Glossary of Terms 1-99 Flashcards
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.
5 Whys Method
80/20 Rule
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”.
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.
A/B Testing
A strategy for managing negative risks or opportunities that involves acknowledging risk and not taking any action until the risk occurs.
Accept
A set of conditions that is required to be met before deliverables are accepted.
Acceptance Criteria
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.
Accepted Deliverables
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.
Active Listening
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”.
Activity
Multiple attributes associated with each activity that can be included within the activity list.
Activity Attributes
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.
Activity Cost Estimates
Activity Dependency
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.
The quantitative assessments of the likely number of time periods that are required to complete an activity.
Activity Duration Estimates
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.
Activity List
A graphical diagram on which schedule activities are represented by nodes (rectangle boxes) and their dependencies are depicted by arrows.
Activity on Arrow or Activity on Node
Material and human resources that are needed to complete an activity; often expressed by a probability or range.
Activity Resource Estimates
The resources (physical, human, and organizational) required to complete the activities in the activity list.
Activity Resource Requirements
Earned Value Management term for the realized cost incurred for the work performed on an activity during a specific time.
Actual Cost (AC)
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.
Adaptive
Involves verifying and documenting project results to formalize project or phase completion.
Administrative Closure
A technique that allows large numbers of ideas to be classified into groups for review and analysis.
Affinity Diagram
Technique designed to rapidly estimate large stories (epics or features) in the backlog. For example: T-Shirt sizing, coffee cup sizes, or Fibonacci sequence.
Affinity Estimating
A term used to describe a mindset of values and principles as set forth in the Agile Manifesto.
Agile
See also “Agile Life Cycle,” Agile Manifesto,” “Agile Practitioner,” and “Agile Principles.”
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.”
Agile Coach
An approach that assists with planning a project appropriately from the beginning to ensure the team can focus on the quality of each deliverable.
Agile Estimating
An approach that is both iterative and incremental to refine work items and deliver frequently.
Agile Life Cycle
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.
Agile Manifesto
A representation of the workflow of a process or system that the team can review before it is implemented in code.
Agile Modeling
A person embracing the agile mindset who collaborates with like-minded colleagues in cross- functional teams. Also referred to as an agilist.
Agile Practitioner
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
Agile Principles
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.
Agile Release Planning
Team space that encourages colocation, collaboration, communication, transparency, and visibility.
Agile Space
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.
Agreements
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.
Allowable Costs
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”.
Analogous Estimating
Logical approach that looks at the relationship between outcomes and the factors that can influence them.
Analytical Techniques
Change requests that have been reviewed and approved by the change control board (CCB) and are ready to be scheduled for implementation.
Approved Change Requests
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.
Artifact
Anything considered to be true while planning. They should be documented and validated and are often closely linked to constraints.
Assumption
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.
Assumption and Constraint Analysis
A list of all uncertainties that are treated as true for the purpose of planning.
Assumption Log
Data that is counted such as the number of product defects or customer complaints.
Attribute Sampling Data
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.
Audit
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.
Autocratic
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.
Avoid
The prioritized list of all the work, presented in story form, for a project team. See also “Iteration Backlog”.
Backlog
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.
Backlog Refinement
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.
Backward Pass
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”.
Bar Chart
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.
Baseline
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.
Benchmarking
The ratio of the expected benefits and the anticipated costs.
Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR)
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.
Benefits Management Plan
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.
Bidder Conferences
A method of estimating project duration or cost by aggregating the estimates of the lower- level components of the WBS.
Bottom-Up Estimating
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.
Brainstorming
The failure to meet some or all the obligations of a contract.
Breach of Contract
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”.
Budget
The sum of all budgets established to provide financial support for the work to be performed.
Budget at Completion (BAC)
A planning term related to contingency. See also “Reserve”.
Buffer
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.
Burn Chart
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.
Burn Rate
A graphical representation of the work remaining versus the time left in a timebox.
Burndown Chart
A graphical representation of the work completed toward the release of a product.
Burnup Chart
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.
Business Case
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.
Business Document
Listing of all requirements for a specific project.
Business Requirement Documents (BRD)
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.
Business Risk
The net quantifiable benefit derived from a business endeavor. The benefit may be tangible, intangible, or both.
Business Value
A rhythm of execution. Also see “time box.”
Cadence
The CMMI provides a framework for the integration of process improvement for multiple process areas. Associated with quality management.
Capability Maturity Model Information (CMMI)
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”.
Cause and Effect Diagram
A legal document sent to an individual or a business with the direct intention of stopping specific activities and preventing their occurrence or recurrence.
Cease and Desist Letter
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.
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
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.
Change Control
A formally chartered group responsible for reviewing, evaluating, approving, delaying, or rejecting changes to the project and for recording and communicating such decisions.
Change Control Board (CCB)
A document used to request a project change. They can also be recommendations for taking corrective or preventive actions. See also “Change Request”.
Change Control Form
A set of procedures that describes how modifications to the project deliverables and documentation are managed and controlled.
Change Control System
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.)
Change Log
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.
Change Management
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.
Change Management Plan
Request for change sent to upper management or the Change Control Board (CCB) for its evaluation and approval. See also “Change Control Form”.
Change Request (CR)
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”.
Charter
A set of procedural instructions used to ensure that a product or component quality is achieved.
Checklist
A technique for systematically reviewing materials using a list for accuracy and completeness.
Checklist Analysis
An issue with the contract brought by one party against another. Claims must be resolved before the contract can be properly closed out.
Claim
The process of finalizing all activities for the project, phase, or contract.
Close Project or Phase Process
Sessions held at the end of a project or phase during which teams discuss work and capture lessons learned.
Close-Out Meetings
One of the five Project Management Process Groups. It consists of those processes performed to formally complete or close the project, phase, or contract.
Closing Process Group
An agile servant leader role that exists to help the team and identify and remove any impediments (obstacles).
Coach
The act of giving guidance and direction to another person to facilitate personal and/or professional growth and development.
Coaching
A numbering system used to uniquely identify each component of the WBS.
Code of Accounts
A PMI® published body of knowledge that describes the ethical, professional behavior and expectations of an individual working as a project management professional (PMP®).
Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
The act of working together and sharing information to create deliverables, work products or results.
Collaboration
The process in which requirements documentation is developed. Precedes the Define Scope process.
Collect Requirements Process
An organizational placement strategy in which the project team members are physically located close to one another to improve communication, working relationships, and productivity.
Colocation
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”.
Common Cause
Act of accurately encoding, sending, receiving, decoding, and verifying messages. Communication between sender and receiver may be oral or written, formal or informal.
Communication
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.
Communication Channels
A systematic procedure, technique, or process used to transfer information among project stakeholders.
Communication Method
A description, analogy, or schematic used to represent how the communication process will be performed for the project.
Communication Models
