Is the 'Iron Triangle' Dead? A deep dive into whether the Iron Triangle PM Constraint still Applies To Software

There is an old saying in software: “Quality, Fast, Cheap - You can only pick two”; For many years, this seemed to be the case for just about all companies. Many watched teams try to violate the rules of the Iron Triangle and then fail due to insufficient Quality, expense of production, or being late to market. The trick has always been to determine which leg of the triangle you were willing to sacrifice and then execute to that plan.

However, there seems to be a new trend in software these days. Pioneered by some organizations and driven by the management mottos: "fail fast" and "move fast and break things", this new philosophy seems to have led to a lowering of the threshold for what is considered "quality software". It's unclear, at least to the authors, whether the current market is more tolerant of lower quality products or companies are just willing to take the hit for it. But either way, the Quality Bar seems to be dropping fast.

This paper will examine both anecdotal and documented cases of lowered Quality practices and the results of conscious decisions to violate the “Iron Triangle”.

Paper | Presentation

Heather Wilcox

After leaving a potential career in Anthropology in1994, Heather Wilcox has spent 30 years working and learning in the software industry, choosing to focus primarily on start-up and small companies. As a result, she has had a broad range of job descriptions which include, but are not limited to: Technical Support Engineer, IS Manager, Technical Writer, QA Engineer, Staff Quality Engineer, QA Manager, and Configuration Management Engineer. This has given Heather a wide range of experiences to draw from in her current role as Engineering Manager, QA and Reliability. In her spare time, Heather enjoys fiber arts, equestrian sports, and training donkeys.