Fast, cheap and good – the devil’s triangle of a successful project? – Guus Krabbenborg

Buyers of business solutions all over the world have one thing in common. They want their favorite solutions or project to be delivered, implemented and supported both good, fast and cheap. Unfortunately, practice shows every time again that maximum two of these three compelling goals can be realized at the same time and in the same project. This is often referred to as the devil’s triangle. If you are such a customer who also wants everything at once, you better start preparing for some serious choices. And get ready to understand the impact of these choices for your implementation process, your organization and your budgets!  

It may be helpful to dive a bit deeper in each of the three aspect before you make the selection of your preferred variables. After all, you must be able to understand the contribution of each of these aspects to your success.

Fast

Fast. You can deploy modern, cloud-based ERP software in a matter of minutes. Today’s solutions can configure themselves and they are even able to convert the data. But that is just the technology! The human side is a different story. With a completely different timeline. Implementing the processes, introducing new ones and inspiring (or sometimes convincing) employees takes way more time. Not to mention the impact of a disruptive business model, where you might want to rethink all your current processes. It doesn’t take long to implement ERP badly. But implementing a solution successfully simply takes time.  

The desire to implement fast is often a result of delaying difficult decisions. You can prevent this by taking your important decisions consistently on time.

Cheap

Cheap. It’s obvious that nobody wants to pay more for a successful project than strictly necessary. But does that justify the constant search for the cheapest way? Some of the most popular attempts we see are selecting a solution with limited prospects for continuity, insufficient time for the project preparation, making savings on the budgets for organizational change, selecting the wrong key-users and poor communication. But as with everything in live, quality comes with a price.  

Good

Good is of course the basis of every project success. So this should really be the leading theme in all the discussions you will have and decisions you will make. It’s a great help when you’re able to make this project the most important one in your organization. And to agree that no other projects will be started during the implementation.

Fast, cheap and good project – summary

Probably the best advise that we can give you is to focus on just one of these three elements. And that is Good! After all, the implementation of your new solution forms the basis for your future business success. And that is crucial for attracting and retaining both customers and employees. So don’t be tempted to rush or to make it cheap just for the sake of time or money budgets.

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Author

Guus Krabbenborg – co-founder and co-owner of QBS Group, the successful Value Add SMB Distributor for Dynamics partners in the EMEA region. He also started a new company “Dynamics and More”. This company supports Microsoft Dynamics customers and partners.

Guus Krabbenborg is a highly-experienced business trainer and consultant with a well-earned reputation in the international Microsoft Dynamics arena. He is a frequent speaker at various Microsoft events. His approach is perceived by both customers and partners as inspiring, creative and provocative – but always entertaining.