Project Management Lessons Learned from the Apollo Moon Landing Project
Monday, November 23rd, 2009Looking at the Apollo program, we can see a very vivid (and real life) example of how the Triple Constraint works in a large, very expensive, politically charged and highly visible project.
Project: Put a man on the moon
“First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him back safely to the earth.” (President John F. Kennedy, Joint Session of Congress on May 25, 1961)
Scope: Landing a man on the Moon AND returning him safely to Earth
Time: Before the decade is out
Cost: Whatever Congress will approve

What are the immutable constraints here?
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