Good, Fast, and Cheap. Pick Two

The designer's Holy Triangle or, as I call it, the Magic Triangle. There is another set of considerations beyond the Magic Triangle. Call it a corollary triangle, I call it 'the technology balance'. The idea is that within a technology project there are three considerations; The use or creation of new and innovative technology, getting the job done (or doing business), and correctness (in the academic sense). I'm aware of other considerations but I feel these three are the the most contentious considerations. 

When technology projects start there is often a lot of conversation about what technologies should be applied. Often, teams choose to use newer or more cutting edge technologies in favor of older more stable technologies. Part of this is facination with the new, part of it is a hedge against those things we don't like about the old. All of these are valid and reasonable determining factors for technology selection. 

Another observation is that technology teams, given enough time, will argue endlessly about the correctness of any given solution. There is always debate about what is 'the right thing' in tool selection, pattern application, hardware configuration, design and planning approaches and just about any conceivable facet of the project. 

Always in a project there is a push to deliver the product on-time and within the budget. We've all heard the complaints about schedule driven decisions, right-to-left scheduling, scope creep and defect management; contributors to concern about delivering on-time.

We go round and round these three topics in every project. Depending upon the focus and dicipline of the team and it's leaders we may not complete a project because of one or all of these considerations. By being aware of these contentions and managing our activities in accordance with the balance that must be maintained we can be more successful with our projects.