Crowe Terms Flashcards
Acceptance
The act of approving the deliverables.
This is usually performed by the project manager, the sponsor, the customer, and sometimes the functional manager.
Activity Attributes
Information that accompanies each schedule activity.
Activity attributes almost always accompany the activity list.
Allowable Costs
Costs permitted under the terms of a cost-reimbursable contract.
Assumption
Anything treated as true for the purpose of planning.
Assumptions should always be documented.
Bar Chart
A chart with horizontal bars representing the length of time for schedule activities.
Also known as a Gantt chart.
Baseline
The original plan plus all approved changes.
Baselines may be updated throughout the project.
Brainstorming
A tool for gathering ideas, performed in a fast and non-judgmental environment.
Buffer
Extra time or money added to the schedule or budget in order to manage risk.
Checklist
A set of procedural instructions to be followed in order to achieve quality.
Co-location
Physically bringing a team together in one space.
Communications Model
The model where a sender encodes a message, selects a method of transmission, sends it, and confirms that it was received and understood. The receiver receives the message, decodes it, and confirms that it was understood. Noise and filters can disrupt or distort the message.
Conflict
Differences of opinion or agenda.
Conflict most often occurs between the project manager and functional manager(s).
Consensus
Agreement to support an outcome even if all individuals do not agree on the decision itself.
Constraint
Anything that limits the ability to plan.
Contingency
The use of buffers of time or money to help manage overruns.
Also known as a reserve.
Contract
A legal document that specifies the relationship between the buyer and seller.
Control Account
Also known as a cost account.
A control account is a node on the WBS where the earned value is measured and tracked.
Control Chart
A special cart used in statistical process control (a function of quality management) to help determine whether or not a process is in control.
Corrective Action
Anything done to bring future results in line with the plan.
Cost Performance Baseline
A time-phased representation of what costs are expected and when they are expected.
Also known as the budget or S-curve.
Crashing
A form of schedule compression where additional people and other resources are applied to an activity in order to get it done more quickly.
Crashing often increases cost due to the law of diminishing returns.
Criteria
Objective means of measuring quality for acceptance.
The acceptance criteria should always be documented in advance.
Critical Chain Method
A technique for managing a project’s schedule developed by Eliyahu Goldratt that estimates individual activities aggressively and then applies one large buffer for the project manager to manage risk and overrun.
The Critical Chain Method is based on the Theory of Constraints.
Critical Path Method
A technique of schedule analysis used to identify the critical path.
Customer
The individual or organization that will accept the project deliverables.
Decision Tree
A tool used in risk management to facilitate decision-making based on analyzing a risk and it’s expected monetary value.
Decomposition
A technique for progressively breaking down the scone into smaller and smaller pieces.
The WBS is first decomposed into work packages, and later the work packages are decomposed into schedule activities.
This tool is used in the processes of Create WBS (Scope) and Define Activities (Time).
Defect
An issue when the project’s product, service, or result does not match the scope or has not met the criteria for quality.
Delivable
The result of the project that is presented to the appropriate stakeholders for acceptance.
Delphi Technique
A form of expert judgement where a group of stakeholders is polled without letting members know who else is being asked.
Dictatorship
A group decision technique where one person makes the decisions for the entire team.
Exit Gate
A logical point at the end of a projects phase where an independent party reviews that phase’s deliverables to determine if the subsequent phase should be initiated.
Expert Judgment
Using knowledgeable people to assist with a decision.
Expert judgment is a highly favored technique for the exam.
Fast Tracking
A schedule compression technique where activities are performed in parallel that would preferably be performed in sequence.
Fast tracking usually increases schedule risk.
Free Float
The amount of time that the finish of an activity can be delayed without delaying the start of ny subsequent activity.
Also known as “free slack.”
Gatekeeper
The person responsible for evaluating the project deliverables between phases at the phase exit gates.
Grade
A way of evaluating the product’s suitability for use.
Negative Float
A situation that occurs when an activity’s finish date is before its start date.
It indicates that the schedule is broken, and the logic must be reworked.
Organization Breakdown Structure
A chart to relate work packages to the parties in the organization responsible for their completion.
Phase
A division of the project, traditionally Conceptual, Planning, Construction, Testing, Implementation, and Closure.
Phases should not be confused with the five process groups.
PMIS (The Project Management Information System)
The system used to support management of the project from beginning to end.
Progressive Elaboration
The concept that projects are not purely linear and that plans are often revisited and developed over time.
A plan may be progressively elaborated until it is baselined and placed under control.
Project Coordinator
The project role that is weaker than a project manager in terms of authority.
A project coordinator can typically assign project resources but is not authorized to spend project funds.
Project coordinators typically report to a member of senior management that is responsible for the project.
Project Expeditor
The project role that has little organizational authority but may have some project authority.
Project expeditors ensure that the project is progressing as planned, but they do not have the authority to spend project funds.
Project Manager
The role of the person ultimately responsible for the project.
The project manager has the authority to spend project budget and to assign project resources in order to realize the project’s goals.
Regulation
A requirement, issued by an authority, that must be followed.
Requirement
Something that the product or service must do in order to satisfy an underlying need.
Residual Risk
The uncertainty that remains after planning a response to an identified risk.
Resource Breakdown Structure
A graphical organizational chart that groups resources together by their function.
Resource Histogram
A column chart that shows when a resource will be in use on the project.
Resource Leveling
A tool for matching the resource requirements to the organization’s ability to supply them.
Rework
Anything done to make a product or service conform to specifications.
Risk Breakdown Structure
Abbreviated as RBS.
A graphical chart showing risks organized by category.
Rolling Wave Planning
A planning technique that plans activities in the near future in detail, while activities further out are only planned at a high level.
When using this technique, wave after wave of planning is repeated throughout the project.
Root Cause Analysis
A technique that seeks to understand the underlying reason(s) behind a problem more than the problem itself.
It is also used in quality management to prevent future defects.
Scatter Diagram
A chart that plots events against a dependent variable and an independent variable.
They are used to identify correlations and to spot trends.
Three-Point Estimate
Also called PERT estimate.
A technique for estimating duration that uses a weighted average for pessimistic, optimistic, and realistic values.
Formula = (P + 4R + O) / 6
Where:
P = Pessimistic estimate
R = Realistic estimate
O = Optimistic estimate
Trigger Words
Words leading you to favored answers on the PMP Exam.
Potential answers that contain these words may indicate that this is the correct answer.
Trigger Words: • Assess • Evaluate • Understand • Investigate • Determine • Research • Find out
Tornado Diagram
A graphical chart used in Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis.
Tornado diagrams show how sensitive the project is to risk by showing the effect of a single risk event while holding all other factors constant.
Work Authorization System
Abbreviated as WBS.
The system used to ensure that work is performed at the right time and in the right sequence.
The WAS is part of the overall PMIS.
