Exam 1 Flashcards
Activity
A task or process to be accomplished in a set period of time as part of working toward a larger project goal. An Activity can be assigned to a resource(s) and have an associated cost. Activities are ordered with logic links.
Actual Cost
the real amount paid or incurred for labor or materials.
Activity Relationship
An ordered link between 2 activities representing the order of execution.
What are the 4 relationship types?
- FS-Finish to Start
- SS-Start to Start
- FF-Finish to Finish
- SF-Start to Finish
Approved Change Requests
Documents of approved changes made to the project contract as a whole (cost, schedule, plan). These are first reviewed by all stakeholders before being approved.
Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM):
Arrow diagramming method is a network diagramming technique used in Project Management in which activities are represented by arrows. ADM is also known as the activity-on-arrow (AOA) method.
What is ADM used for?
ADM is used for scheduling activities in a project plan. Precedence relationships between activities are represented by circles connected by one or more arrows. The length of the arrow represents the duration of the relevant activity. ADM only shows finish-to-start (FS) relationships, where each activity is completed before the successor activity starts.
Backward Pass
Critical path calculation process which having calculated earliest date for activities on the network. Works backwards to find activities latest start and finish dates/float
Bar Chart
A chart on which activities are represented by Bars. The Bars length is represented by the activity Duration, and is lined-up on an X-axis time scale.
Base Line
A set of dates and costs frozen at the start of the project and used as a basis for performance evaluation as the project progresses.
Budgeted Cost
The amount planned ahead and placed aside to execute an activity or an entire project from start to finish.
Change Estimate
An Estimate evaluating a potential change to a project. Often the estimate focuses on Cost, Schedule and Resource changes.
Change Impact
The effect of a project change on project cost, schedule and resourcing.
Committed Cost
A cost which has not yet been paid, but an agreement, such as a purchase order or contract, has been made such that the cost is no longer recoverable.
Cost Breakdown Structure
A breakdown of the project into cost elements for cost control planning. A CBS will deconstruct a project into various cost elements or types such as area, phase, discipline, or materials
Critical Activity
An activity that is on the project’s critical path
Critical Path
A project’s critical path is the sequence of network activities which add up to the longest overall duration. This determines the shortest time possible to complete the project.
Critical Path Method Scheduling
A project modeling technique and algorithm for scheduling a set of project activities. Developed in the late 1950s.
What does CPM scheduling contain?
- A list of all activities required to complete the project (typically categorized within a work breakdown structure),
- The time (duration) that each activity will take to complete,
- The dependencies between the activities and,
- Logical end points such as milestones or deliverable items.
How is the Critical Path determined?
Scheduling then uses an algorithm that computes Early and Late dates for each activity in order to determine the project’s Critical Path.
Critical Path Analysis
The analysis of a project schedule by its critical path or longest path. The analysis aims to understand whether the project can be completed on time and what key activities or milestones are a risk to the project’s timely completion. An advanced analysis may consider near-critical paths or other risk paths of the project.
Date Constraint
A date restriction imposed on an activity’s start or finish date in scheduling software. Applying a constraint will swap the computed date to a date imposed by the user. Often used to imposed deadlines or to delay activities in a schedule.
Direct Labor
(1) Labor which can be directly related/allocated to the output of a productive account or cost center, compared with indirect labor which is not directly related to output. (2) Labor employed directly by owner or main contractor, as opposed to sub-contract labor.
Doubled resource estimated duration (DRED)
Measures the length of an activity duration if the assigned level of resources has doubled.
Duration
The number of calendar periods it takes (or is estimated to take) from the time the execution of an element starts to the moment it is completed.
Early Start
The earliest time an activity can start within the logic and imposed targets in the network.
Early Finish
The earliest time an activity can finish within the logic and imposed targets in the network.
Estimate
Evaluation of expected quantities, time and man-hours, with allowances and provisions for expected unknowns.
Estimated Cost
An approximated cost derived through a cost estimation technique such as using historicals or empirical methods.