Fitting people into your model

So, what do I mean to achieve with the title "Fitting people into your model", apart from the rather unsubtle chemo-metrics pun? Total Cost of Ownership is used frequently, for example in purchasing new pieces of hardware or changing a process. The Total Cost of Ownership calculations are commonplace and often cover not only the initial capital expenditure and deployment figures, but also long-term consumables requirements and end-life considerations. If you look for example at the Wikipedia page for Total Cost of Ownership there are some very long lists of things which need to be considered, but you will be hard pressed to find any human costs listed except for Corporate Management Time. I think we should add a few more! If properly handled, with the right amount of emotional intelligence, I strongly believe experience will show that the Total Cost of Ownership figures will probably fall! So, by adding people into your model, you will not only be increasing your chances of achieving your goals by delivering a successful project, but there is also a greater chance of delivering the project at a reduced overall long-term cost as well as retaining a happy workforce!