The "Reality Triangle" is known by several other names, including
"Triangle of Truth," "Quality Triangle," "Essential Tradeoff
Triangle," "Impossible Triangle," and "Information Triangle."
While the name attached to the triangle may vary from industry to
industry, the core concept remains the same: when presented with the
options of a product or service, you typically can choose among three
characteristics: fast, cheap, good. The law of the triangle is that
you can expect to obtain two of these qualities, while sacrificing the
third. If you get something that is fast and good, it is not going to
be cheap; if it is cheap and good it is not going to be fast, and if
it is fast and cheap it is not going to be good.
A graphic representation of the Reality Triangle may be found in this
business presentation file on the site of the Project Management
Institute of Dallas:
Project Management Institute, Dallas: Inherited Projects
http://www.pmidallas.org/presentation_files/July%202002%20Presentation%20-%20Inherited%20Projects.pdf
Here is a concise description, from an article in "Intercom" magazine
which suggests ways in which the rule of the triangle can be
circumvented:
"What's our favorite tongue-in-cheek mantra in technical
communication? We have many, but "Fast, cheap, good -- pick two"
always makes the top-three list... The phrase often takes tangible
form in the so-called quality triangle, an illustration of a triangle
with the names of each of these factors occupying a side. This
triangle analogy speaks to us so clearly because resources always seem
limited, and as a result, devoting resources to any two factors
prevents us from applying those resources to the third factor."
Society for Technical Communication: Cheating the Quality Triangle
http://www.stc.org/intercom/PDFs/2001/200104_06-10.pdf
The two files linked above are in .pdf format. You will need to have
Adobe Acrobat reader software in order to view .pdf files. If you do
not already have this free software installed on your computer, you
can download Acrobat Reader 5 here:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
This is a graphic image of the Reality Triangle, as found on the PMI
Dallas site linked above:
http://www.mortalwombat.com/Special/RealityTriangle.jpg
Here is an explanation of the concept in connection with the business
of moviemaking:
"There's a little triangle that Francis Ford Coppola uses to explain
the fundamentals of production. The top of it says 'good', the left
side says 'quick' and the bottom right says 'cheap.' The way it works
is that you can connect any two sides of this, but not all three. If
it's good and quick, it won't be cheap. Likewise, you can make
something good and cheap - but it won't be quick. And if it's quick
and cheap..."
Cyberscene: Rathe from Lincoln Center, Getting It Right the First
Time
http://www.cyberscene.com/clips/rwrathe.html
Roger Nichols, in "EQ" magazine, describes the triangle, as it relates
to the record industry, in this way:
"Have you ever heard of the Good-Fast-Cheap triangle? Well, you should
know about it. Draw a triangle and write one of the words; Good, Fast,
and Cheap, at each point. You can choose any two, but you can not have
the third one. If you want your album to be Fast and Good, it won't be
Cheap. If you desire Cheap and Good, it can't be done Fast. If the
record company wants it Fast and Cheap, it can't be Good."
RogerNichols.com: Good-Fast-Cheap
http://www.rogernichols.com/EQ/EQ_99_08.html
And here is an excerpt from an article which discusses the triangle in
relation to professional management services:
"The Impossible Triangle stands for the fact that you cannot have
professional services delivered cheap, fast and good. At any one time,
only two sides of the triangle can exist together. You can have
services delivered cheap and fast, but do not expect good. Good takes
more time, resources and expertise, and they cost money. Hence, fast
and good service is possible, but only with enough money paying for
it. Finally, you can have services that are cheap and good, but you
sure will not get it fast. Less money gets you less priority and less
supporting resources."
Convertium: Cheap, Fast and Good: The Myth of the Impossible Triangle
http://www.convertium.com/KnowledgeCentre/triangle.htm
The triangle is mentioned in connection with the world of computing,
specifically Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAID), in this
article from PC Guide:
"Fast, cheap, good: choose two. The phrase above is a famous one in
the world of computing, and elsewhere: it's a good rule of thumb to
keep in mind when making many purchase decisions. It describes well
what I call the "essential tradeoff triangle" that applies to
thousands of different technologies and devices, from PCs to race car
engines to kitchen blenders: you can easily get something that is
inexpensive and fast, but at the cost of quality; or something high
quality and fast, but it won't be cheap; or something cheap and high
quality, but of lower performance."
PC Guide: RAID Tradeoffs
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/perf/raid/whyTradeoffs-c.html
In the book "Silicon Snake Oil: Second Thoughts on the Information
Highway," author Clifford Stoll refers to the "Information Triangle"
in describing some of the pitfalls of the data revolution: "You can
get anything you want that's either cheap, fast or good. Something
that’s cheap and fast isn't going to be very good."
I hope the information which I've provided here has been good and
fast, though not cheap! If anything in my answer is not clear, or if
any of the links are not functional, please do not hesitate to ask for
clarification.
Best regards,
pinkfreud
My search strategy consisted of various combinations of "reality
triangle" "business," "fast," "cheap," and "good." |
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