Course Three: Project Initiation: Starting a Successful Project Flashcards
Backward pass
Refers to starting with a final task or milestone and moving backwards through the schedule to determine the shortest path
Baseline
The dollar amount used to measure against to find out whether a project is on track or not and to measure the success of the project
Baseline a budget
The act of creating a fixed reference point of spending to measure and compare a project’s progress against
Bottom-up approach
Thinking about all the parts of a project from the beginning to the end–including making a list of anything that comes with an associated cost–and adding all of it together
Budget
The estimated monetary resources needed to achieve the project’s goals and objectives
Budget risk
The possibility that the costs of a project will increase due to poor planning or expanding the project’s scope
Buffer
Extra time added to the end of a task or project to account for unexpected slowdowns or delays in work progress
Capacity
The amount of work that the people or resources assigned to the project can reasonably complete in a set period of time
Capacity Planning
Refers to the act of allocating people and resources to project tasks and determining whether the necessary resources required to complete the work on time have been acquired
CAPEX
Capital expenses; refers to expenses which businesses incur to create a benefit in the future
Cash flow
The inflow and outflow of cash on a project
Cause-and-effect diagram
A visual that shows the possible causes of an event or risk; also known as a fishbone diagram
Communicatiuon
The flow of information; includes everything that’s shared, how it’s shared, and with whom
Communication Plan
A document that organizes the process, types, and expectations of communications for a project
Contingency budget
Money that is included to cover potentially unforeseen events that aren’t accounted for in a cost estimate
Contingency reserves
Money added to the estimated project cost to manage identified risks
Cost of Quality
Costs that are incurred to prevent issues with products, processes, or tasks
Cost performance index (CPI):
The ratio of the percentage complete to the actual costs
Cost variance (CV):
The difference between the amount of budget expected to be spent on versus what is actually spent for work completed at a point in time
Critical path
The list of project milestones that must be reached in order to meet the project goal on schedule, as well as the mandatory tasks that contribute to the completion of each milestone
Decision tree
A flowchart that helps visualize the wider impact of a decision on the rest of a project
Dependency
A relationship between two project tasks, where the start or completion of one depends on the start or completion of the other
Dependency graph
A visual representing the dependencies in the flow of work during a project
Earliest start date
In the critical path method, the earliest possible date on which a task (or the project itself) can begin
Earned value management (EVM)
A technique where a project’s performance or actuals for budget and schedule are regularly monitored against the planned budget and schedule
Effort estimation
A prediction of the amount and difficulty of active work required to complete a task
Empathy
A person’s ability to relate to the thoughts and feelings of others
Ethical trap
An issue that may cause a person to make unethical choices
Finish-to-finish (FF)
In this type of dependency relationship, the first task must be completed before the second task can be completed
Finish-to-start (FS)
In this type of dependency relationship, the first task must be completed before the second task can start
Fishbone diagram
A visual that shows the possible causes of an event or risk; also known as a cause-and-effect diagram
Fixed contract
A contract that is paid for when certain milestones are reached
Fixed costs
Costs that won’t change over the course of a project
Fixed start date
The date on which work on a task must start in order to achieve a goal
Float
The amount of time that can be waited to begin a task before it impacts the project schedule and threatens the project outcome
Forecast
A cost estimate or prediction over a period of time
Forward pass
Refers to starting at the beginning of a project task list and moving forward towards the end of the project
Gantt chart
A horizontal bar chart that visually maps out a project schedule and tasks, with clear breakdowns of who’s responsible for the work and when those tasks are due
High-level risk
A risk that is serious and can affect the overall success of a project; requires direct communication with stakeholders to go over plans to mitigate and address
Impact
The damage a risk could cause, if it occurs; determined on a scale of high, medium, or low
Indirect costs
Costs that can’t be linked directly to a project
Inherent risk
The measure of a risk, calculated by its probability and impact
Issue
A known and real problem that can affect the ability to complete a task
Kanban board
A visual tool used to manage tasks and workflows
Kickback
A corruption scheme where a certain percentage of an awarded contract is offered to an official who can ensure that their company wins the bid
Knowledge management:
A way of ensuring that project data can be accessed in the future by others who need it for informing decisions or planning similar projects
Latest start date
In the critical path method, the latest possible date on which a task (or the project itself) can begin
Leverage experts
Refers to gathering experts’ insights to do something more effectively
Low-level risk
A risk that may not greatly impact the project and may have a low probability of occurring, so a project manager may or may not communicate it to stakeholders
Management reserves
A percentage of the budget set aside for unknown risks
Medium-level risk
A risk that requires direct communication with stakeholders and should be treated as urgent, as it will most likely impact the project
Milestone
An important point within the project schedule that indicates progress and usually signifies the completion of a deliverable or phase of the project
Need-to-know basis
Telling someone facts they need to know at the time they need to know them, and nothing more
Network diagram
A visual that sequences project tasks in order of dependencies
OPEX (operating expenses)
Refers to expenses which are required for day-to-day tasks
Optimism bias
When a person believes that they are unlikely to experience a negative event
Parallel tasks
Tasks that can happen at the same time as other tasks
Personally identifiable information (PII)
Information that could be used on its own to directly identify, contact, or precisely locate an individual; includes email addresses, mailing addresses, phone numbers, precise locations, full names, and usernames
Planning fallacy
Describes people’s tendency to underestimate the amount of time it will take to complete a task, as well as the costs and risks associated with that task
Planning phase
The second phase of the project life cycle; includes the schedule, the budget, and the risk management plan
Probability and impact matrix
A tool used to prioritize project risks
Procurement
Obtaining all of the materials, services, and supplies required to complete the project
Project budget
The estimated monetary resources needed to achieve the project’s goals and objectives
Project buffer
Extra time tacked onto the end of a project
Project kick-off meeting
The first meeting in which a project team comes together to ground everyone in a shared vision, gain a shared understanding of the project’s goals and scope, and understand each person’s individual roles within the team
Project management baseline (PMB)
A clearly-defined fixed starting point for your
project that includes the scope, budget, and schedule
Project plan
A document that records the scope, tasks, milestones, and overall activities of a project; generally contains these five basic elements: tasks, milestones, people, documentation, and time
Project task
An activity that needs to be accomplished within a set period of time
Reforecast
Creating a separate revised budget based on how a project is tracking
Request for proposal (RFP)
Document that outlines the details of a project
Reserve analysis
A method to check for remaining project resources
Resource cost rate
The cost of a resource
Risk
A potential event which can occur and impact a project
Risk appetite:
The willingness of an organization to accept the possible outcomes of a risk
Risk assessment
The stage of risk management where qualities of a risk are estimated or measured
Risk management
The process of identifying and evaluating potential risks and issues that could impact a project
Risk register
A table or chart that contains a list of risks
Root cause
The initial cause of a situation that introduces a risk
Schedule
The project timeline, which includes the start date, the end date, and dates for events in between
Schedule performance index (SPI)
The ratio of the percentage of work complete to the planned budget for the planned work
Schedule variance (SV)
The difference between the amount of work expected to have been completed and the amount actually completed at a given point in time
Scope risk
The possibility that a project won’t produce the results outlined in the project goals
Sequential tasks
Tasks that must be completed in a specific order
Single point of failure
A risk that has the potential to be catastrophic and halt work across a project
Slack
The amount of time that a task can be delayed past its earliest start date without delaying the project
Soft skills
Personal characteristics that help people work effectively with others
Sole-supplier sourcing
When a company restricts the bidding process to one supplier, preventing competition
Start-to-finish (SF)
In this type of dependency relationship, the first task must begin before the second task can be completed
Start-to-start (SS)
In this type of dependency relationship, the second task can’t begin until the first task begins
Statement of work (SoW)
A document that clearly lays out the products and services a vendor or contractor will provide for the organization
Subtasks
Smaller tasks that are required to complete a larger task
Task buffer
Extra time tacked on to a specific task
Time and materials contract
Contract paid monthly based on the hours worked and other fees associated with the work, like travel and meals
Time estimation
A prediction of the total amount of time required to complete a task
Time risk
The possibility that project tasks will take longer than anticipated to complete
Time-phase a budget
The act of spreading budget items out over the duration of a project
Total cost of ownership (TCO)
The total cost of a project, from the initiation phase through completion
Vendors
Individuals or businesses who provide goods and services to the project
