Clients often want everything, but the simple truth of the matter is that nobody gets everything they want – there is always a tradeoff somewhere, and that can be hard to explain to management types. This is a struggle that every hired gun will have to deal with eventually, but it CAN be done!
I recently came across an intersting post at Future Perfect which explains the concept very simply using Rhys Newman’s handy graphical representation of the triangular relationship between fast, good, and cheap. Just remember, the closer you get to one of these, the further you are from the other two.
This is defnitely something you’ll want to keep in your toolbelt when pitching projects to clients.
Happy estimating!