It's probably been done before but it occured to me that most projects regardless of nature could be described

Draw a triangle, each corner gets a category (resource) each resource can be considered infinite

Skill
Time
Money

Figure out what resources you have relative to each other and draw a dot inside the triangle.

Common example would be no skills and no time will cost you big money.

Or mad skills will mean with little time and money you can complete your project.

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Take, for example, the activity leading up to the first lunar landing. I like to use that analogy a fair bit when discussing projects. The lunar landing had:
- lots of skill
- an almost infinite amount of money
- a very tight time line (less than ten years!)

What shouldn't be discounted, though, is the articulation of the goal, and the manner (both presentation and context) in which it was described. Very few people ever realize that the greatest impediment to realizing their dreams is their inability to define their goal. Most people fall into the habit of not defining goals, because without goals, there can be no failure.

Some of my projects have very specific goals, while others are not as clear. An important part of defining goals is establishing priorities. What are the top-ten priorities for you? Knowing what your top priority is will help you establish what your number one goal is.

Part of the key to success in accomplishing your goals is using good judgement and discretion in determining how your priorities can fit together. The other part is dealing with adversity along the way: adapting, compromising, abandoning, or even forming new priorities and goals depending on the circumstances.

The number-one key to success is articulating your goals and realizing them. That might seem obvious, but most people simply can't see how easy it is. Opportunity is ripe for the picking on an infinitely bountiful tree. Envision what you want, reach out, and take it.

 

Yes Bill, In 1968 or so, we were undergoing Teaching techniques training in Indian Telecom. We were introduced to a learning Triangle and this one described by you is very similar.
Nice way to put the limits for better appreciation.

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Digital version...

Attached Images

Digital Version Skill Time Money.jpg (78.1 KB, 46 views)

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The table would work better if you put money in the first column.

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Isn't that kind of like saying "the key to being successful is to succeed"? Poetics is inspiring and all, but real life beats it every time.

 

No, it's akin to saying "the key to success in accomplishing your goals is defining them." If "real life" is beating you, perhaps it's time for you to review how and why you're doing things. You're not in a competition with your life, you're in control of it.

Poetics they may be, but what we tell ourselves, in whatever form, goes a long way towards determining our success in accomplishing our goals. It's a page, I suppose, from performance psychology. If every time I went on stage I told myself, "I can't do this, I'm a hack, I'm beyond my abilities," I'd be defeating myself despite reality. Preparation psychology is the same thing, really - if I used that negative mantra, I'd give up before I started. There's not much to life besides performance and preparation.

A big part of succeeding in doing something is deciding to do it in the first place. Many people like to believe they're not in control, because it's the perfect excuse for apathy: "I might as well not even bother trying to do that, because [such a factor] is an inextricable impediment to success." Yes, there are limits to what we can accomplish and how, and blueroomelectronics began this thread with a suggestion of how some kinds of factors can be manipulated despite what at first might seem insurmountable limits.

What you need to do is acknowledge what those limits are, instead of just presuming them. This is the flaw in most people's thinking that prevents them from being successful. They stop believing they can do things, and begin reciting the negative mantra. The most repressed students I have are so because they've been taught to believe, "I can't."

What theses students need, as a kind of rehabilitation, is to be inspired to believe, "I can." That state of belief - the capacity for imagining success - is the healthier, most human state of mind that empowers people to accomplish the tasks they set themselves to. If only there was some powerful way to persuade people in a positive fashion, free from overt interference, and some word to describe that type of inspiring rhetoric... ah, yes:

Poetics.

 

The message or idea from Hank Fletcher ("articulating your goals") is actually a very powerful one and is used in some large organizations. Usually a supervisor or leader spells out this goal/vision either in a presentation, meeting or another form of open communications. Everyone under this person plus outside "suppliers" have the added responsibility to contribute in various ways to meet this goal. There has to be team work from everyone so that this goal can be achieved. The powerful part here is it gives everyone (workers and suppliers) a target and in the end everything has to tie-in together, from all sides, to help achieve this goal as outlined by the supervisor/leader.

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Yes, then money would be the most significant "bit".
I find that's the case with my projects. Unless I have a clear goal in mind, the project usually ends up being unfinished and stuffed in a drawer somewhere. Projects with an actual purpose have a greater chance of getting finished.

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And for hobbyist use a fourth column might be needed called "Still Fun?". A hobby project should be fun and if not also cancelled.

Lefty

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What the hell is this? I never heard of this "triangle" at Purdue or IEEE conferences. Are you referring to "outlining?"

 

That makes it a square, might as well add "homework" and "dream on"

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So that's why the American military is run from the Pentagon!

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I think it's just a fancy, overcomplicated, technical way of saying

"Cheap, fast, good. Pick two."

 

Why didn't he just say cost-benefit analysis? Because, thats how I approach my project designs.

These UK and Canadian guys really have different thinking processes than us sexy Americans.