Glossary of Terms Flashcards
quality management system
The complete set of quality standards, procedures and responsibilities for an organization or specific entity (site, business unit, etc.) within that organization.
stakeholder
Any individual, group or organization that can affect, be affected by or perceive itself to be affected by, an initiative (i.e. a programme, project, activity or risk).
project support
An administrative role in the project management team. Project support can be in the form of advice and help with project management tools, guidance, administrative services such as filing, and the collection of actual data.
product
An input or output, whether tangible or intangible, that can be described in advance, created and tested. PRINCE2 has two types of products: management products and specialist products.
External Dependency
An external dependency is one between a project activity and a non-project activity, where non-project activities are undertaken by people who are not part of the project team. In these circumstances the project team does not have complete control over the dependency.
problem
A type of issue (other than a request for change or off-specification) that the project manager needs to resolve or escalate. Also known as a concern.
closure recommendation
A recommendation prepared by the project manager for the project board to send as a project closure notification when the board is satisfied that the project can be closed.
embedding (PRINCE2)
The act of making something an integral part of a bigger whole.
Embedding is what an organization needs to do to adopt PRINCE2 as its corporate project management method and encourage its widespread use.
benefits tolerance
The permissible deviation in the expected benefit that is allowed before the deviation needs to be escalated to the next level of management. Benefits tolerance is documented in the business case. See also tolerance.
executive
The individual with overall responsibility for ensuring that a project meets its objectives and delivers the projected benefits. This individual should ensure that the project maintains its business focus, that it has clear authority, and that the work, including risks, is actively managed. The executive is the chair of the project board. He or she represents the customer and is responsible for the business case.
epic
A high-level definition of a requirement that has not been sufficiently refined or understood yet. Eventually, an epic will be refined and broken down into several user stories or requirements.
management product
A product that will be required as part of managing the project, and establishing and maintaining quality (e.g. highlight report, end stage report). The management products are constant, whatever the type of project, and can be used as described, or with any relevant modifications, for all projects. There are three types of management product: baselines, records and reports.
tailoring
Adapting a method or process to suit the situation in which it will be used.
off-specification
Something that should be provided by the project, but currently is not (or is forecast not to be). It might be a missing product or a product not meeting its specifications. It is one type of issue.
configuration management
Technical and administrative activities concerned with the controlled change of a product.
sponsor
The main driving force behind a programme or project. PRINCE2 does not define a role for the sponsor, but the sponsor is most likely to be the executive on the project board, or the person who has appointed the executive.
sprint
A fixed timeframe (typically of 2–4 weeks) for creating selected features from the backlog.
project management
The planning, delegating, monitoring and control of all aspects of the project, and the motivation of those involved, to achieve the project objectives within the expected performance targets for time, cost, quality, scope, benefits and risk.
acceptance
The formal act of acknowledging that the project has met agreed acceptance criteria and thereby met the requirements of its stakeholders.
inherent risk
The exposure arising from a specific risk before any action has been taken to manage it.
handover
The transfer of ownership of a set of products to the respective user(s). The set of products is known as a release. There may be more than one handover in the life of a project (phased delivery). The final handover takes place in the closing a project process.
product checklist
A list of the major products of a plan, plus key dates in their delivery.
schedule
A graphical representation of a plan (e.g. a Gantt chart), typically describing a sequence of tasks, together with resource allocations, which collectively deliver the plan. In PRINCE2, project activities should be documented only in the schedules associated with a project plan, stage plan or team plan. Actions that are allocated from day-to-day management may be documented in the relevant project log (i.e. risk register, daily log, issue register or quality register) if they do not require significant activity.
variant
A variation of a baselined product. For example, an operations manual may have English and Spanish variants.
product description
A description of a product’s purpose, composition, derivation and quality criteria. It is produced at planning time, as soon as possible after the need for the product is identified.
constraints
The restrictions or limitations by which the project is bound.
risk owner
A named individual who is responsible for the management, monitoring and control of all aspects of a particular risk assigned to them, including the implementation of the selected responses to address the threats or to maximize the opportunities.
end stage assessment
The review by the project board and project manager of the end stage report to decide whether to approve the next stage plan. Depending on the size and criticality of the project, the review may be formal or informal. The authority to proceed should be documented as a formal record.
residual risk
The risk remaining after the risk response has been applied.
risk appetite
An organization’s unique attitude towards risk-taking that in turn dictates the amount of risk that it considers acceptable.
outcome
The result of change, normally affecting real-world behaviour and/or circumstances. Outcomes are desired when a change is conceived. They are achieved as a result of the activities undertaken to effect the change.
product status account
A report on the status of products. The required products can be specified by identifier or the part of the project in which they were developed.
end stage report
A report given by the project manager to the project board at the end of each management stage of the project. This provides information about the project’s performance during the management stage and the project status at the management stage end.
risk actionee
A nominated owner of an action to address a risk. Some actions may not be within the remit of the risk owner to control explicitly; in that situation there should be a nominated owner of the action to address the risk. He or she will need to keep the risk owner apprised of the situation.
quality
The degree to which a set of inherent characteristics of a product, service, process, person, organization, system or resource fulfils requirements.
share (risk response)
A risk response to either a threat or an opportunity through the application of a pain/gain formula: both parties share the gain (within pre-agreed limits) if the cost is less than the cost plan, and both share the pain (again within pre-agreed limits) if the cost plan is exceeded.
probability
This is the evaluated likelihood of a particular threat or opportunity actually happening, including a consideration of the frequency with which this may arise.
Scrum
An iterative, timeboxed approach to product delivery that is described as ‘a framework within which people can address complex adaptive problems, while productively and creatively delivering products of the highest possible value’ (Schwaber and Sutherland, 2016).
asset
An item, thing or entity that has potential or actual value to an organization [ISO 55000:2014].
corporate, programme management or customer standards
These are overarching standards to which the project must adhere. They will influence the four project approaches (communication management, change control, quality management and risk management) and the project controls.
exception plan
A plan that often follows an exception report. For a stage plan exception, it covers the period from the present to the end of the current management stage. If the exception were at project level, the project plan would be replaced.
supplier
The person, group or groups responsible for the supply of the project’s specialist products.
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. Cost tolerance is documented in the respective plan. See also tolerance.
business case
The justification for an organizational activity (project), which typically contains timescales, costs, benefits and risks, and against which continuing viability is tested.
quality control
The process of monitoring specific project results to determine whether they comply with relevant standards and of identifying ways to eliminate causes of unsatisfactory performance.
team manager
The person responsible for the production of products allocated by the project manager (as defined in a work package) to an appropriate quality, timescale and at a cost acceptable to the project board. This role reports to, and takes direction from, the project manager. If a team manager is not assigned, the project manager undertakes the responsibilities of the team manager role.
scope
For a plan, the sum total of its products and the extent of their requirements. It is described by the product breakdown structure for the plan and associated product descriptions.
risk management
The systematic application of principles, approaches and processes to the tasks of identifying and assessing risks, planning and implementing risk responses and communicating risk management activities with stakeholders.
configuration management system
The set of processes, tools and databases that are used to manage configuration data. Typically, a project will use the configuration management system of either the customer or supplier organization.
Scrum master
A Scrum role that is responsible for ensuring Scrum is understood and enacted and that the Scrum team adheres to Scrum theory, practice and rules.
project office
A temporary office set up to support the delivery of a specific change initiative being delivered as a project. If used, the project office undertakes the responsibility of the project support role.
configuration item record
A record that describes the status, version and variant of a configuration item, and any details of important relationships between them.
planning horizon
The period of time for which it is possible to plan accurately.
governance (corporate)
The ongoing activity of maintaining a sound system of internal control by which the directors and officers of an organization ensure that effective management systems, including financial monitoring and control systems, have been put in place to protect assets, earning capacity and the reputation of the organization.
end project report
A report given by the project manager to the project board, confirming the handover of all products. It provides an updated business case and an assessment of how well the project has done against the original PID.
responsible authority
The person or group commissioning the project (typically corporate, programme management or the customer) who has the authority to commit resources and funds on behalf of the commissioning organization.
project initiation notification
Advice from the project board to inform all stakeholders and the host sites that the project is being initiated and to request any necessary logistical support (e.g. communication facilities, equipment and any project support) sufficient for the initiation stage.
avoid (risk response)
A risk response to a threat where the threat either can no longer have an impact or can no longer happen.
theme
An aspect of project management that needs to be continually addressed, and that requires specific treatment for the PRINCE2 processes to be effective.
quality management
The coordinated activities to direct and control an organization with regard to quality.
quality register
A register containing summary details of all planned and completed quality activities. The quality register is used by the project manager and project assurance as part of reviewing progress.
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 corporate, programme management or the customer).
risk register
A record of identified risks relating to an initiative, including their status and history.
follow-on action recommendations
Recommended actions related to unfinished work, ongoing issues and risks, and any other activities needed to take a product to the next phase of its life. These are summarized and included in the end stage report (for phased handover) and end project report.
daily log
A log used to record problems/concerns that can be handled by the project manager informally.
specialist product
A product whose development is the subject of the plan. The specialist products are specific to an individual project (e.g. an advertising campaign, a car park ticketing system, foundations for a building or a new business process). Also known as a deliverable. See also output.
host site
A location where project work is being undertaken (e.g. an office or construction site).
maturity model
A method of assessing organizational capability in a given area of skill.
project initiation documentation (PID)
A logical set of documents that brings together the key information needed to start the project on a sound basis and that conveys the information to all concerned with the project.
highlight report
A time-driven report from the project manager to the project board on management stage progress.
time tolerance
The permissible deviation in a plan’s time that is allowed before the deviation needs to be escalated to the next level of management. Time tolerance is documented in the respective plan. See also tolerance.
acceptance criteria
A prioritized list of criteria that the project product must meet before the customer will accept it (i.e. measurable definitions of the attributes required for the set of products to be acceptable to key stakeholders).
scope tolerance
The permissible deviation in a plan’s scope that is allowed before the deviation needs to be escalated to the next level of management. Scope tolerance is documented in the respective plan in the form of a note or reference to the product breakdown structure for that plan. See tolerance.
planned closure
The PRINCE2 activity to close a project.
information radiator
A general term used to describe the use of walls or boards containing information that can be readily accessed by people working on the project. It can contain any information, although it would typically show such things as work to do and how work is progressing.
change control approach
A description of how and by whom the project’s products will be controlled and protected.
reports
Management products providing a snapshot of the status of certain aspects of the project.
quality review
See quality inspection.
release
The set of products in a handover. The contents of a release are managed, tested and deployed as a single entity. See also handover.
customer’s quality expectations
A statement about the quality expected from the project product, captured in the project product description.