The Altitude Variable

Now let's build a pyramid on this base, keeping in mind that no matter what lengths the sides are for a given project, the volume of the pyramid will be proportional to the area of the base times the altitude. The altitude abstractly represents the probability of project success, which is the inverse of its risk. That is, a high-risk project will have a low probability of success and a low altitude. A low-risk project will have a high probability of success and a correspondingly higher altitude.

Now all I have to do is link it all together (see Figure 9.3).

Figure 9.3. The project pyramid. A high-risk project will have a low probability of success and a low altitude. A low-risk project will have a high probability of success and a higher altitude.