Glossary

Approach

A way of doing things. For example, different approaches may be considered for implementing a project but only one will be chosen.

Business Case

A document developed towards the ed of the project definition phase to establish the merits and desirability of the project and justification for further project definition. This is used to justify the commitment of resources to a project. This is the information necessary to enable approval, authorization and policy-making bodies to assess a project proposal and reach a reasoned decision.

Central Repository

A central repository is owned and maintained by someone within your Performing Organization and provides a place where lessons learned and best practices can be archived for use by all Project Managers in the organization. Over time, as more and more information is added, it will become part of an invaluable knowledge base that, when leveraged, will translate into tremendous improvements on all projects.

Change Control

The review, approval/disapproval, implementation, tracking, closure, and status reporting of proposed changes to an item.

Configuration Audit

A check to ensure that all deliverable items on a project conform with one another and to the current specification. It ensures that relevant quality assurance procedures have been implemented and that there is consistency throughout project documentation.

Contingency Plan

An alternative for action if things don't go as planned or if an expected result fails to materialize.

Cost of Quality

The cost of quality planning, control, assurance and rework.

Dependencies

A relation between activities, such that one requires input from the other.

Governance

The planning, influencing and conducting of the policy and affairs of an organization (in our case, the organization refers to a project).

Initiation

The process of preparing for, assembling resources and getting work started. May apply to any level, e.g. program, project, phase, activity, task. It is the process of committing an organization to begin a project.

Issue

An issue is an immediate problem requiring resolution.

Key Goals

Performance Indicators that are determined at the beginning of the project for each team member, that reflect directly on the key objectives of the project, and that provide the basis for ratings during performance appraisals.

Mitigation

Working to lessen risk by lowering its chances of occurring or by reducing its effect if it does occur.

Opportunity Costs

The value of an opportunity that is lost or sacrificed when the choice of one course of action requires that another course of action must be given up. A non-accounting value that can be significant in certain circumstances, usually as a consequence of limited resources. It is measured by the profit that could have been generated had the resources been available.

Overview Statement

A document consisting of a mission statement, including background, purpose, and benefits, a goal, objectives, scope, assumptions and constraints. A Project Overview statement clearly documents project definition in order to bring a project team into necessary agreement.

Product/Service Life Cycle

The complete history of a product through its concept, definition, production, operation, and obsolescence or disposal phases.

Project Life Cycle

The events, from beginning to end, necessary to complete a project.

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

A project management technique for determining how much time a project needs before it is completed. each activity is assigned a best, worst, and most probable completion time estimate. These estimates are used to determine the average completion time. The average times are used to figure the critical path and the standard deviation of completion times for the entire project.

Phase Gate

The point at the end of a project phase where project performance is measured and a decision is made whether the project can move to the next phase or whether the project should be killed.

Project

A unique venture with a beginning and an end, undertaken by people to meet established goals within defined constraints of time, resources, and quality.

Project Management

The application of modern management techniques and systems to the execution of a project from start to finish, to achieve predetermined objectives of scope, quality, time and cost, to the equal satisfaction of those involved.

Quality Assurance

A planned and systematic pattern of all actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that the item or product conforms to established technical requirements.

Relevant Stakeholder

A stakeholder is one who has a stake or interest in the outcome of the project or one who is affected by the project. A relevant stakeholder in the case of a Project Overview statement review could be the sponsor or the Operating Unit Head. In case of a weekly status report, the relevant stakeholder could be the Operating Unit Head. In case of Team Development, the relevant stakeholders could be the people responsible for training.

Risk

Risk is the cumulative effect of the chances of uncertain occurrences, which will adversely affect project objectives. It is the degree of exposure to negative events and their probable consequences. Project risk is characterized by three risk factors namely: risk event, risk probability and the amount at stake. Risk is the opposite of opportunity.

Risk Matrix

A matrix with risks located in rows, and with impact and likelihood in columns.

Scope

The bounded set of verifiable end products, or outputs, which the project team undertakes to provide to the project sponsor. The required set of end results or products with specified physical or functional characteristics.

Scope Creep

On-going requirements increase without corresponding adjustment of approved cost and schedule allowances. As some projects progress, especially through the definition and development phases, requirements tend to change incrementally, causing the Project Manager to add to the project's mission or objectives without getting a corresponding increase in the time and budget allowances.

Sponsor

Individual or body for whom the project is undertaken and who is the primary risk taker.

Stakeholder

One who has a stake or interest in the outcome of the project. Also one who is affected by the project.

Versions

A variant of some element (typically a document or a product); later versions of this element typically expand on earlier versions.

Work Breakdown Structure

A task-oriented detailed hierarchical breakdown, which defines the work packages and tasks at a very low level.

Workgroup

This could be a project team. In the Project Classification matrix, it refers to the people from an area or department involved in a project.

Work Package

This is a generic term for a unit within a work breakdown structure (WBS) at the lowest level of its branch, not necessarily at the lowest level of the whole WBS.

 

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