Cost, Schedule, Features - Pick Two.

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I've been spending a lot of time with founders, product marketers and most recently attended the 2024 Engineering Leadership Conference, which has me thinking a lot about a phrase my father (A former CTO and engineering leader) shared with me when I was early in my career. So this week’s Gianna’s Gem is all about trade-offs and how you can apply this phrase to stakeholder management for event planning!

The phrase he taught me was: "Cost, Schedule, Features - Pick Two!" 

The concept is well-known in project management and product development (my husband’s profession). It's often referred to as the "Project Management Triad" or the "Triple Constraint." 

To break down how it can apply to event planning, here is an overview of the Triad:

  1. Cost: The budget or resources allocated to the event.

  2. Schedule: The time frame for planning the event.

  3. Features: All the details, bells and whistles, features, demos, breakout sessions, gifting, you name it!

The theory behind "Pick Two" is that in any project, you can optimize for just TWO of these factors, but doing so will inevitably affect the third. 

For example:

  • If you want to stay on or below budget, and stick to the event’s planning schedule, you might have to reduce the event quality or the details, bells and whistles that you’re planning.

  • If you want all the fun details AND a quick turnaround, it’s possible, BUT, it’s going to cost you more (you can always throw more labor at things!) This one I use often when I get requests to keep adding on, and when I share that YES, it’s possible, but will cost more budget, the requests are usually mitigated.

  • If you want all the fun details BUT at a low cost, you may need to sacrifice your timeline or event date (ie. plan your wedding on a Wednesday rather than a prime Saturday!)

When working with clients and stakeholders, rather than saying no to requests, which rarely goes over well and isn’t a win-win, I instead suggest trying this approach. 

Most stakeholders understand that it's unrealistic to expect an event to be cheap, produced on-time, on the ideal date and fully featured with zero sacrifice.

This principle will help your team make informed decisions about event priorities and to set realistic expectations. It's a reminder that compromises often need to be made in event planning and execution.

Below is a detailed example for those who want more than the TLDR:

EVENT: Annual Tech Industry Conference

  1. Cost:

    • Venue rental: $50,000

    • Catering: $30,000

    • AV equipment: $15,000

    • Speaker fees: $25,000

    • Marketing: $20,000

    • Staff: $10,000

    • Total budget: $150,000

  2. Schedule:

    • Planning phase: 6 months

    • Event duration: 2 days

    • Post-event follow-up: 1 month

  3. Features:

    • 500 attendees

    • 5 keynote speakers

    • 20 breakout sessions

    • Networking cocktail hour

    • Product demonstration area

    • Live streaming of main sessions

    • Mobile app for attendees

    • Professional photography and videography

Let's look at how "picking two" might affect the third:

Scenario 1: Prioritize Cost and Schedule

  • Reduce budget to $100,000 and keep the 6-month planning timeline

  • Features affected: Fewer attendees (350), 3 keynote speakers instead of 5, 15 breakout sessions, no live streaming, simpler mobile app

Scenario 2: Prioritize Schedule and Features

  • Keep the 6-month timeline and all planned features

  • Cost affected: Budget increases to $200,000 to accommodate all features in the short timeline (e.g., rush fees, premium venue booking)

Scenario 3: Prioritize Cost and Features

  • Keep the $150,000 budget and all planned features

  • Schedule affected: Planning phase extends to 9 months to allow time for cost-effective solutions (e.g., early bird discounts on venue, time to negotiate with vendors)

Pretty simple, isn’t it? Cost, Schedule Features…Pick Two. 

Happy prioritizing!