In project management, constraints are factors that impact or limit a project, such as time, budget, scope (also known as the project triangle or triple constraint), or resources (e.g. tools or staff), among others. In this article, we focus on time constraints.
Planning elements, such as activities or milestones, can be restricted by further defining their start or end dates and times. Planning elements may, e.g. have to be finished by no later than a certain date or need to be completed exactly on a certain date. Such time constraints not only define the individual planning element but influence its predecessors and/or successors, as they limit the flexibility of the project plan.
Violations of time constraints can become critical and pose a risk to the timely completion of the overall project. The cricital path method is advisable here, as it will highlight those planning elements that are imperative to the project’s success.
When creating a project plan with time constraints, it can be useful to plan with lag time (also known as buffer) so as to have a little more flexibility and allow for small delays.
If you want to know how to set constraints in an InLoox project plan, go to the respective online help article.