Glossary Flashcards
Acceptance
The formal act of acknowledging that the project has met agreed acceptance criteria and thereby met the requirements of its stakeholders.
Acceptance Criteria
A prioritized list of criteria that the project product must meet before the user will accept it. For example, measurable definitions of the attributes required for the set of products to be acceptable to key stakeholders.
Accountable
The single person who ‘owns’ a task. Unlike responsibility, accountability cannot be delegated.
Activity
Each PRINCE2 process comprises a set of activities, which may be performed in sequence or in parallel during the project. PRINCE2 activities comprise a set of recommended actions designed to achieve a particular result.
Agile and Agile Methods
A broad term for a collection of behaviors, frameworks, concepts, and techniques that enable teams and individuals to work in an agile way, typified by collaboration, prioritization, iterative and incremental delivery, and timeboxing. Examples include Scrum and Kanban. PRINCE2 can be applied in an agile way.
Approval
The formal confirmation that a product is complete and meets its requirements (less any concessions) as defined by its product description.
Approver (in Quality Context)
The person or group (for example, a project board) who is identified as qualified and authorized to approve a (management or specialist) product as being complete and fit for purpose.
Assumption
A statement that is taken as being true for planning purposes but which could change.
Authority
The right to allocate people and resources and make decisions (applies to project, stage, and team levels).
Authorization
The point at which an authority is granted.
Baseline Management Product
A type of management product that defines aspects of the project and, when approved, is subject to change control.
Benefit
The measurable improvement resulting from an outcome that is perceived as an advantage by the investing organization and contributes towards one or more business objectives.
Benefits Tolerance
The permissible deviation in the benefit performance targets that is allowed before it needs to be escalated to the next level of management. Benefits tolerance is documented in the business case.
Business
The organization that provides the project mandate and the structure within which the project is governed.
Business Case
The business justification for undertaking a project, based on the estimated costs against the expected benefits to be gained and offset by any associated risks. It should outline how and when the expected benefits can be measured.
Business Layer
The layer of governance outside the project team that sets the overall objectives and tolerance levels for the project and holds the project board accountable for meeting them.
Business Objective
The measurable outcomes that demonstrate progress in relation to the organization’s strategy and to which the project should contribute.
Business Opportunity
An issue that represents previously unanticipated positive consequences for the project or user organization.
Capability
The completed set of project outputs required to deliver an outcome.
Change
A modification to any of the approved management products that constitute the project baseline.
Change Authority
A person or group to which the project board may delegate responsibility for considering requests for change or off-specifications. The change authority may be given a change budget and can approve changes within that budget.
Change Budget
The money or authorized constraints set aside in a plan to cover changes. It is allocated by those with delegated authority to deliver authorized changes.
Change Control
The process by which changes that may affect the project baseline are identified, assessed, and then approved, rejected, or deferred.
Change Management
The means by which an organization transitions from the current state to the target state.
Checkpoint
A team-level, time-driven review of progress.
Checkpoint Report
A report to the project manager by a team manager of the status of the work package at a frequency defined in the work package description.
Closure Recommendation
A recommendation prepared by the project manager for the project board to send as a project closure notification to the business when the board is satisfied that the project can be closed.
Co-Creation
A specific form of collaboration involving users and key influencers in the design of products and agreed ways of working to ensure they are adopted by the project and organizational ecosystems.
Collaboration
People from across the project ecosystem working together to achieve the project’s objectives.
Communication Management Approach
An explanation of how team members will actively engage with and support each other and how relationships will be developed between different groups within the wider project ecosystem.
Concern
An issue whose timeliness and impact need to be assessed.
Concession
An off-specification that is accepted by the project board without corrective action.
Constraints
The restrictions or limitations by which the project is bound.
Corrective Action
A set of actions to resolve a threat to a plan’s tolerances or a defect in a product.
Cost Tolerance
The permissible deviation in a plan’s cost that is allowed before it needs to be escalated to the next level of management.
Culture
The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and ways of working that characterize a group of people.
Customer
The person or group from the business who commissioned the work and will benefit from the end results. Used where there is a commercial relationship between the business and the supplier.
Daily Log
A log used to record problems or concerns that can be handled by the project manager informally.
Dashboard
A way of representing vast amounts of decision-support data that gives a current summary, usually in graphic, easy-to-read form, of key information relating to progress and performance.
Data Analytics
The means of using and analyzing data to support effective decision-making or to bring efficiency through the automation of tasks.
Deliverable
See output.
Delivery Method
The way in which the work of the project is to be delivered. Typical methods include iterative-incremental, linear-sequential, or hybrid.
Delivery Model
The organizational and commercial arrangements to be deployed to meet project objectives given the constraints and capabilities of the user, business, and supplier organizations.
Dependency
Indicates that one product is dependent on another. Dependencies can be internal or external to the project.
DevOps
An organizational culture that aims to improve the flow of value to customers by focusing on culture, automation, Lean, measurement, and sharing (CALMS).
Dis-Benefit
The measurable decline resulting from an outcome perceived as negative by the investing organization, detracting from one or more business objectives.
Early Warning Indicators
Indicators used to track critical aspects of the project so that if certain predefined levels are reached, corrective action will be triggered.
End Project Report
A report given by the project manager to the project board, confirming the handover of all products, including a review of performance, recommendations, and a request for approval to close the project.
End Stage Report
A report given by the project manager to the project board at the end of each stage, providing information about the project’s performance during that stage.
Event-Driven Control
A control that takes place when a specific event occurs, such as the end of a stage or the creation of an exception report.
Exception
A situation where it can be forecast that there will be a deviation beyond the tolerance levels agreed between the project manager and the project board (or between the project board and business layer).
Exception Plan
A plan that follows an exception report and explains how the project will respond to the exception within the stage.
Exception Report
A report from the project manager to the project board explaining where tolerances have or are forecast to be breached and requesting direction.
External Dependency
A dependency between a project product and a product or activity outside the scope of the project, over which the project team has limited control.
External Products
Products developed or provided outside the project’s control but on which the project is dependent.
Follow-On Action Recommendations
Actions to be taken by the business following the phased handover of any products during a stage.
Forecast
A prediction made by studying historical data and past patterns.
Governance
The ongoing activity of maintaining a sound internal control system to protect assets, earning capacity, and reputation.
Handover
The transfer of ownership of a set of products (a release) to the respective user(s). May occur in phases.
Highlight Report
A time-driven report from the project manager to the project board on stage progress.
Initiation Stage
The period from when the project board authorizes initiation to when it authorizes the project (or decides not to proceed).
Internal Dependency
A dependency between two products of a project that the project team controls.
Issue
An event relevant to the project that requires management consideration.
Issue Register
A register used to capture and maintain information on all issues being managed formally.
Issue Report
A report detailing the description, impact, and recommended response for an issue.
Leadership
Motivating people to achieve project objectives through collaboration, influence, and co-creation.
Lesson
Information to facilitate future projects by promoting learning from experience, whether from successes or failures.
Lessons Log
An informal repository for lessons that apply to the current or future projects.
Log
An informal repository managed by the project manager; PRINCE2 typically uses a daily log and a lessons log.
Management
Instructing the execution of tasks in line with agreed ways of working, often by co-creating these ways with team members and stakeholders.
Management Approaches
The procedures, techniques, and standards, along with associated responsibilities, for various aspects of project management (e.g., benefits, change, communication, quality, risk).
Management Product
A product required for managing the project and maintaining quality (e.g., highlight report, end stage report).
Milestone
A significant event in a plan’s schedule, such as the completion of key work packages.
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
A product with just enough features to satisfy early customers and generate feedback for future development.
Off-Specification
A product that will not meet its quality specifications.
Operational and Maintenance Acceptance
A specific type of acceptance by those who will support the product after its delivery.
Organizational Ecosystem
The internal elements of an organization together with its external relationships (e.g., customers, suppliers, regulators).
Outcome
The result of change, which affects real-world behavior and is achieved by project activities.
Outline Business Case
The reasons why the project is needed and the business option that is selected.
Output
The tangible or intangible deliverable produced by an activity.
Performance Target
The expected success level against which project performance is judged.
Plan
A proposal outlining the what, where, when, how, and who of the project or its parts (e.g., project plan, stage plan, team plan, exception plan).
Planning Horizon
The period of time for which it is possible to plan accurately.
Portfolio
The totality of an organization’s investment (or segment thereof) in the changes required to achieve its strategic objectives.
Practice
An aspect of project management that must be applied consistently throughout the project lifecycle.
Premature Closure
The PRINCE2 activity to close a project before its planned closure, ensuring that any value created to date is salvaged.
Prerequisites (Plan)
Fundamental aspects that must be in place and remain in place for a plan to succeed.
PRINCE2 Principles
The guiding obligations that determine whether a project is genuinely being managed using PRINCE2 and ensure its proper tailoring.
PRINCE2 Project
A project that applies the PRINCE2 principles.
Probability
The evaluated likelihood of a threat or opportunity occurring, including the frequency with which it may arise.
Problem
An issue with an immediate and negative impact.
Procedure
A series of actions for a particular aspect of project management (e.g., a risk management procedure).
Process
A structured set of activities with defined inputs and outputs to achieve a specific objective. PRINCE2 includes seven project processes.
Producer (in a Quality Context)
The person or group responsible for developing a product.
Product
An input or output (tangible or intangible) that can be described, created, and tested. Types include management, specialist, project, and external products.
Product Backlog
In agile methods, a list of new features for a product, often structured as user stories.
Product Breakdown Structure
A hierarchy of all products to be produced during a plan.
Product Description
A description of a product’s purpose, format, composition, derivation, quality specifications, and development responsibilities.
Product Flow Diagram
A diagram showing the sequence of production and interdependencies of the products in the product breakdown structure.
Product Register
A component of the project log that identifies the products to be delivered and records their acceptance.
Product-Based Planning
The PRINCE2 technique that leads to a plan based on the creation and delivery of required products.
Programme
A temporary structure designed to lead multiple interrelated projects and work to progressively achieve beneficial outcomes.
Progress
The measure of achievement of a plan’s objectives.
Project
A temporary organization created to deliver one or more business products according to an agreed business case.
Project Approach
Defines the choice of solution and delivery method to be used to deliver the business option selected from the business case.
Project Assurance
The project board’s responsibility to ensure the project is conducted correctly, focusing on business, user, and supplier assurance.
Project Baseline
The current version of management and specialist products that are subject to change control.
Project Board
The body accountable to the business for the project’s success, with authority to direct the project.
Project Brief
A statement describing the purpose, cost, time, performance requirements, and constraints for a project; created early and superseded by project initiation documentation.
Project Closure Notification
Advice from the project board informing stakeholders that project resources can be disbanded and support services demobilized.
Project Definition
Explains what the project needs to achieve, including background, objectives, scope, constraints, assumptions, and interfaces.
Project Ecosystem
Elements of the business involved in or affected by the project, including associated users and suppliers.
Project Executive
The individual with overall responsibility for ensuring the project meets its objectives and delivers benefits; typically the chair of the project board.
Project Initiation Documentation (PID)
A set of documents that brings together the key information needed to start the project on a sound basis.
Project Initiation Notification
Advice from the project board to inform all stakeholders that the project is being initiated and to request necessary logistical support.
Project Lifecycle
The period from the initiation of a project to the acceptance of the project product.
Project Management
The application of methods, tools, techniques, and competencies to a project.
Project Management Team
The entire management structure including the project board, project manager, team manager, project assurance, and project support roles.
Project Management Team Structure
An organization chart showing the roles, delegation, and reporting relationships within the project management team.
Project Manager
The person with authority and responsibility to manage the project on a day-to-day basis to deliver required products.
Project Mandate
An external product generated by the authority commissioning the project that triggers its start.
Project Office
A temporary office created to support the delivery of a specific change initiative as a project.
Project Plan
A high-level plan showing the major products and details on when, how, and at what cost they will be delivered.
Project Product
What the project must deliver in order to gain acceptance.
Project Product Description
A description of the project’s major products, including quality expectations, acceptance criteria, and methods.
Project Support
An administrative role providing advice, help with tools, and services such as filing and data collection.
Project Team
All people required to allocate their time to the project.
Quality
The degree to which inherent characteristics of a product, service, or process fulfill its requirements.
Quality Assurance
A planned, systematic activity that provides confidence that products meet their quality specifications when tested.
Quality Control
The procedures to monitor products and activities to determine compliance with relevant standards and to minimize unsatisfactory performance.
Quality Management Approach
The description of the quality techniques and standards to be applied and the roles/responsibilities for achieving required quality criteria and acceptance during the project.
Quality Planning
The process of capturing quality specifications for project products and generating associated product descriptions and quality management approach.
Quality Register
A component of the project log that lists all planned or occurred quality control activities and informs end-stage and end project reports.
Quality Review
An assessment conducted (often independently) to ensure a product is complete, meets standards, and adheres to its quality specifications.
Quality Specification
A description of the quality measures to be applied and the required levels that a finished product must meet.
Quality Tolerance
The permissible deviation in a product’s quality allowed before escalation is required.
Requirement
A need or expectation that is documented in an approved management product.
Residual Risk
The risk remaining after the risk response has been applied.
Resource
The goods, services, equipment, materials, facilities, and funding required to complete a plan.
Responsible
The person or people with the authority expected to perform a task (which can be delegated).
Reviewer (in Quality Context)
A person or group independent of the producer who assesses whether a product meets its requirements.
Risk
An uncertain event or set of events that may affect the achievement of objectives, measured by likelihood and impact.
Risk Action Owner
The nominated owner of agreed actions to respond to a risk, also known as the risk actionee.
Records
Dynamic management products that maintain information regarding project progress (e.g., daily log, issue register, lessons log).
Reports
Management products that provide a snapshot of the status of certain aspects of the project.
Request for Change
A proposal for a change to a baseline.
Risk Appetite
The amount and type of risk the business is willing to take in pursuit of its objectives.
Risk Budget
A sum of money allocated to fund management responses to project risks, such as covering costs of contingent plans.
Risk Evaluation
The process of understanding the net effect of identified threats and opportunities on an activity.
Risk Exposure
The degree to which a particular objective is ‘at risk’; a neutral concept since exposure can be positive or negative.
Risk Impact
The systematic application of principles and processes to identify, assess, and communicate risk and its potential effects.
Risk Management
The process of identifying, assessing, and responding to project risks in a structured and systematic way.
Risk Response
Actions taken to bring risk exposure to an acceptable level, falling into various response categories.
Risk Tolerance
A measurable threshold representing the tolerable range of outcomes for an objective at risk.
Risk Velocity
How quickly a risk would impact objectives should it occur.
Senior User
The project board role accountable for ensuring that user needs are specified correctly and that the solution meets those needs.
Specialist Product
A product whose development is the subject of the plan; specific to an individual project. Also known as a deliverable. See output.
Sponsor
The main driving force behind a programme or project; typically the project executive or the person who appointed the executive.
Sprint
A fixed timeframe (typically 2-4 weeks) for creating selected features from the backlog.
Stage
A section of a project that the project manager manages on behalf of the project board at any one time.
Stage Plan
A detailed plan used as the basis for project management control throughout a stage.
Stakeholder
Any individual, group, or organization that can affect or be affected by the project.
Supplier
The organization that provides the expertise, people, and resources required by the project; can be internal or external.
Sustainability Management Approach
Defines the actions, reviews, and controls to ensure that sustainability performance targets for the project are achieved.
Sustainability Tolerance
The permissible deviation in sustainability performance targets allowed before escalation. Documented in the business case.
Tailoring
Adapting a method or process to suit the situation in which it will be used.
Team Manager
The person responsible for producing products allocated by the project manager to an appropriate quality, timescale, and cost. If no team manager is assigned, the project manager assumes these responsibilities.
Team Plan
A plan used to organize and control the work of a team when executing a work package. Optional in PRINCE2.
Threat
An uncertain event that could have a negative impact on objectives or benefits.
Timebox
A finite period of time during which work is performed to achieve a goal. Lower-level timeboxes (e.g., sprints) may span days or weeks, while higher-level timeboxes (e.g., stages) aggregate them.
Time-Driven Control
A management control that takes place at predefined periodic intervals (e.g., producing highlight reports or checkpoint reports).
Time Tolerance
The permissible deviation in a plan’s time allowed before escalation to the next management level.
Tolerance
The permissible deviation above and below the plan’s target for benefits, cost, time, quality, scope, sustainability, and risk without escalation; applied at project, stage, and team levels.
Transformation
A distinct change to the way an organization conducts all or part of its business.
Trigger
An event or decision that triggers a PRINCE2 process to begin.
User
The organization that will use the project products to gain the expected benefits; may be internal or external.
User Acceptance
A specific type of acceptance by the person or group who will use the product after delivery to the operational environment.
User Story
A tool used to write a requirement in the form of who, what, and why.
Users’ Quality Expectations
A statement about the quality expected from the project product, captured in the project product description.
Work Breakdown Structure
A hierarchy of all work done during a project linking the product breakdown structure and the work packages.
Work Package
Work assigned to a team manager requiring the delivery of one or more products.
Work Package Description
The set of information relevant to delivering one or more products, including activities, resources, product details, and production constraints.
