Glossary of Terms 1-99

Question 1

An effective tool for root cause analysis in which the question “Why?” is asked of a problem in succession until the root cause is found. Developed by Sakichi Toyoda, a Japanese inventor and industrialist, the 5 Whys method is an integral part of the Lean philosophy.

Answer 1

5 Whys Method

Question 2

80/20 Rule

Answer 2

A general guideline with many applications; in terms of controlling processes, it contends that a relatively large number of problems or defects, typically 80%, are commonly due to a relatively small number of causes, typically 20%. See also “Pareto Chart”.

Question 3

A marketing approach used to determine user preferences by showing different sets of users’ similar services—an ‘Alpha’ and a ‘Beta’ version—with one independent variable.

Answer 3

A/B Testing

Question 4

A strategy for managing negative risks or opportunities that involves acknowledging risk and not taking any action until the risk occurs.

Answer 4

Accept

Question 5

A set of conditions that is required to be met before deliverables are accepted.

Answer 5

Acceptance Criteria

Question 6

Deliverables that meet the acceptance criteria and have been formally signed off and approved by the customer or sponsor as part of the scope validation process.

Answer 6

Accepted Deliverables

Question 7

A communication technique that involves acknowledging the speaker’s message and the recipient clarifying the message to confirm that what was heard matches the message that the sender intended.

Answer 7

Active Listening

Question 8

A distinct portion of work, scheduled with a beginning and an end, that must be performed to complete work on the project. Also known as a schedule activity. See also “Task”.

Answer 8

Activity

Question 9

Multiple attributes associated with each activity that can be included within the activity list.

Answer 9

Activity Attributes

Question 10

Each task is assigned a budget, and the aggregate of these estimates results in the project budget. Activity cost estimates include labor, materials, equipment, and fixed cost items like contractors, services, facilities, financing costs, etc. This information can be presented in a detailed or summarized form.

Answer 10

Activity Cost Estimates

Question 11

Activity Dependency

Answer 11

A logical relationship that exists between two project activities. The relationship indicates whether the start of an activity is contingent upon an event or input from outside the activity.

Question 12

The quantitative assessments of the likely number of time periods that are required to complete an activity.

Answer 12

Activity Duration Estimates

Question 13

A documented tabulation of schedule activities that shows the activity description, activity identifier, and a sufficiently detailed scope-of-work description so project team members understand what work is to be performed.

Answer 13

Activity List

Question 14

A graphical diagram on which schedule activities are represented by nodes (rectangle boxes) and their dependencies are depicted by arrows.

Answer 14

Activity on Arrow or Activity on Node

Question 15

Material and human resources that are needed to complete an activity; often expressed by a probability or range.

Answer 15

Activity Resource Estimates

Question 16

The resources (physical, human, and organizational) required to complete the activities in the activity list.

Answer 16

Activity Resource Requirements

Question 17

Earned Value Management term for the realized cost incurred for the work performed on an activity during a specific time.

Answer 17

Actual Cost (AC)

Question 18

A type of project life cycle or methodology that values responding to change over following a set plan. Adaptive methodologies seek solutions that deliver maximum value to the customer.

Answer 18

Adaptive

Question 19

Involves verifying and documenting project results to formalize project or phase completion.

Answer 19

Administrative Closure

Question 20

A technique that allows large numbers of ideas to be classified into groups for review and analysis.

Answer 20

Affinity Diagram

Question 21

Technique designed to rapidly estimate large stories (epics or features) in the backlog. For example: T-Shirt sizing, coffee cup sizes, or Fibonacci sequence.

Answer 21

Affinity Estimating

Question 22

A term used to describe a mindset of values and principles as set forth in the Agile Manifesto.

Answer 22

Agile

See also “Agile Life Cycle,” Agile Manifesto,” “Agile Practitioner,” and “Agile Principles.”

Question 23

A process role on a project team that helps organizations achieve true agility by coaching teams across the enterprise on how to apply agile practices and choose their best way of working. See also “scrum master.”

Answer 23

Agile Coach

Question 24

An approach that assists with planning a project appropriately from the beginning to ensure the team can focus on the quality of each deliverable.

Answer 24

Agile Estimating

Question 25

An approach that is both iterative and incremental to refine work items and deliver frequently.

Answer 25

Agile Life Cycle

Question 26

In 2001, a group of 17 software developers met in Snowbird, Utah to discuss lightweight software development. Based on their experience, they came up with the four core values of agile software development as stated by the Agile Manifesto are: individuals and interactions over processes and tools; working software over comprehensive documentation; customer collaboration over contract negotiation; and responding to change over following a plan.

Answer 26

Agile Manifesto

Question 27

A representation of the workflow of a process or system that the team can review before it is implemented in code.

Answer 27

Agile Modeling

Question 28

A person embracing the agile mindset who collaborates with like-minded colleagues in cross- functional teams. Also referred to as an agilist.

Answer 28

Agile Practitioner

Question 29

A set of 12 guidelines that support the Agile Manifesto and which practitioners and teams should internalize and act upon. 1. Customer satisfaction by early and continuous delivery of valuable software 2. Welcome changing requirements, even in late development 3. Deliver working software frequently (weeks rather than months) 4. Close, daily cooperation between business and technical people 5. Projects are built around motivated individuals, who should be trusted 6. Face-to-face conversation is the best form of communication (colocation) 7. Working software is the primary measure of progress 8. Sustainable development, able to maintain a constant pace 9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design 10. Simplicity is essential 11. Best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams 12. Regularly, the team reflects on how to become more effective, and adjusts accordingly

Answer 29

Agile Principles

Question 30

A process in which a team determines the number of iterations or Sprints that are needed to complete each release, the features that each iteration will contain, and the target dates of each release.

Answer 30

Agile Release Planning

Question 31

Team space that encourages colocation, collaboration, communication, transparency, and visibility.

Answer 31

Agile Space

Question 32

Any documents or communication that defines the initial intentions of a project. Examples include contracts, memorandums of understanding (MOUs), service-level agreements (SLAs), letters of agreement, letters of intent, verbal agreements, email, or other written agreements.

Answer 32

Agreements

Question 33

Costs that are allowed under the terms of the contract. Typically, allowable costs become relevant under certain types of cost-reimbursable contracts in which the buyer reimburses the seller’s allowable costs.

Answer 33

Allowable Costs

Question 34

A technique for estimating the duration or cost of an activity on a project using historical data from a similar activity or project. Also known as “Top-Down Estimating”.

Answer 34

Analogous Estimating

Question 35

Logical approach that looks at the relationship between outcomes and the factors that can influence them.

Answer 35

Analytical Techniques

Question 36

Change requests that have been reviewed and approved by the change control board (CCB) and are ready to be scheduled for implementation.

Answer 36

Approved Change Requests

Question 37

Any project management processes, inputs, tools, techniques, outputs, EEFs, and OPAs that the project management team uses on their specific project. They are subject to configuration management and are maintained and archived by the team.

Answer 37

Artifact

Question 38

Anything considered to be true while planning. They should be documented and validated and are often closely linked to constraints.

Answer 38

Assumption

Question 39

A process that explores the validity of the project assumptions within the constraints and identifies risks from any incompleteness or inaccuracy of these project assumptions.

Answer 39

Assumption and Constraint Analysis

Question 40

A list of all uncertainties that are treated as true for the purpose of planning.

Answer 40

Assumption Log

Question 41

Data that is counted such as the number of product defects or customer complaints.

Answer 41

Attribute Sampling Data

Question 42

An examination of a project’s goals and achievements, including adequacy, accuracy, efficiency, effectiveness, and the project’s compliance with applicable methodologies and regulations. It tends to be a formal, one-sided process that can be extremely demoralizing to team members.

Answer 42

Audit

Question 43

A group decision-making method in which one member of the group makes the decision. In most cases, this person will consider the larger group’s ideas and decisions and will then make a decision based on that input.

Answer 43

Autocratic

Question 44

A strategy for managing negative risks or threats that involves changing the project management plan to remove the risk entirely by extending the schedule, changing the strategy, increasing the funding, or reducing the scope.

Answer 44

Avoid

Question 45

The prioritized list of all the work, presented in story form, for a project team. See also “Iteration Backlog”.

Answer 45

Backlog

Question 46

The progressive elaboration of project requirements and/or the ongoing activity in which the team collaboratively reviews, updates, and writes requirements to satisfy the need of the customer request.

Answer 46

Backlog Refinement

Question 47

Technique for calculating the late start and late finish dates of the schedule activities. This is part of the critical path method and is paired with forward pass to determine activity and schedule float along with the critical path.

Answer 47

Backward Pass

Question 48

A graphic display of schedule-related information. In the typical bar chart, schedule activities or WBS components are listed down the left side of the chart, dates are shown across the top, and activity durations are shown as date-placed horizontal bars. See also “Gantt Chart”.

Answer 48

Bar Chart

Question 49

Original objectives plus approved change requests for scope, schedule, cost, and resources required to finish the project. Baselines represent the approved plan, and they are useful for measuring how actual results deviate from the plan.

Answer 49

Baseline

Question 50

The comparison of actual or planned products, processes, and practices to those of comparable organizations to identify best practices, generate ideas for improvement, and provide a basis for measuring performance.

Answer 50

Benchmarking

Question 51

The ratio of the expected benefits and the anticipated costs.

Answer 51

Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR)

Question 52

The documented explanation defining the processes for creating, maximizing, and sustaining the benefits provided by a project or program. It also describes how and when the benefits of a project will be derived and measured. Both the business case and the benefits management plan are developed with the benefits owner prior to the project being initiated. Additionally, both documents are referenced after the project has been completed. Therefore, they are considered business documents rather than project documents or components of the project management plan.

Answer 52

Benefits Management Plan

Question 53

The meetings with prospective sellers prior to the preparation of a bid or proposal to ensure all prospective vendors have a clear and common understanding of the procurement. Also called vendor conferences, pre-bid conferences, or contractor conferences.

Answer 53

Bidder Conferences

Question 54

A method of estimating project duration or cost by aggregating the estimates of the lower- level components of the WBS.

Answer 54

Bottom-Up Estimating

Question 55

A simple technique used to generate a list of ideas. It should be led by a facilitator with a group consisting of stakeholders, team members, and subject matter experts. After quickly generating a list of alternatives, the group then performs analysis of the alternatives and generally chooses a particular option for action.

Answer 55

Brainstorming

Question 56

The failure to meet some or all the obligations of a contract.

Answer 56

Breach of Contract

Question 57

A time-phased plan for when funds will be disbursed on a project. It helps the organization anticipate when money will be coming in and/or going out, for the duration of the project. Budget accuracy is dependent upon a well-defined project scope and schedule. The total project budget is the cost baseline plus management reserves. See also “Cost Baseline”.

Answer 57

Budget

Question 58

The sum of all budgets established to provide financial support for the work to be performed.

Answer 58

Budget at Completion (BAC)

Question 59

A planning term related to contingency. See also “Reserve”.

Answer 59

Buffer

Question 60

A tool that is used to track the progress of the project by plotting the number of days of sprint against the number of hours of work remaining. It is used to communicate progress during and at the end of an iteration/sprint/ increment, showing the number of stores that have been completed and the ones that remain. The concept is as the project progresses over time, the backlog of work will “burn down”/lessen.

Answer 60

Burn Chart

Question 61

The rate at which the project consumes financial resources, representing negative cash flow. Burn rates are often used by agile projects to budget costs for planned iterations/sprints/increments.

Answer 61

Burn Rate

Question 62

A graphical representation of the work remaining versus the time left in a timebox.

Answer 62

Burndown Chart

Question 63

A graphical representation of the work completed toward the release of a product.

Answer 63

Burnup Chart

Question 64

A documented economic feasibility study used to establish the validity of the benefits of a selected component lacking sufficient definition and that is used as a basis for the authorization of further project management activities.

Answer 64

Business Case

Question 65

An artifact developed prior to the project, used as part of the business case, and which is reviewed periodically by a project professional to verify benefit delivery.

Answer 65

Business Document

Question 66

Listing of all requirements for a specific project.

Answer 66

Business Requirement Documents (BRD)

Question 67

The inherent risk in any business endeavor that carries the potential for either profit or loss. These types of risks are competitive, legislative, monetary, and operational.

Answer 67

Business Risk

Question 68

The net quantifiable benefit derived from a business endeavor. The benefit may be tangible, intangible, or both.

Answer 68

Business Value

Question 69

A rhythm of execution. Also see “time box.”

Answer 69

Cadence

Question 70

The CMMI provides a framework for the integration of process improvement for multiple process areas. Associated with quality management.

Answer 70

Capability Maturity Model Information (CMMI)

Question 71

This diagram shows the relationship between causes and effects. Primarily used in root cause analysis (risk and quality) to uncover the causes of risks, problems, or issues. See also “Fishbone Diagram” and “Ishikawa Diagram”.

Answer 71

Cause and Effect Diagram

Question 72

A legal document sent to an individual or a business with the direct intention of stopping specific activities and preventing their occurrence or recurrence.

Answer 72

Cease and Desist Letter

Question 73

PMI® Certification that offers recognition to practitioners who are interested in or are just starting a career in project management, as well as project team members who wish to demonstrate their project management knowledge. This certification denotes that the individual possesses the knowledge in the principles and terminology of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), which outlines generally recognized good practices in project management.

Answer 73

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)

Question 74

Purposeful management of changes to the project (scope, schedule, cost, or quality). In change control, a change request goes through a formal process before a decision (approve/deny) is made.

Answer 74

Change Control

Question 75

A formally chartered group responsible for reviewing, evaluating, approving, delaying, or rejecting changes to the project and for recording and communicating such decisions.

Answer 75

Change Control Board (CCB)

Question 76

A document used to request a project change. They can also be recommendations for taking corrective or preventive actions. See also “Change Request”.

Answer 76

Change Control Form

Question 77

A set of procedures that describes how modifications to the project deliverables and documentation are managed and controlled.

Answer 77

Change Control System

Question 78

A living list of all project change requests (CR). This log is used to track and provide accurate status of each CR (requester, owner, details, impact analysis, decision, etc.)

Answer 78

Change Log

Question 79

A comprehensive, cyclic, and structured approach for transitioning individuals, groups, and organizations from a current state to a future state in which they realize desired benefits. It is different from project change control, which is a process whereby modifications to documents, deliverables, or baselines associated with the project are identified and documented, and then are approved or rejected.

Answer 79

Change Management

Question 80

A component of the project management plan that establishes the Change Control Board, documents the extent of its authority, and describes how the change control system will be implemented.

Answer 80

Change Management Plan

Question 81

Request for change sent to upper management or the Change Control Board (CCB) for its evaluation and approval. See also “Change Control Form”.

Answer 81

Change Request (CR)

Question 82

A shortened name for the project charter. A formal document that starts the project. Typically used by the project sponsor and the project manager, this document provides the reason for the project (based on business case) and may include high-level requirements, assumptions, constraints, milestone(s), and preliminary budget. See also “Project Charter”.

Answer 82

Charter

Question 83

A set of procedural instructions used to ensure that a product or component quality is achieved.

Answer 83

Checklist

Question 84

A technique for systematically reviewing materials using a list for accuracy and completeness.

Answer 84

Checklist Analysis

Question 85

An issue with the contract brought by one party against another. Claims must be resolved before the contract can be properly closed out.

Answer 85

Claim

Question 86

The process of finalizing all activities for the project, phase, or contract.

Answer 86

Close Project or Phase Process

Question 87

Sessions held at the end of a project or phase during which teams discuss work and capture lessons learned.

Answer 87

Close-Out Meetings

Question 88

One of the five Project Management Process Groups. It consists of those processes performed to formally complete or close the project, phase, or contract.

Answer 88

Closing Process Group

Question 89

An agile servant leader role that exists to help the team and identify and remove any impediments (obstacles).

Answer 89

Coach

Question 90

The act of giving guidance and direction to another person to facilitate personal and/or professional growth and development.

Answer 90

Coaching

Question 91

A numbering system used to uniquely identify each component of the WBS.

Answer 91

Code of Accounts

Question 92

A PMI® published body of knowledge that describes the ethical, professional behavior and expectations of an individual working as a project management professional (PMP®).

Answer 92

Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

Question 93

The act of working together and sharing information to create deliverables, work products or results.

Answer 93

Collaboration

Question 94

The process in which requirements documentation is developed. Precedes the Define Scope process.

Answer 94

Collect Requirements Process

Question 95

An organizational placement strategy in which the project team members are physically located close to one another to improve communication, working relationships, and productivity.

Answer 95

Colocation

Question 96

A reason contributing to a quality problem that is usually considered acceptable. Common causes are considered unpreventable or if they are preventable, the cost of prevention would not justify the benefit. Opposite of “Special Cause”.

Answer 96

Common Cause

Question 97

Act of accurately encoding, sending, receiving, decoding, and verifying messages. Communication between sender and receiver may be oral or written, formal or informal.

Answer 97

Communication

Question 98

The number of possible communication paths on a project. The formula for calculating communication channels is: [n(n-1)]/2; n=number of people on the project.

Answer 98

Communication Channels

Question 99

A systematic procedure, technique, or process used to transfer information among project stakeholders.

Answer 99

Communication Method

Question 100

A description, analogy, or schematic used to represent how the communication process will be performed for the project.

Answer 100

Communication Models