Question

Identify three constraints imposed on an IT project schedule. Explain the impact that each of these can have on project management.

Answer 1

Every project whether its a IT or non IT project, there are certain constraints that the team needs to face to achieve the organizational goals. The three constraints that can impact project management and will impose the IT project schedule are:-

• Cost
• Scope
• Time

Impact of these constraints on project management:-

1. Time:- Time is a very big constraint for every project. If we will take an example of the IT project like a company gives us a project for online application development and the deadline for this project was 30 days and we have not completed the task in the given time then will become difficult for us so if you want to reduce the time of the project then you need to either increase the project cost by involving more resources to get the work done in given time period or we have to reduce the scope related to that project. So as per the saying, 'time is money' we have to manage the project as per the given time period.
2. Cost:- Cost is also a big constraint for IT project management and impose the project schedule if we have not done initial planning for the project. For example:- A customer is asking for a online application software and he wants all the installation in a given cost but in between the project the customer is asking for the additional features with the basic installation process then in that case the project cost will increase because we need to add more resources for the new assigned task and manage the time with the new changes that has been done in the project. So cost in IT projects is a big constraints and many a time impose the project schedule.
3. Scope:- Many IT projects fails due to this constraints when project scope not fully defined or not understood the basic scope from the starting. So if in any IT project client asking for the different scope in between then either you need to increase the time or cost to complete the task. So scope should be defined in the starting of the project so that you an submit the task on time in the given budget.