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Here's a switch. I'm going theoretical!

I was taking a class in Project Management last week.

Big deal.

But it was interesting that the study of the subject includes an interesting theory of controls. Basically, if you control the cost, then the timeline might slip. If you control the timeline, quality might slip. If you control the quality, costs might vary. In summary, you can usually only control 2 of the three primary factors.

If anyone reading this is knowledgeable in the PMI 2004 standard, yes, I know there are more than three primary factors. But for this thing to work, I will use the older 2000 standard.

So, what genius thought did I have in this class?

I call it the "Heisenberg Theory of Project Management." If you can control 2 factors, you can't control the third. Or, to paraphrase, "I don't know how much it will cost, but I can tell you what it will do, and when it will be done."

If you don't get it, well, there's a nice little link to take you to a site that deals with the Uncertainty Principle. I'm fairly certain it has good information, but I'm not sure how often it gets updated.

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