PROJECT MANAGEMENT KEY TERMS

baseline budget

a concrete document and commitment; it represents the first real plan with cost, schedule, and resource allocation. The planned cost and schedule performance are used to measure actual cost and schedule performance. Serves as an anchor point for measuring performance

time buffer

a contingency amount of time for an activity to cover uncertainty - for example, availability of a key resource or merge event

cost account

a control point of one or more work packages used to plan, schedule, and control the project. The sum of all the project costs accounts represents the total cost of the project

change management system

a defined process for authorizing and documenting changes in the scope of a project

scope statement

a definition of the end result or mission of a project. Scope statements typically include project objectives, deliverables, milestones, specifications, and limits and exclusions

project charter

a document that authorizes the project manager to initiate and lead a project

project cost-duration graph

a graph that plots project against time; it includes direct, indirect, and total cost for a project over a relevant range of time

delphi method

a group method to predict future events

risk breakdown structure

a hierarchical depiction of the identified project risks arranged by risk category and subcategory that identifies the various areas and causes of potential risks

work breakdown structure

a hierarchical method that successively subdivides the work of the project into smaller detail

systems thinking

a holistic approach to viewing problems that emphasizes understanding the interactions among different problem factors

risk profile

a list of questions that addresses traditional areas of uncertainty on a project

management by wandering around

a management style in which managers spend the majority of their time outside their offices interacting with key people

learning curves

a mathematiccal curve used to predict a pattern of time reduction as a task is performed over and over

weak matrix

a matrix structure in which functional managers have primary control over project activities and the project manager coordinates project work

balanced matrix

a matrix structure in which the project manager and functional managers share roughly equal authority over the project. The project manager decides what needs to be done; functional managers are concerned with how it will be accomplished

strong matrix

a matrix structure in which the project manager has primary control over project activities and functional managers support project work

priority matrix

a matrix that is set up before the project begins that establishes which criterion among cost, time, and scope will be enhanced, constrained, or accepted

project screening matrix

a matrix used to assess and compare the relative value of projects being considered for implementation

responsibility matrix

a matrix whose intersection point shows the relationship between an activity (work package) and the person/group responsible for its completion

net present value

a minimum desired rate of return discount is used to compute present value of all future cash inflows and outflows

projectized organization

a multi project organization in which project managers have full authority to assign priorities and direct the work of persons assigned to their project

culture shock

a natural psychological disorientation that most people suffer when they move to a culture different from their own

management reserve

a percentage of the total project budget reserved for contingencies. This fund exists to cover unforeseen, new problems-not necessary over-runs. The reserve is designed to reduce the risk of project delays. Management reserves are typically controlled by the project owner or project manager

contingency plan

a plan that covers possible identified project risks that may materialize over the life of the project

resource constrained projects

a project that assumes resources are limited (fixed) and therefore time is variable

time-constrained projects

a project that assumes time is fixed and, if resources are needed, they will be added

sacred cow

a project that is a favorite of a powerful management figure who is usually the champion for the project

heuristic

a rule of thumb used to make decisions. Frequently found in scheduling projects. For example, schedule critical activities first, then schedule activities with the shortest duration

splitting

a scheduling technique in which work is interrupted on one activity for a period of time, then reassigned to work on the original activity

projectitis

a social phenomenon in which project members exhibit inappropriately intense loyalty to the project

hammock activity

a special purpose, aggregate activity that identifies the use of fixed resources or costs over a segment of the project

organization breakdown structure

a structure used to assign responsibility for work packages

scenario planning

a structured process of thinking about future possible environments that would have potential high impact to disrupt the way you do business, and then developing potential strategies to compete in these altered environments

organizational culture

a system of shared norms, beliefs, values, and assumptions held by an organizations members

work package

a task at the lowest level of the WBS. Responsibility for the package should be assigned to one person and, if posssible, limited to 80 hours of work

project

a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result

fast-tracking

accelerating project completion typically be rearranging the network schedule and using start to start lags

mitigating risk

action taken to either reduce the likelihood that a risk will occur and/or the impact the risk will have on the project

organization politics

actions by individuals or groups of individuals to acquire, develop, and use power and other resources to obtain preferred outcomes when there is uncertainty or disagreement over choices

padding estimates

adding a safety factor to a time or cost estimate to ensure the estimate is met when the project is executed

proactive

working within your sphere of influence to accomplish something

project office

a centralized unit within an organization or department that oversees and improves the management of projects

risk severity matrix

a tool used to assess the impact of risks on a project

personal related currencies

influence based on enhancing another persons self esteem

relationship related currencies

influence based on friendship

inspiration related currencies

influence based on inspiration

position related currencies

influence based on the ability to enhance someone else position within an organization

task related currencies

influence based, helping someone else do their work

activity on node

method for drawing project networks. the activity is on the node

activity on arrow

method for drawing project networks. the activity is shown as an arrow

parallel activity

one or more activities that can be carried on concurrently or simultaneously

law of reciprocity

people are obligated to grant a favor comparable to the one they received

time-phased budget baseline

planned costs that are broken down by distinct time periods for a work package, as opposed to a budget for a whole job/project. Time phasing allows better most control by measuring the actual rate of expenditure versus the planned expenditure rate over small pieces of the project

function points

points derived from past software projects to estimate project time and cost, given specific features of the project

budget reserve

reserve setup to cover identified risks that may occur and influence baseline tasks or costs. These reserves are typically controlled by the project manager and the project team

top down estimates

rough estimates that use surrogates to estimate project time and cost

transferring risk

shifting responsibility for a risk to another party

crashing

shortening an activity or project

overhead costs

typically organization costs that are not directly linked to a specific project. These costs cover general expenses such as upper management, legal, market promotion, and accounting. Overhead costs are usually charged per unit of time or as a percentage of labor or material costs

template method

use of a prepared form to develop project networks, costs, and time estimates

ratio methods

uses the ratio of past actual costs for similar work to estimate the cost for a potential project. This macro method of forecasting cost does not provide a sound basis for project cost control since it does not recognize differences among projects

burst activity

an activity that has more than one activity immediately following it

merge activity

an activity that has more than one activity immediately preceding it

milestone

an event that represents significant, identifiable accomplishment toward the projects completion

project management professional

an individual who has met specific education and experience requirements set forth by the project management institute, has agreed to adhere to a code of professional conduct, and has passed an examination designed to objectively assess and measure project management knowledge

dedicated project team

an organizational structure in which all of the resources needed to accomplish a project are assigned full time to the project

matrix

any organizational structure in which the project manager shares responsibility with the functional managers for assigning priorities and for directing the work of individuals assigned to the project

infrastructure

basic services needed to support project completion

budget at completion

budgeted cost at completion. The total budgeted cost of the baseline or project cost accounts

time and cost databases

collection of actual versus estimated times and costs of work packages over many projects that are used for estimating new project tasks and their expected possible error

outsourcing

contracting for the use of external sources (skills) to assist in implementing a project

apportionment

costs allocated to a specific segment of a project by using a percentage of planned total cost - for example, framing a house might use 25 percent of the total cost, or coding a teaching module 40 percent of total cost

direct costs

costs that are clearly charged to a specific work package-usually labor, materials, or equipment

indirect costs

costs that cannot be traced to a particular project or work package

concurrent engineering

cross functional teamwork in new product development projects that provides product design, quality engineering, and manufacturing process engineering all at the same time

bottom up estimates

detailed estimates of work packages usually made by those who are most familiar with the task

avoiding risk

elimination of the risk cause before the project begins

leading by example

exhibiting the behaviors you want to see in others

project portfolio

group of projects that have been selected for implementation balanced by project type, risk, and ranking by selected criteria

stakeholder

individuals and organizations that are actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be positively or negatively affected as a result of project execution or completion. They may also exert influence over the project and its results

activity

tasks of the project that consumes time while people/equipment either work or wait

leveling

techniques used to examine a project for an unbalanced use of resources, and for resolving resource over allocations

emotional intelligence

the ability or skill to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of ones self and others

risk

the chance that an undesirable project event will occur and the consequences of all its possible outcomes

priority team

the group (sometimes the project office) responsible for selecting, overseeing, and updating project priority selection criteria

implementation gap

the lack of consensus between the goals set by top management and those independently set by lower levels of management. This lack of consensus leads to confusion and poor allocation of organization resources

sensitivity

the likelihood that the critical path will change once the project begins to be implemented

critical path

the longest activity path through the network. The critical path can be distinguished by identifying the collection of activities that all have the same minimum slack

crash point

the most a project activity time can be realistically compressed with the resources available to the organization

planned value

the planned time phased baseline of the value of the work scheduled. Previously this was called budgeted cost of work scheduled

social network building

the process of identifying and building cooperative relationships with key people

priority system

the process used to select projects. The system uses selected criteria for evaluating and selecting projects that are strongly linked to higher-level strategies and objectives

lag relationship

the relationship between the start/and or finish of a project activity and the start and/or finish of another activity. The most common are (1) finish-to-start, (2) finish-to-finish, (3) start-to-start, and (4) start-to-finish

crash time

the shortest time an activity can be completed

project life cycle

the stages found in all-projects - definition, planning, execution and delivery

scope creep

the tendency for the scope of a project to expand once it has started

payback

the time it takes to pay back the project investment. The method does not consider the time value of money or the life of the investment

culture

the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought characteristic of a community or country

phase estimating

this estimating method begins with a macro estimate for the project and then refines estimates for phases of the project as it is implemented