PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Top-down Budgeting
A budget planning strategy where cost estimates are generated by working from the highest level downwards. A cost is typically put on each unit of materials, labour or services required for the project. The estimated number of units is then converted into a monetary sum to get the overall cost estimate.
Project Phases
A collection of logically related project activities that culminates in the completion of one or more deliverable. These phases can be referred to as the Project Life Cycle "the series of phases that a project passes through from its initiation to its closure" 1.Initiation process - involves starting up the project 2.Planning process - involves setting out the road map for the project by creating the plans 3.Executing process - involves building the deliverable's and controlling the project delivery, scope, costs, quality, risks and issues. 4.Closing process - involves releasing the final deliverable's to the customer, handing over project documentation to the business, terminating supplier contracts, releasing project resources and communicating project closure to all stakeholders
Committed Costs
A committed cost is an investment that a business entity has already made and cannot recover by any means, as well as obligations already made that the business cannot get out of
Cost Estimate
A cost estimate is the approximation of the cost of a project. Techniques applied can be Top Down (High-level) or Bottom Up (defined at work package level).
Activity
A distinct, scheduled portion of work performed during the course of a project. A activity is decomposed from the WBS work package when developing the schedule network diagram. (PMBOK Guide 2013)
Project Charter
A document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities (PMBOK)
WBS Dictionary
A document that provides detailed deliverable, activity and scheduling information about each component in the work breakdown structure. (PMBOK)
Quality Tool: Cause and Effect Diagram
A fishbone diagram is a tool that can help you perform a cause and effect analysis for a problem you are trying to solve. This type of analysis enables you to discover the root cause of a problem
Program
A group of related projects, subprograms, and program activities managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually. (source: PMBOK)
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
A hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. (PMBOK)
Earned Value Management
A method that combines scope, schedule, and resource measurements to assess project performance and progress. The components applied are: Earned Value (EV) Planned Value (PV) Actual Cost (AC) Formula used: Cost Variance (CV) EV - AC = CV Schedule Variance (SV) EV - PV = SV Cost Performance Index (CPI) EV / AC = CPI Schedule Perfomance Index (SPI) EV / PV = SPI
Statement of Work (SOW)
A narrative description of products, services or results to be delivered by the project. (PMBOK)
Quality Tools - Pareto Diagram
A pareto diagram is a bar graph. The lengths of the bars represent frequency or cost (time or money) and are arranged with the longest bars to the left and the shortest to the right. In this way, the chart visually depicts which situations are more significant Pareto Diagram
Customer
A person who buys or benefits from the product, service or result produced from a project. A customer can also be considered the sponsor of a project.
Stakeholder
A person, group or organization that has interest or concern in the project
Communication Channel
A project manager should consider the number of potential communicatino channels or paths as an indicator oft he complexity ofthe projects communication requirements. Formula used: n(n -1) 2 n = number of stakeholders (which will include the project manager)
Project Risk
A risk is an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on the projects objectives.
Fast Tracking
A schedule compression technique in which activities or phases normally done in sequence are performed in parallel for at least a portion of their duration. PMBOK(r) Guide. Doing many things at once.
Critical Chain
A schedule method that modifies the schedule network diagram to account for limited resources and resource constraints. This is applied following the critical path method once the maximum duration of the project schedule has been defined
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
A technique for estimating that applies a weighted average of optimistic, pessimistic and most likely estimates when there is uncertainty with the individual activity estimates. Formula used: O + (4 x ML) + P 6 O = Optimistic P = Pessimistic ML = Most Likely
Analogous Estimating
A technique for estimating the duration or cost of an activity or a project using historical data from a similar activity or project. (PMBOK 2013
Decomposition
A technique used for dividing and subdividing the project scope and project deliverables into smaller, more manageable parts.(PMBOK)
Crashing (Schedule)
A technique used to shorten the schedule duration for the least incremental cost by adding resources. An example of crashing is adding resources to the critical path tasks
Project
A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result
SWOT Analysis
Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of an organization, project or option. (PMBOK)>
Deliverable
Any unique and verifiable product, result or capability to perform a service that is required to be produced to complete a process, phase, or project. (PMBOK)
Botton-up Estimating
Bottom-up estimating is approximating the size (duration and cost) and risk of a project by breaking it down into its smallest work components, estimating the effort, duration and cost of each then aggregating them into a full estimate.
Tripple Constraint
Consideration of the projects baselines and the limiting factors that these need to be managed within. Triple constraint will generally be depicted as a triangle with SCOPE, TIME & COST on the corners and QUALITY being what can be compromised in the middle.
Contingency
Contingency "refers to costs that will probably occur based on past experience, but with some uncertainty regarding the amount. Typically estimated using statistical analysis or judgment based on past asset or project experience and identified when completing risk analysis. Contingency Reserve is budget within the cost baseline that is allocated for identified risks that are accepted adn for which contingent or mitigation responses are developed.
Overheard Costs
Costs for products and services for your project that are difficult to subdivide and allocate directly.
Risk Response - Avoid
Developing an alternative strategy that has a higher probability of success
Earned Value
Earned Value is an approach where you monitor the project plan, actual work, and work-completed value to see if a project is on track. Earned Value shows how much of the budget and time should have been spent, with regard to the amount of work done so far. The measure of work performed expressed in terms of the budget authorised for that work.
Risk management - Enhancing
Enhancing is about increasing the probability of the occurrence of positive risks. Here, you take measures to increase the chance of the event happening, but there will be no assurance of realizing this opportunity.
Risk response- Exploit
Exploiting is about doing everything to make sure the event happens. In this risk response strategy you will make sure that the opportunity is realized. Here, you take the opportunity very seriously and develop a strategy to realize it. Simply put, in exploit risk response strategy, you increase the chance of happening the event to 100%
Gantt Chart
Gantt chart is a chart and scheduling tool to show the time of each activities (work and production) as horizontal bar. The length of the bar is proportional to the duration of the activity. Burke, R. (2010). Fundamentals of project management: Tools and techniques. Ringwood
Quality tool - control charts
If analysis of the control chart indicates that the process is currently under control, then no corrections or changes to process control parameters are needed or desired. In addition, data from the process can be used to predict the future performance of the process. If the chart indicates that the monitored process is not in control, analysis of the chart can help determine the sources of variation, as this will result in degraded process performance. A process that is stable but operating outside of desired (specification) limits needs to be improved through a deliberate effort to understand the causes of current performance and fundamentally improve the process.
Progressive Elaboration
In the course of a project, the plan gets modified, detailed and improved as more information becomes available. An iterative and continuous improvement process which adds more information.
Indirect Costs
Indirects costs generally represent overhead costs, such as supervision, administration, consultants and interest. Indirect costs cannot be associated with any particular work package or activity, hence the term. Indirect costs vary directly with time.
Quality Tools - Histogram
It is one of the seven basic quality tools displayed in a graph illustrating the frequency and the extent in the context of two variables. It is used to analyze process data for making quality management decisions. If it's normal, the graph takes the shape of a bell curve. If it's not, it may take different shapes based on the condition of the distribution.
Project Management
Management of a project through planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling resources and procedures to reach a specific goal.
Constraints
On any project, you will have a number of project constraints that are competing for your attention. Constraints include scope, risk, time, quality, cost and resource.
Risk Management- Transfer
One effective way to deal with a risk is to pay someone else to accept it for you. The most common way to do this is to buy insurance.
Sponsor
Person or group with the authority to assign resources and enforce decisions regarding the project. Is accountable for enabling success
Planned Value
Planned Value - the approved value of the work to be completed in a given time.
Rolling Wave Planning
Planning a project based on initial information. Repeating the planning process as the project develops and more information is clear and available.
Project Governance
Project Governance is the management framework within which project decisions are made, and ensures the project is aligned with the organisation's strategic objectives and priorities.
Portfolio
Project portfolio is a term that refers to an organization's group of projects and the process in which they are selected and managed. The project portfolio is strategically selected to advance the corporation's organizational goals
Resources
Resources are required to carry out the project tasks. They can be people, equipment, facilities, funding or anything else capable of definition (usually other than labour) required for the completion of a project activity.
Risk
Risk is defined by potential external events that will have a positive or negative impact on your project if they occur. Risk refers to the combination of the probability the event will occur and the impact on the project if the event occurs. If the combination of the probability of the occurrence and the impact on the project is too high, you should identify the potential event as a risk and put a proactive plan in place to manage the risk.
Risk - sharing
Risk sharing involves partnering with others to share responsibility for the risky activities. Many organizations that work on international projects will reduce political, legal, labor, and others risk types associated with international projects by developing a joint venture with a company located in that country.
Milestone
Significant point or event to mark project progression.
Vender Bid Analysis
The Vendor Bid Analysis is a technique used when working with suppliers on uncertain activities. The analysis considers the assumptions the vendor worked with and does a sensitivity assessment on those assumptions. In addition, for effort that the buying organization does not have experience with, they can contract with a consulting firm that has experience to do a "Should Cost" analysis. This "Should Cost" estimate is compared to the suppliers quote to identify any shortcomings. The advantages of this technique is that it exposes supplier risk that can be accounted for in the reserve analysis and it increases the confidence in the supplier's approach. The disadvantages are that this can take a fair amount of time and if a consultant is used to create a "Should Cost" it adds to the cost of the project.
Baseline
The approved version of a work product that can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison. Within the project we refer to the following baselines: - Scope (includes Approved Scope Statement, WBS, WBS Dictionary) - Time (Approved Schedule) - Cost (Approved Budget)
Quality
The degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements. (PMBOK)
Quality tools/check sheets
The process of collecting data about quality problems and ensuring quality requirements have been met
Funding Limit Reconciliation
The process of comparing the planned expenditure of project funds against any limits on the commitment of funds for the project to identify any variances between the funding limits and the planned expenditures. This can often be depicted in the 'S Curve' Graph.
Actual Cost
The realised cost incurred for the work performed on an activity during a specific time period
Quality Tool - Scatter Diagram
The scatter plot is a mathematical diagram that plots pairs of data on an x to y graph in order to reveal the relationship between data sets. This quality tool is used to show the relationship between paired data and can provide more useful information about a production process.
Critical Path
The sequence of activities that represents the longest path through a project, which determines the shortest possible duration. (PMBOK Guide 2013
Scope Creep
The uncontrolled expansion to a product or project scope without adjustments to time, cost and resources. (PMBOK)
Work Package
The work defined at the lowest level of the work breakdown structure for which cost and duration can be estimated and managed (PMBOK
S Curve
They allow the progress of a project to be tracked visually over time, and form a historical record of what has happened to date. Analyses of S-curves allow project managers to quickly identify project growth, slippage, and potential problems that could adversely impact the project if no remedial action is taken.
Risk Response- Mitigate
To reduce the severity of a risk that cannot be avoided.
Scope
What the project is trying to achieve. It entails all the work involved in delivering the project outcomes and the processes used to produce them. It is the reason and the purpose of the project.
Schedule
a listing of a project's milestones, activities, and deliverables, usually with intended start and finish dates. Those items are often estimated in terms of resource allocation, budget and duration, linked by dependencies and scheduled events.
Gold Plating
is the act of giving the customer more than what he originally asked for. Gold plating is common in software projects, and is usually done by team members either on an individual or a collaborative basis, most of the times without the knowledge of the Project Manager
Project Life Cycle
the logical path a project takes from the beginning to its end. Project life cycle is distinguished by four major phases, which are initiation, planning, implementation and closure. Its goal is to carry out the work of the project for the purpose of meeting the project's objectives.
