When it's OPM -- other people's money -- the client gets to make the priority judgments.
I call them "influencers and discriminators" In this table, you'll find commentary that defines or explains the five influencers.
Influencer | Commentary |
Resources | Money, staff, infrastructure, intellectual property or access Real, virtual, remote, dedicated or shared |
Time | Calendar, duration, milestones, value-add points |
Scope | Client deliverables; business deliverables; project debris Agile CUD: create, update, delete agility |
Quality | Fitness to use; fitness to standards; fitness to “best value” |
Risk | Risk to the client; risk to the business. Impact and likelihood. Black swan effects Anti-fragile |
A typical priority set might be as shown below. Best use of resources and attention to quality rank highest in this example. But there are other situations. Read on to the next charts
Or, maybe it's cost management. If you're in the public sector spending the taxpayers' money, then it is often the case that resource management rises to the top, as in the chart below.
So, here's how this might look if schedule were all important. Sometimes, if you miss a milestone, you've missed the entire reason-for-being of the project. In that case, schedule has to stand out above all others.
From a contracting perspective, you open the envelope and pick the "least cost that's technically acceptable". Sometimes that's a bit harsh because long-standing relationships might get tossed, but when cost is the standout, and all proposals are otherwise acceptable, then pick the lowest cost.
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