Throughout the duration of a project a balance between Scope, Schedule, Budget, and Expectations must be maintained. If one of these four elements changes during a project the other three must be adjusted to maintain a balance between Scope, Schedule, Budget, and Expectations. Successful projects depend upon maintaining a balance between Scope, Schedule, Budget, and Expectations throughout the duration of a project.

Scope: Description of task or project including level of detail, quality, quantity, and description of final product, based on clients needs.
Schedule: The task or project time line.
Budget: The amount of time and money allotted to complete a given task or project within the agreed upon, Scope, Schedule, and Expectations.
Expectations: Clarification of the responsibilities for all design team members working on a task or project in order to complete the task or project within the agreed upon Scope, Schedule, and Budget.