Project management (The Business 2.0 Upper Intermediate SB p51-52 Unit 4.2)
take it easy
(informal) used to tell someone not to be worried or angry e.g. A: You should learn to ______ ___ _______. B: I wish I could, but things are just too hectic right now.
key stakeholders
anybody who might be affected by the project, whether positively or negatively e.g. a plant hire company, an environmental protection group and villagers living near the proposed route
reach the next milestone
arrive at the end of the next major step in the project e.g. The project has been difficult so far. However, once we _____ ____ _____ ______, everything should get easier.
reach (achieve/meet/hit) targets
complete your aims successfully e.g. Congratulations! We've _____ our ______ for quality this year due to all your hard work.
set (fix) a date (for sth)
decide when something should happen e.g. We've been vague about the schedule for too long. It's time we ____ ___ _____ for the meeting and moved on.
establish (fix) a timeframe
decide when steps of the project will be completed and when the whole thing should be done by e.g. To make sense of our tasks, we need to _______ ___ _______ within which we can all work.
stick to your budget
spend the same or less money than you predicted you would on a particular project or item e.g. Sam's excellent at getting things done on time, but she finds it impossible to ______ _____ her ________.
end users
the people who will benefit from the end results of the project on a day-to-day basis e.g. truck and car drivers
sponsor
the person or group of people who decided the project was needed in the first place e.g. the Ministry of Transport
project manager
the person responsible for running the project and delivering on time and within budget e.g. a senior engineer in a major civil engineering company
burn out
to become extremely tired or sick by working hard for a long time e.g. Marion is in danger of _______ing out. She's a workaholic and it's affecting her health.
settle in
to begin to feel relaxed and happy in a new home or job e.g. A: How are you _______ing ____? B: Fine, thanks! I feel like I know my way around the office now, and everyone's been really helpful.
set targets
to decide what you want to achieve by a particular time e.g. Frank is such an unreasonable boss: he always _______ our _______ for overseas sales way too high.
miss a deadline
to fail to do something before the time by which it must be done e.g. In the end, I ______ed my _______ for my accountancy project, but it didn't matter: everybody else was late too.
let sb down
to fail to give sb the help and support they need e.g. Sally promised to help me with this project, but then told me that she wouldn't have time. I feel like she's really _____ me _______ and I'm not sure how I'll complete it without her!
meet the deadline
to finish a job by an agreed time e.g. Unless the team really pulls together, we'll never ______ ___ _______ on the Malaysian order.
get on well with (sb)
to have a good relationship with sb e.g. She ______s ____ _____ ______ everyone except Rob, but he doesn't like anyone!
pass the buck
to shift responsibility (and often blame) to another person e.g. By pretending that we don't need to change our lifestyles, we are _______ing _____ ________ for reducing carbon emissions on to future generations.
pull your weight
to work as hard as everyone else in a job or activity e.g. Dave isn't ________ing his ________! He keeps asking me to do his work for him, and then I hear that he's been having long lunches and going shopping!
pull together
to work with other people in an organized way and without fighting e.g. If we want to succeed, we must _______ __________. We won't get anywhere if we keep arguing.