Ch 6 Terms
finish-to-finish dependency
a relationship on a project network diagram in which the "from" activity must be finished before the "to" activity can be finished
external dependencies
the sequencing of project activities or tasks that involve relationship between project and non-project activities
discretionary dependencies
the sequencing of project activites or tasks defined by the peoject team and used with care because they may limit later scheduling options
mandatory dependencies
the sequencing of project activities or tasks that are inherent in the nature of work being done on the project
relationship
the sequencing of project activities or tasks; also called a dependency
critical path
the series of activities in a network diagram that determines the earliest completion of the project; it is the longest path through the network diagram and has the least amount of slack or float
dummy activities
activities with no duration and no resources used to show a local relationship between two activities in the arrow diagramming method of project network diagrams
buffer
additional time to complete a task; a buffer is added to an estimate to account for various factors
activity
an element of work normally found on the WBS that has an unexpected duration, cost, and resource requirements; also called a task
task
an element of work normally found on the WBS that has an unexpected duration, cost, and resource requirements; also called an activity
three-point estimate
an estimate that includes an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate
probalistic time estimates
duration estimates based on using optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates of activity durations instead of using one specific or discrete estimate
SMART criteria
guidelines to help define milestones that are specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, and time-framed
activity attributes
information about each activity, such as predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions related to the activity
resources
people, equipment, and materials
duration
the actual amount of timed workd on an activity plus elapsed time
slack
the amount of time a project activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date; also called float
total slack (total float)
the amount of time an activity may be delayed from its early start without delaying the planned project finish date
schedule baseline
the approved planned schedule for the project
early finish date
the earliest possible time an activity can finish based on the project network logic
early start date
the earliest possible time an activity can start based on the project network logic
effort
the number of workdays or work hours required to complete a task
baseline dates
the planned schedule dates for activities in a Tracking Gantt chart
Murphy's Law
the principle that if something can go wrong, it will
dependency
the sequencing of project activities or tasks; also called a relationship
node
the starting and ending point of an activity on an activity-on-arrow diagram
PERT weighted average
(optimistic time + 4 * most likely time + pessimistic time)/6
Tracking Gantt chart
a Gantt chart that compares planned and actual project schedule information
resource breakdown structure
a hierarchical structure that identifies the project's resources by category and type
Theory of Constraints (TOC)
a management philosophy that any complex system at any point of time often has only one aspect or constraint that limits the ability to achieve more of the system's goal
critical chain scheduling
a method of scheduling that takes limited resources into account when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date
slipped milestone
a milestone activity that is completed later than planned
arrow diagramming method (ADM)
a network diagramming technique in which activities are reporesented by arrows and connected at points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities; also called activity-on-arrow (AOA)
activity-on-arrow (AOA)
a network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected at points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities; also called arrow diagramming method (ADM)
precedence diagramming method (PDM)
a network diagramming technique in which boxes represent activities
forward pass
a network diagramming technique that determines the early start and early finish dates for each activity
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
a project network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainity about the individual activity duration estimates
backward pass
a project network diagramming technique that determines the late start and late finish dates for each activity
critical path method (CPM) or critical path analysis
a project network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration
start-to-finish dependency
a relationship on a project network diagram in which the "from" activity cannot start before the "to" activity is finished
start-to-start dependency
a relationship on a project network diagram in which the "from" activity cannot start until the "to" activity starts
feeding buffers
time added before tasks on the critical chain if they are preceded by other tasks that are not on the critical path
project buffer
time added before the project's due date
merge
two or more nodes that precede a single node on a network diagram
multitasking
working on more than one task at a time
late start date
the latest possible time an activity may begin without delaying the project finish date
Parkinson's Law
the principle that work expands to fill the time allowed
project time management
the processes required to ensure timely completion of a project
finish-to-start dependency
a relationship on a project network diagram in which the "from" activity must be finished before the "to" activity can be started
fast tracking
a schedule compression technique in which you do activities in parallel that you would normally do in sequence
network diagram
a schematic display of the logical relationships or sequencing of project activities
milestone
a significant event that normally has no duration on a project; serves as a marker to help in identifying necessary activities, setting schedule goals, and monitoring progress
burst
a single node followed by two or more activities on a network diagram
Gantt chart
a standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format; sometimes deferred to as bar charts
activity list
a tabulation of activities to be included on a project schedule
crashing
a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost
late finish date
the latest possible time an activity can be completed without delaying the project finish date
float
the amount of time a project activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date; also called slack
free slack (free float)
the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of any immediately following activities