Theory of Constraints and PM
"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link" remember the old adage ?
Theory of Constraints (TOC) is a method created by Dr Eli Goldratt and was published in his 1984 book "The Goal." I'll not go in detail here but just simply put, in every organization no matter how good the performance it has at least one constraint that limits it and this constraint is the organization's weakest link. This article focuses on how a project manager can be effective to navigate through these blockers and eventually conclude a project successfully.
Some of the constraints affecting an organization could be - Resource availability, Regulatory change, Lack of Skills, organization's policy to work with offshore teams, ineffective vendor management etc.
As a Project Manager the key is to manage constraints throughout it's life-cycle, the life-cycle phases would be 1. identify these constraints that directly/indirectly impact the project 2. Exploit the constraint (fix/limit the effect on the project) 3. Sub-ordinate everything else. 4. Evaluate the constraint.
Some constraints can be outside of a Project Manager's control, however PM will play a vital role in reporting these constraints through it's life cycle to the management team.
Theory of Constraints (TOC) is a method created by Dr Eli Goldratt and was published in his 1984 book "The Goal." I'll not go in detail here but just simply put, in every organization no matter how good the performance it has at least one constraint that limits it and this constraint is the organization's weakest link. This article focuses on how a project manager can be effective to navigate through these blockers and eventually conclude a project successfully.
Some of the constraints affecting an organization could be - Resource availability, Regulatory change, Lack of Skills, organization's policy to work with offshore teams, ineffective vendor management etc.
As a Project Manager the key is to manage constraints throughout it's life-cycle, the life-cycle phases would be 1. identify these constraints that directly/indirectly impact the project 2. Exploit the constraint (fix/limit the effect on the project) 3. Sub-ordinate everything else. 4. Evaluate the constraint.
Some constraints can be outside of a Project Manager's control, however PM will play a vital role in reporting these constraints through it's life cycle to the management team.
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