I don’t talk as much about project costs as I do about schedule and quality. This is because I’ve rarely experienced a project that was on time where anyone complained much about it being too costly. If cost became a problem, it was always associated with a late, often a very late, project.

I suspect this is because, just like throwing people at a late project, throwing money at a late project does not often result in on-time projects. Money thrown at projects is often related to staffing, but also includes getting new project management tools, more equipment, outside consultants, travel, training, etc. If a project was running late, more money never seemed to put it back on schedule.

This does not mean costs are not a concern. We’ve spent considerable time and often had major projects whose only purpose was to drive down costs. However, the cost of doing the project always seemed to be acceptable when the project was completed or delivered on time.

Do you have experience with projects which were delivered on time but were considered unsuccessful as they were too costly?