Do Tradeoff Models have what it Takes to Make a Real Tradeoff?

There is a growing body of knowledge on project tradeoff models; meanwhile, there are concerns about the models’ applicability. The contemporary research on tradeoffs is mainly based on the time-cost models in planning, which do not provide a proper basis for tradeoffs in other contexts. This paper is aimed at shedding some light on the theoretical and practical deficiencies of tradeoff models through comparison of their fundamentals with the results of other related studies. It highlights the deficiencies of current models and draws attention to the necessity of exploring the real problems’ characteristics and methods’ capabilities prior to model development.