from frogloop:

Cheap, Fast, and Good. Can Nonprofits have them All?

When a nonprofit organization is beginning the process of doing a software implementation (such as a new website, or a new CRM or donation management product,) it is often unaware of the things that might underly whether such a project will succeed, how long it will take, and how much it will cost. Since nonprofits focus on their mission, and not software projects, that is an unknown to them, and understandably so.

In software development or implementation projects, this triangle is often talked about. Software projects can be fast (that is, done quickly), done well, and/or cheap. But you only get to pick two of those. A project can be good, and cheap, but it won’t be done quickly. It can be fast and cheap, but it won’t be good. It can be fast, and good, but it won’t be cheap.