The Concept of Project Management Constraints - Literature review Example

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction This chapter introduces the review of the research study; it focuses on the past studies that have already been undertaken on the Project Management Triangle Constraints. The information in the literature review is obtained from past reference materials like magazines, newspapers articles and other published materials. This will contribute towards broadening the scope of the research study and drawing comparison on what factors were previously investigated. The Concept of Project Management Constraints In every human activity, there are constraints in achieving performance. When doing a project or managing a project constraints lead to underperformance leading to delay of achieving objectives. Project management triangle is a diagrammatic representation which involves three characteristics showing the corners of a triangle. To effectively and efficiently complete a project, these three attributes of time, cost and quality must be balanced. There three important constraints are referred to as “the triple constraints”. Every aspect of consideration in the triangle forms the vertices with quality as the central theme[Dun06]. Haughey (2006) illustrates that, for a completion of a project, it must incur cost, it must be delivered within a certain period meaning it must be delivered on time and it must achieve the agreed scope. When these three constraints are achieved, then quality is achieved. The three elements must be integrated together to achieve success in the completion of the project. When this three constraints are understood by the manager, then the accomplishment of the project is attained. The history of project management dates back from the18th century. According to [She07], until the 1900, civil engineering projects were managed by architects, master builders and engineers .it was until the 1950s when the adoption of project management tools and techniques came into consideration. From that time the techniques have been developed to help in the management of projects. The projects management constraints is one among those important techniques which has until today been used to help in the management of projects (Eisner, 2013). The project management triangle constraints are integrated and this means that one side of the triangle cannot be altered without impacting on the others. They form a competitive dimension, where each constraint needs to be satisfied. The project management constraint is about balancing each cons trait to reach a successful completion and it is used to demonstrate that project management success is gauged by the team’s ability to manage the project[Lew05]. The time constraints denote the amount of time available to the completion of the project. Projects have a target date for completion and as the saying goes that time is money, it is a commodity exhausts away easily (Crouhy et al., 2006). Time in project management is examined to the smallest detail. The amount of time to the completion of each project is examined to the smallest component. When these components are broken down, the time taken to analyze each task is also taken into consideration. From this analysis, the manager then is able to estimate the time to be taken to the completion of the project and the resources which will be dedicated to the particular project. The other side represented on the triangle is scope. This is often referred to as the scope of work. It is a clear specific statement on the agreed plan to be achieved at the end of the project. It lays out, the features, data, content and functions that should be included in the project to aid in its completion (Rojas, 2009). Projects fail in this constraint because of lack of understanding of the scope. An increase in the scope of the project increases the cost and time of the completion of the project. Cost is the forecasted amount available for the project. It represents one side of the project management constraint. The customer will incur a certain amount of money for performance of a project. An increase in the cost of completing a project, will either reduce the scope of increase its time. Resources always cost money, so to acquire resources, money will be incurred, and that is cost. Resources like manpower form some of the materials needed for the job to be done (Rodríguez, 2005). This resources cost money and form the third constraint in the project management triangle. Prioritizing the triple constraint The first step to be considered by a project manager when awarded a project is the prioritization of the triple constraint. This is done through coordination with the client, in order to be able to understand if the client understands the triple constraints, and what is their priority in it (Pinto et al., 2009). The triple constraint then will help in balancing the triple constraint and enable to keep tracks all the aspects of the project. To have a good understanding of the project by client and the project manager enhances the successful completion of the project. Educating the client is a task to ensure that the client understands that, for the completion of the project, a certain level of his participation is required. The client, defines at what time will he or she need the project to be completed, the amount of money he or she is willing to invest in the project and lastly, to understand the scope of the project. The right balance of the project management constraints should also be a consideration. According to [Mul06], one will be able to balance the triple constraints when any adjustment has been made to either of the three sides of the elements. Throughout the mastering of the triple constraint, one internalizes the project itself. Incompetence and less productivity effects When faced with a project, it is important for all those involved in project to rank the three constraints (Morris and Sember, 2008). This forms one of the fundamental ideas that cannot be neglected. Changes will always occur during the execution of the project. Morris and sember, (2008) argues that, competence is a needed for all the team members who participate in the execution of the project. Incompetence is a strong word which means the inability of one to perform the stated task. According to [coc14] competence requires good communication style that is appropriate to the group makeup and have a clear vision of the projects end result. Unfortunately, there are a lot of ill-trained, inept, inadequate project supervisors who are put through project management (Coleman & Glover, 2010). Incompetence and less productivity effects are brought about by disorganization, sexism, racism and cronyism. If the project manager has the ability to frequently forget about the objectives set in the organization, then, the manager is disorganized. For example; forgetting crucial material in the project discussions. Incompetence is also brought by the team member’s inability to successfully perform their duties. A project management team lead by disorganized leader find themselves responsible for mistakes and missed deadlines. Sexism refers to biasness towards gender, either a female manager who feels threatened by the male manager she supervises of a male manager who does not want to be influenced by men. Racism can lead to incompetence and less productivity as Cochran argues that, whether it is okay to high the most racial segmentation in the workplace, the minority can feel misplaced. A manager, who represents the racial minority in a workplace, will feel threated by others. This can alter the way the project manager treats his or her members which creates feeling of denial in the team members. This can lead to incompetence and productivity effects in the management of a project. The other factor is cronyism; this means the placing of friends or acquaintances at the top level of management of the project (Stephanou & Obradovitch, 2005). This can lead to incompetent workers being placed in positions to manage the organizations where they are do not have the ability to so. Cronyism also leads to discontent to the peers who feel left out. [chi04] Argues that, of the ten signs of incompetent management. Managerial incompetence is the concern of all the stakeholders in an organization. The signs of incompetence in the project management include, declining profits, high turnover, poor morale, overconfidence, inadequate quality control, poor customer service ,out-of stock items ineffective communication, inconsistence guidance and negative media coverage. The trade-off between time, cost and scope of work is the major consideration when it comes to project management (Richman, 2012). This calls for competent team of workers in all the areas of the project. For example, how is the team able to absorb change in budget which will affect cost? This means as a project manager, there is need to educate customers about the triple constraint to create a balance of the impact cost, time and scope has on production (Callahan, 2014). To identify which angle from the Project Management triangle was neglected that led to delays The validity of the project management triangle constraints has been debated in academic literature. Which of these constraints impacts on the productivity of the organization. A review of these constraints and how each affects the productivity in an organization is a major concern. How to balance between the three constraints in order to achieve efficiency is important. The neglect in any of the constraint can lead to delays in the completion of a project. According to [Rup14], the project management triangle is so simple for the complex environment its projects are delivered. The priority of the project is a problem which causes delays in the execution of projects. When it comes to costs, unless the funding is superfluous, cost constraints can cause the delays caused in a successful project execution (Duening & Click, 2005). For example, when funds are limited, one cannot put an unlimited number of workforce. This is because of cost constraints, the project manager acquires insufficient labor, and then, this will cause delays in the execution of project. In every project, to attain perfection in the execution of all the three constraints is a dilemma. Though the project is allocated a definite date of start and completion, variations in timing do occur which leads to delays. When it comes to the scope in undertaking a project, scope can be limited by the vendor/supplier/buyer/client in the agreement (Lock, 2013). The changes made in regard to the scope when undertaking a project should be clearly watched. This is called the scope creep. Any changes like increments or inability to deliver can cause delay in the completion of the project. Even the least and simplest of projects should have clear guideline for the business, proper planning, forecasting and correct measurements of performance if this is not applied, the possibility of achieving success to completion is low (Eisner, 2013). The test is not only to realize the details for failure but also to acquire the knowledge needed to ensure that these challenges are countered and the recommendations are enacted upon. According to Society for Human Resource Management (2005), the trade-off between the risks associated with these project management constraints presents a chance for failure and delay in the execution. This is because of uncertainties related to project costs and the availability of resources. This risk if not taken into account, it causes variations in the control of the project. The variability in time in terms of scheduling of activities, durations, milestones and deadline is another risk which causes the delay of the execution of the project. The use of prior experience, industry standard data, expert judgment and other schedule management techniques are some of the techniques that should be used to mitigate against this cause delay (Uher & Loosemore, 2004). The complexity of performance of the project determines the scope the project should be handled with. Project management triangle can also be illustrated in the approach of finance and human resources. The real value of the project management triangle is to show the complexity that the project presents. It helps to help balance between the three variables. REFERENCES. Basu, c. (2004). 10 signs of incompetent management. Retrieved 11:15, 2014, from www.smallbusiness.chron: www.smallbusiness.chron//10 signs of incompetent management Callahan, K. R. (2004). Essentials of Strategic Project Management. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Cochran, S. (2014). Recognizing and avoiding the sinking ship. Retrieved 11 15, 2014, from www.brighthubpm.com: www.brighthubpm.com//recognizing and avoiding the sinking ship. Coleman, M., & Glover, D. (2010). Educational leadership and management: Developing insights and skills. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Crouhy, M., Galai, D., & Mark, R. (2006). The essentials of risk management. New York: McGraw-Hill. Duening, T. N., & Click, R. L. (2005). Essentials of business process outsourcing. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons. Eisner, H. (2013). Essentials of project and systems engineering management. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Haughey, D. (2006). Understanding the Project Management Triple Constraint. Retrieved 11:152014, fromhttp://wwww.projectsmart.co.uk: http://wwww.projectsmart.co.uk/understanding-the-project-management-triple-constraint.php Lewis & James P. (2005). Project Planning, Scheduling & Control. McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-146037-8. Lock, D. (2014). The essentials of project management. Mulder. (2006). 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