The Pyramid of Reality


Fast, Good and Cheap represent three aspects of a project – the time-line, the quality and the budget. Depending on the situation they are sometimes fall into requirements or even constraints. The fact is that usually these three are combined by the “Tyranny of OR”. One can choose either

* fast and good
– OR –
* good and cheap
– OR –
* fast and cheap

The option of all three is not considered to be practical.

Fast, Good, Cheap. I have been able to represent this the best by setting them at three different points of a triangle. You can choose any one side of the triangle. These three points can also be considered to be different costs of the project. You can ignore the one that you can afford to. In reality, no one can afford any cost, it is either a compromise or an investment, depending on how you look at it. But this triangle is an important one to consider if you are trying to set priorities for the project. The priorities can help you choose the side.

One Reply to “The Pyramid of Reality”

  1. With the right balance you can optimize around all three factors – fast and good with cheap as an outsourcing aspect of your business. This would be the bottom-line justification to outsource efficient aspects of your work.

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