The Iron Triangle of Project Management

               Now that Abby had determined the scope of the project to throw the party, created a schedule for her team to set up the party, and estimated the total cost of throwing the party, she could see how changes in any one of these three elements could affect the other. If extra items were added to the party, it would result in the party taking more time to prepare if any setup was required or costing more money if the extra items were purchased. So, an increase in scope would increase the amount of work time required or increase the cost of the project, if not both.

Making a Party out of Project Management: Chapter 4 - Paying for the Party - Part 2 of 2

               As Abby figured out how much work would be involved with certain parts of the party, she decided it was time to think about hiring some help from outside of the project team. She knew Nathan would really love a bouncy castle at the party, but neither she nor her friends or parents, had ever worked with a bouncy castle before. They could make every last party supply themselves, but some would be hard to do and would take a long time. There were just certain things that made more sense to pay someone else for than trying to do everything on their own, even if it might cost more money. With that realization, Abby started to make a plan for how to find the right help for the party.

Making a Party out of Project Management: Chapter 4 - Paying for the Party - Part 1 of 2

               As a thank you to her friends, Abby came up with an idea to “pay” them for their help. She wanted to surprise them after the party with a carnival ride punch card for the fair that would be in town the next weekend. Would this fit within the cost constraint set by her parents? There were a few different prices to choose from, and she thought it would be great since the fair was such a special event for them every year. To get it all worked out, Abby made a plan to determine how much the project would cost with everything purchased and then added to that the cost of getting a punch card for each of her friends.