The project management scope triangle says that the three components of a project are time, cost, and quality and you can only pick two. If there’s a fixed deadline, either cost or quality will have to give a little. If you want something cheap quickly, well…you get what you pay for. In my recent search for a laundry hamper (I guess it’s the season, Tess?) I realized how easily this concept translates to design decisions. Cost is still a component, while the other two points of the design decision triangle, let’s call it, are form and function. And isn’t it so true that we only get to pick two? Assuming a somewhat fixed budget, here’s how to choose between form and function.
