A manager once brought up "there are three levers - scope, time (deadline), money (people)", and while it's probably not revolutionary, it did stick with me.
Add more "must have" scope, and something else has to give.
I would argue that the scope lever should be set to 60%, time 60%, and money 35% for software projects.
Software projects are kind of like ovens-- if something cooks perfectly at 300 (temperature units), using 25 minutes and using 5 (money units), that does not mean it will cook perfectly at 600 temperature units using 12.5 minutes and 10 money units. Most likely it will burn.
Software projects are kind of like ovens-- if something cooks perfectly at 300 (temperature units), using 25 minutes and using 5 (money units), that does not mean it will cook perfectly at 600 temperature units using 12.5 minutes and 10 money units. Most likely it will burn.