Managing the Six Key Constraints that Make or Break Project Success

Project constraints play a critical role in determining whether a project ultimately succeeds or fails. As a project manager, having a deep understanding of constraints and managing them effectively is essential for delivering projects on time, within budget, and to the required scope and quality. This article provides an in-depth look at the six key project constraints, why they matter so much, and proven strategies for keeping them under control. Read on to learn how to master the constraints that can make or break your next project.

What are the Main Constraints in Project Management?

The six main project constraints are:

• Scope - The clearly defined features, deliverables, and work to be done to create the project's end product.

• Time - The amount of time available to complete the project and meet key milestones.

• Cost - The budget approved and available for the project. 

• Quality - The standard of excellence expected for the end product, usually defined by the project sponsor.

• Resources - The team, equipment, materials, and information needed to execute on the project plan.

• Risk - Potential problems that could negatively impact the project.

These six factors form the boundaries within which a project must be successfully delivered. They are often depicted as a triangle (called the triple constraint triangle or the project management triangle) with scope, time, and cost making up the three points. Quality underpins the entire triangle while resources and risks can affect any part of it. This depicts how constraint trade-offs often must be made - reducing scope can bring down costs as an example. And when one constraint changes, it invariably impacts one or more of the others. Understanding these relationships is vital for any experienced project manager.

As we explore the six key constraints in detail throughout this article, it will become clear why properly managing constraints plays such a huge role in determining overall project success.

Why Project Constraints Are Critical for Meeting Project Goals

Project constraints matter because they:

• Set clear expectations for what successful project delivery means for key stakeholders

• Force difficult decisions about trade-offs when constraints start to conflict with each other over the course of a project 

• Dictate how well a project achieves its initial business case justification, objectives and desired benefits

• Directly impact stakeholder satisfaction and the perception of project success

Get one or more constraints wrong from the start or let them slip out of control during execution, and the project is much more likely to fail outright. Or alternately, stakeholders will view project outcomes as unsatisfactory despite significant effort from the project team.

Being crystal clear on constraints and monitoring them closely throughout all phases of the project lifecycle is one of the project manager's most important responsibilities. Doing effective constraint management is a trademark of experienced project managers that consistently deliver projects on-time, within budget, and to the quality expectations of sponsors.

Understanding Each Project Constraint in Detail

Now that we've covered why paying diligent attention to constraints is so critical, let's examine proven ways to manage each specific constraint on your projects.

Scope Management Strategies and Techniques

The scope constraint defines what is included in or excluded from the project. It outlines the specific product features, functions, deliverables, and project activities that must be completed by the project team to consider their work successful. Understanding exactly what scope the project sponsor will accept is key.

To manage the scope constraint effectively:

Create a Well-Defined Project Scope Statement

Document clearly what is included and excluded in the project scope. Define all deliverables at a granular level. Review the scope statement with stakeholders and get written signoff before kicking off project work.

Involve Team Members Early to Ensure Scope Clarity 

Make sure project team members understand the scope well before building out the project plan and schedule. Align the team on must-have deliverables and get their input on scope details when practical.

Use Strong Change Control Processes 

Have clear change management processes in place for handling inevitable stakeholder scope change requests over the course of the project. Use change control to assess impact to other constraints before approving changes.

Control Scope Creep

Don't let small out-of-scope changes derail your scope constraint. Revisit the scope statement often with team members to limit creep.

Strategies for Controlling the Project Timeline

The time constraint sets expectations for total project duration including intermediate milestone dates. Project sponsors often need projects completed by certain dates to realize expected benefits.

To keep tight control on the timeline constraint:

Build Detailed Project Schedules

Break down the scope into manageable work packages. Identify activities, sequencing dependencies, durations, and resources needed. Clearly define milestones dates.

Closely Monitor Task and Milestone Progress  

Make sure project activities are starting and completing as scheduled. Analyze delays and projected timeline overruns as soon as they occur. Re-sequence work if needed to meet key dates. 

Re-baseline Judiciously 

Only officially re-baseline the primary project schedule when necessary from major known changes to scope or resources. Avoid frequent re-planning dates.

Shorten Process Cycle Times

Find opportunities to use agile approaches to accelerate design, development, feedback, and approval cycles within the project plan's parameters. 

Bring On Additional Resources  

Sometimes adding more project team members is the best way to crash critical paths and overcome specific resource constraints causing timeline issues.

Effective Tactics for Controlling Project Costs

The cost constraint establishes the total budget for project expenditures along with possible upper limits by category such as labor, procurement, travel etc. Defining an accurate project budget and keeping costs within its boundaries is vital.

To actively control costs:

Create Realistic Project Budgets 

Make bottom-up estimates by task using input from those doing the work. Include contingency reserves. Phase budgets to match work packages in the detailed schedule.

Get Sponsor Approval on Budget

Review the budget with the project sponsor. Ensure they agree with resource, overhead allocations and contingency amounts before spending starts.

Enforce Change Control Rigorously  

Require that added scope from approved changes be tied to added budget resources. Eliminate out-of-scope changes without budget increases to contain costs.

Report on Project Cost Metrics Frequently 

Provide status reports on project expenditures by both task and cost category often. Alert sponsors as soon as overruns occur so they can help bring spending back inline.

Achieving Quality Targets within Project Constraints

The quality constraint represents the degree of functional performance, reliability, defect levels, and overall product excellence that project stakeholders demand. Quality missed expectations can quickly derail perceptions of success.

To deliver quality within project constraints:

Clarify Quality Requirements and Metrics  

Leave no room for interpretation differences on precisely what quality done looks like for stakeholders. Engineer the end product to meet quantitative metrics and tests.

Perform Regular Quality Inspections  

Don't just rely on final product testing. Inspect work throughout execution against standards via structured peer reviews, compliance checks, and prototype testing. 

Implement Automated Testing 

Embed testing disciplines that catch defects immediately through continuous integration and test automation suites. Fix quality escapes early in process cycles.

Manage Quality at its Source

Ensure project team members own quality at the point of production before handoffs. Empower workers do it right the first time.

Resolving Project Resource Constraint Issues

The resources constraint encompasses ensuring adequate project talent, facilities, equipment, and information is available when required to perform project tasks. Resource conflicts can wreak havoc on timelines.

To secure and manage resources:

Detail Resource Requirements During Planning  

Specify staff roles, skill sets, facilities, and other assets needed to support each activity in the schedule. Include durations resources are needed.

Get Early Commitments to Firm Up Availability 

Meet with project resources managers early to validate named resources will be available to staff project tasks per scheduled dates.

Resolve Resource Overallocations  

Adjust project plans when shared resources can't staff at required times causing conflicts. Secure alternatives or move dates if possible. 

Have Contingency Staffing Plans 

Define backup options in advance for when planned resources fall through due to higher organizational priorities.

Minimizing Project Risk

Project risk refers to potential events that could negatively impact constraints like budget, timeline, or quality if they occur over the course of the project.

To reduce threats from project risks:

Regularly Perform Project Risk Identification  

Use risk breakdown structure templates, lesson learned knowledge, and key stakeholder interviews to systematically uncover vulnerabilities to achieving project constraints. 

Analyze Risks Both Quantitatively and Qualitatively 

Estimate both the probability of project risks occurring along with their quantitative cost/schedule impact ranges through modeling sessions. 

Define Risk Response Actions

Determine actions to take in advance for high priority risks to contain threats to constraints like cost and time should those risks happen. 

Continuously Monitor Risks

Review the risk register regularly as a team to ensure it reflects actual and emerging risks accurate over time as conditions change.

Have Contingency Reserves  

Include adequate budget and schedule reserves to absorb impact to constraints when risks inevitably happen that you can't control or avoid.

Concluding Constraint Management Best Practices

To wrap up, focus on these proven practices for managing your project constraints:

• Clearly define constraints in your project charter before starting work

• Revisit constraints in every phase to ensure they still apply 

• Track constraint metrics in dashboards and status reports

• Make data-driven trade-offs to balance constraints when changes occur

• Perform complete impact analysis on constraints from all change requests  

• Act quickly when metrics show a specific constraint is at risk

• Leverage past project lessons around constraints for continuous improvement

Mastering constraint management capability takes practice but doing so will vastly increase on-time, on-budget project delivery. By applying the constraint control tactics covered here, your projects will face fewer surprises, greater stability, and much higher likelihood of meeting stakeholder success criteria. With constraints firmly under control, you remove a significant hurdle to project achievement.