Working on a project of any kind will have limitations on the resources you can utilise. These limitation include:-
Time, Materials, Social costs, Financial costs, environmental costs, space, and legislation.
1. Time management is an essential component in successfully completing a project. It requires careful planning an continual revision and evaluation to ensure the project stays on schedule. Effective time management involves preparing an action plan (also known as a time and action plan) which breaks the project into smaller sections. Time is one aspect of your project that you cannot fully control. For instance, you may have set backs in the project which may affect the time plan you put together. A good time plan should account for time required by other people to assist you. For example, a manufacturer that has been contracted to produce a part.
Many well organised time and action plans will display the information in a graphical way. This is often done as a Ghantt chart. A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart, developed by Henry Gantt in the 1910s, that illustrates a project schedule. Gantt charts show the start and finish dates of the project and the activities that need to be completed between these times.
2. Materials – All designs are limited to some extent by the materials available to them.There are a number of factors that a designer must consider when selecting materials.
a. Availability – The availability of material is a major factor. This is sometimes overlooked by designers particularly if the material seems to solve a number of problems wit the design.
b. Properties – Materials have vastly different properties and these properties need to be understood so as to make the best select for a design. Aluminium for example is very lite and resists corrosion and rust, however it lacks strength and heat resistance. Steel is very strong but is also very heavy and is susceptible to corrosion. The end use of the material will be a deciding factor in what to use.
c. Price – Price is always an important consideration. There may be two or three materials that will be capable of achieving the result needed however their prices could be vastly different. A good designer will be able to select the best material available to achieve the requirements at the lowest price. Higher priced materials often have additional properties which may not be needed.
3. Social Costs
4. Financial Costs
5. Environmental Costs
6. Space –
7. Legislation – Legislation at Federal, State and Local levels must be considered in many projects.