Typical Project Constraints

Resource Constraints

• Key staff resources will be available only on a part-time basis.
• Computer resources will be available on a limited basis.
• Key customer resources will be available on a restricted basis.
• A significant percentage of the project staff will not be experienced with the technical environment.
• A significant percentage of the project staff will not be experienced with the operating environment.
• The customer has limited staff capable of adequately describing in detail the functional requirements of the system.
• The customer has limited staff capable of adequately describing in detail the operational requirements of the system.

Delivery Constraints

• Deliverables submitted for approval will require working days for review.
• There is no limit to review and approval cycles.
• Equipment order lead times cannot be specified with accuracy.

Environmental Constraints

• The development or operating environment is new, and no project staff members are familiar with it.
• Key decision-makers are difficult to contact when issues arise.
• The project does not have a customer project manager (or executive sponsor, or steering committee)
• The project environment is new and the components have not yet been successfully integrated.
• The project depends upon the successful and timely completion of associated projects.

Budgetary Constraints

• Statistics used in preparing the estimates are unreliable.
• Outside consulting requirements cannot be accurately estimated.

Functionality Constraints

• The scope of the project is unclear.
• The project depends upon receiving data from other, external applications.