful, but as always, particularly at this stage
in the game for our clients who are in an early stage of organizational development/process control, it comes down to the
fundamentals.

To extend the triangle metaphor a bit further, you may not increase one side of the
triangle without increasing either or both of the other two to meet it, and keep
a triangle intact.  This will produce a gap where all three sides of the triangle will not meet.  This will provide enough gap for the project to take on water, which will ultimately sink it.

Regardless of which project management methodology you choose to employ, and there will be many more articles posted on just this topic, the fundamentals remain consistent:

• Identify key stakeholders/decision makers
• Identify project team members
• Outline your communication plan and means to resolve conflicts
• Define the scope, project objectives and specific success criteria
• Identify key risks and mitigation strategies for each

In the weeks to come, I will be using this space to discuss many factore with regard to managing projects withing the Agile framework, and drilling into best practices for many of the above-mentioned tasks.

Related posts:

1. Agile Fundamentals: The Feedback Loop
2. Tech Terms that Drive Business People Crazy
3. Agile 2009: A reminder of why each team needs leadership