Time, quality and resources: the architecture of optimisation and its limits

When we save time or money, are we removing unnecessary work or shifting the burden onto people?

Time, quality, resources and scope are connected. Changing one requires consideration of the others and of how the work is done. When management wants a shorter deadline, a smaller budget and higher quality at the same time, without changing the scope, pressure quietly shifts, usually onto the team and the business's future capacity. People are not an infinitely elastic resource.