Constraints on the Completion of Projects

i. Time
Our definition of a project stated that it was an activity which had a defined beginning and ending point. Most projects will be close-ended in terms of there being a requirement for completion by a certain point in time. This point may be the result of an external factor such as new legislation, or may be derived from organizational requirements. It may also be partly determined by other constraints. There is likely to be some relationship between the time taken for a project and its cost. A trade-off between the two constraining factors may then be necessary.

ii. Resource Availability
There is likely to be a budget for the project and this will clearly be a major constraint. Cost constraints may be set in a number of ways, for example as an overall cash limit or as a detailed budget broken down over a number of expenditure headings. Labour resources in particular may be a limiting factor on the completion of the project. In the short run it is likely that labour will be fixed in supply. Whilst the overall resource available may in theory be sufficient to complete the project, there may be difficulties arising out of the way in which the project has been scheduled. That is, there may be a number of activities scheduled to take place at the same time and this may not be possible given the amount of resources available.

iii. Quality factors
Whether the project delivers the goods to the right quality. There are techniques which can be used to overcome the problems referred to above. These include:
• Budgeting and the corresponding control of the project budget through budgetary control procedures.
• Project planning and control techniques such as Gantt charts and network analysis.
An important point to note at this stage is how the various constraints on project completion are likely to be interlinked with each other. For example, problems with time constraints or resource constraints may be overcome by spending more through working overtime, employing more people or purchasing better machines. Budget problems may have a knock-on effect on the achievement of deadlines.
It is important to remember that while project management techniques are important, they tend to understate the importance of the key resource: people. In a fact changing environment where tasks are often difficult, controversial with uncertain outcomes, "people management" skills are called for.
NB/Summary: A project should possess identifiable goals and a definite starting and finishing point. Project goals must be defined clearly. A useful checklist can be developed in relation to success criteria. Criteria may be hard and concerned with what the project should achieve, or soft when they will cover how the project should proceed. The major constraints on the completion of projects are Time, Resource Availability and the need to achieve the required standard of performance for the project.

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Titany answered the question on November 15, 2021 at 07:07