Project Management

baseline dates

The planned schedule dates for activities in a Tracking Gantt Chart.

project buffer

additional time added before the project's due date.

Activity

an element of work, normally found in the WBS, that has an expected duration and cost, and expected resource requirements, also called a task.

task

an element of work, normally found on the WBS, that has an expected duration and cost, and expected resource requirements; also called an activity.

three-point-estimate

an estimate that includes an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate.

slack

the amount of time a project activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date; also called float.

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.

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 start date

the earliest possible time an activity can start based on project network logic.

early start date

the earliest possible time an activity can start based on the project network logic.

late finish date

the latest possible time an activity can be completed without delaying the project finish date.

late start date

the latest possible time an activity may begin without delaying the project finish date.

effort

the number of workdays or hours required to complete a task.

relationship

the sequencing of project activities or tasks, also called a dependency.

dependency

the sequencing of project activities, also called a relationship.

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.

node

the starting and ending point of an activity on an activity on arrow diagram.

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.

Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)

a network diagramming technique in which boxes represent activities.

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

a project network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty with the individual activity duration estimates.

feeding buffers

additional time added before tasks on the critical path that are preceded by non-critical -path techniques.

mandatory dependencies

sequencing of project activities or tasks that are inherent in the nature of the work being done on the project.

multitasking

when a resource works on more than one task at a time.

merge

when two or more nodes precede a single node on a network diagram.

Murphy's Law

principle that is something can go wrong, it will.

Parkinson's Law

principle that work expands to fill the time allowed.

project time management

the processes required to ensure timely completion of a project.

Activity-on-arrow (AOA)

A network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connect at points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities; also called arrow diagramming.

Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM)

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 Activity on Arrow (AOA).

Backward Pass

A project network diagramming technique that determines the late start and late finish dates for each activity in a similar fashion.

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.

Buffer

Additional time to complete a task, added to an estimate to account for various activities.

discretionary

As the project manager for a software development project, you are helping to develop the project schedule. You decide that writing code for a system should not start until users sign off on the analysis work. What type of dependency is this?

activity attributes

Predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions are all examples of:

critical change scheduling

What is a method of scheduling that considers limited resources when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date?

PERT

What is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration?

defining activities

What is the first process in planning a project schedule?

white diamond

What symbol on a Gantt chart represents a slipped milestone?

tracking gantt chart

What type of diagram shows planned and actual project schedule information?

Burst

When a single node is followed by two or more activities on a network diagram.

finish to start

You cannot start editing a technical report until someone else completes the first draft. What type of dependency does this represent?

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 states that any complex system at any point in time often has only one aspect or constraint that is limiting its ability to achieve more of its goal.

forward pass

a network diagramming technique that determines the early start and early finish dates for each activity.

critical path method (CPM) or critical path analysis

a project network analysis technique used to predict total project duration.

start-to-finish dependency

a relationship on a project network diagram where the "from" activity cannot start before the "to" activity finishes.

start-to-start dependency

a relationship on a project network diagram where the "from" activity cannot start until the "to" activity starts.

finish-to-finish dependency

a relationship on a project network diagram where the "from" activity must be finished before the "to" activity can be finished.

finish-to-start dependency

a relationship on a project network diagram where 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.

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 referred to as bar chart.

dummy activities

activities with no duration and no resources used to show a logical relationship between two activities in the arrow diagramming method of project network diagrams.

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,

probabilistic time estimates

duration estimates based on using optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates of activity durations instead of using one specific or discreet estimate.

SMART criteria

guidelines to help define milestones that are specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, and time-framed.

PERT Weighted Average

optimistic time + 4 * most likely time + pessimistic time/ 6

resources

people, equipment, and materials.

discretionary dependency

sequencing of project activities or tasks defined by the project team and used with care since they may limit later scheduling options.

external dependencies

sequencing of project activities or tasks that involve relationships between project and non-project activities.

duration

the actual amount of time worked on an activity plus elapsed time.