PMP Definitions Flashcards
1
Q
A set of conditions that is required to be met before deliverables are accepted.
A
Acceptance Criteria
2
Q
Products, results, or capabilities produced by a project and validated by the project customer or sponsors as meeting their specified acceptance criteria.
A
Accepted Deliverables
3
Q
Within the quality management system, this is an assessment of correctness.
A
Accuracy
4
Q
The process of confirming human resource availability and obtaining the team necessary to complete project activities.
A
Acquire Project Team
5
Q
Obtaining human and material resources necessary to perform project activities. This implies a cost of resources, and is not necessarily financial.
A
Acquisition
6
Q
A distinct, scheduled portion of work performed during the course of a project.
A
Activity
7
Q
Multiple attributes associated with each scheduled activity that can be included within the activity list. These include activity codes, predecessor activities, successor activities, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, imposed dates, constraints, and assumptions.
A
Activity Attributes
8
Q
One or more numerical or text values that identify characteristics of the work or in some way categorize the schedule activity that allows filtering and ordering of activities within reports.
A
Activity Code
9
Q
The projected cost of the schedule activity that includes the cost of all resources required to perform and complete the activity, including all cost types and cost components.
A
Activity Cost Estimates
10
Q
The time in calendar units between the start and finish of a schedule activity.
A
Activity Duration
11
Q
The quantitative assessments of the likely number of time periods that are required to complete an activity.
A
Activity Duration Estimates
12
Q
A short, unique numeric or text identification assigned to each schedule activity to differentiate that project activity from other activities. Typically unique within any one project schedule network diagram.
A
Activity Identifier
13
Q
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.
A
Activity List
14
Q
The types and quantities of resources required for each activity in a work package.
A
Activity Resource Requirements
15
Q
The realized cost incurred for the work performed on an activity during a specific time period.
A
Actual Cost (AC)
16
Q
The time in calendar units between the actual start date of the schedule activity and either the data date of the project schedule if the schedule activity is in progress or the actual finish date if the schedule activity is complete.
A
Actual Duration
17
Q
A project life cycle, also known as change-driven or agile methods, that is intended to facilitate change and require a high degree of ongoing stakeholder involvement. These life cycles are also iterative and incremental, but differ in that iterations are very rapid (usually 2-4 weeks in length) and are fixed in time and resources.
A
Adaptive Life Cycle
18
Q
A set of tools used to define the quality requirements and to plan effective quality management activities. They include, but are not limited to: brainstorming, force field analysis, nominal group techniques and quality management and control tools.
A
Additional Quality Planning Tools
19
Q
A technique used to find ways to bring project activities that are behind into alignment with plan during project execution.
A
Adjusting Leads and Lags
20
Q
The process of calling public attention to a project or effort.
A
Advertising
21
Q
A group creativity technique that allows large numbers of ideas to be classified into groups for review and analysis.
A
Affinity Diagram
22
Q
Any document or communication that defines the initial intentions of a project. This can take the form of a contract, memorandum of understanding (MOU), letters of agreement, verbal agreements, email, etc.
A
Agreements
23
Q
A technique used to evaluate identified options in order to select which options or approaches to use to execute and perform the work of a project.
A
Alternative Analysis
24
Q
A technique used to develop as many potential options as possible in order to identify different approaches to execute and perform the work of a project.
A
Alternatives Generation
25
A technique used for estimating the duration or cost of an activity or a project using historical data from a similar activity or project.
Analogous Estimating
26
Various techniques used to evaluate, analyze, or forecast potential outcomes based on possible variations of project or environmental variables and their relationships with other variables.
Analytical Techniques
27
A category of projects that have common components significant in such projects, but are not needed or present in all projects. These are usually defined in terms of either the product (i.e., by similar technologies or production methods) or the type of customer (i.e., internal versus external, government versus commercial) or industry sector (i.e., utilities, automotive, aerospace, information technologies, etc.). These can overlap.
Application Areas
28
A technique that is used to adjust the amount of time between predecessor and successor activities.
Applying Leads and Lags
29
An activity where effort is allotted proportionately across certain discrete efforts and not divisible into discrete efforts.
Apportioned Effort
30
A change request that has been processed through the integrated change control process and approved.
Approved Change Request
31
A review of the change requests to verify that these were implemented as approved.
Approved Change Requests Review
32
A factor in the planning process that is considered to be true, real, or certain, without proof or demonstration.
Assumption
33
A technique that explores the accuracy of assumptions and identifies risks to the project from inaccuracy, inconsistency, or incompleteness of assumptions.
Assumptions Analysis
34
Method of measuring quality that consists of noting the presence (or absence) of some characteristic (attribute) in each of the units under consideration. After each unit is inspected, the decision is made to accept a lot, reject it, or inspect another unit.
Attribute Sampling
35
The right to apply project resources, expend funds, make decisions, or give approvals.
Authority
36
A listing of product requirements and deliverables to be completed, written as stories, and prioritized by the business to manage and organize the project's work.
Backlog
37
A critical path method technique for calculating the late start and late finish dates by working backward through the schedule model from the project end date.
Backward Pass
38
A graphic display of schedule-related information. Schedule activities or work breakdown structure 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.
Bar Chart
39
The approved version of a work product that can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison.
Baseline
40
Supporting documentation outlining the details used in establishing project estimates such as assumptions, constraints, level of detail, ranges, and confidence levels.
Basis of Estimates
41
The comparison of actual or planned practices, such as processes and operations, to those of comparable organizations to identify best practices, generate ideas for improvement, and provide a basis for measuring performance.
Benchmarking
42
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 known as contractor conferences, vendor conferences, or pre-bid conferences.
Bidder Conferences
43
A method of estimating project duration or cost by aggregating the estimates of the lower-level components of the work breakdown structure (WBS).
Bottom-Up Estimating
44
A general data gathering and creativity technique that can be used to identify risks, ideas, or solutions to issues by using a group of team members or subject matter experts.
Brainstorming
45
The sum of all budgets estimated for the work to be performed.
Budget at Completion (BAC)
46
A documented economic feasibility study used to establish 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
47
A concept that is unique to each organization and includes tangible and intangible elements. Through the effective use of project, program, and portfolio management disciplines, organizations will possess the ability to employ reliable, established processes to meet enterprise objectives and obtain greater business value from their investments.
Business Value
48
The acquirer of products, services, or results for an organization.
Buyer
49
A decomposition technique that helps trace an undesirable effect back to its root cause.
Cause and Effect Diagram
50
A property of the central limit theorem predicting that the data observations in a distribution will tend to group around a central location. The three typical measures are the mean, median, and mode.
Central Tendency
51
A process whereby modifications to documents, deliverables, or baselines associated with the project are identified, documented, approved, or rejected.
Change Control
52
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)
53
A set of procedures that describes how modifications to the project deliverables and documentation are managed and controlled.
Change Control System
54
Manual or automated tools to assist with change and/or configuration management. At a minimum, the tools should support the activities of the CCB.
Change Control Tools
55
A comprehensive list of changes made during the project. This typically includes dates of the change and impacts in terms of time, cost, and risk.
Change Log
56
A formal proposal to modify any document, deliverable, or baseline.
Change Request
57
A technique for systematically reviewing materials using a list for accuracy and completeness.
Checklist Analysis
58
A tally sheet that can be used as a checklist when gathering data.
Checksheets
59
A request, demand, or assertion of rights by a seller against a buyer, or vice versa, for consideration, compensation, or payment under the terms of a legally binding contract, such as for a disputed change.
Claim
60
The process of processing, adjudicating, and communicating contract claims.
Claims Administration
61
The process of completing each project procurement.
Close Procurements
62
The process of finalizing all activities across all of the Project Management Process Groups to formally complete a project or phase.
Close Project or Phase
63
Project contracts or other procurement agreements that have been formally acknowledged by the proper authorizing agent as being finalized and signed off.
Closed Procurements
64
Those processes performed to finalize all activities across all Process Groups to formally close a project or phase.
Closing Process Group
65
A numbering system used to uniquely identify each component of the work breakdown structure (WBS).
Code of Accounts
66
The process of determining, documenting, and managing stakeholder needs and requirements to meet project objectives.
Collect Requirements
67
An organizational placement strategy where the project team members are physically located close to one another in order to improve communication, working relationships, and productivity.
Colocation
68
Restrictions on the content, timing, audience, or individual who will deliver a communication usually stemming from specific legislation or regulation, technology, or organizational policies.
Communication Constraints
69
A systematic procedure, technique, or process used to transfer information among project stakeholders.
Communication Methods
70
A description, analogy or schematic used to represent how the communication process will be performed for the project.
Communication Models
71
An analytical technique to determine the information needs of the project stakeholder interviews, workshops, study of lessons learned from previous projects, etc.
Communication Requirements Analysis
72
Specific tools, systems, computer programs, etc., used to transfer information among project stakeholders.
Communication Technology
73
A component of the project, program, or portfolio management plan that describes how, when, and by whom information about the project will be administered and disseminated.
Communications Management Plan
74
A general concept of conforming to a rule, standard, law, or requirement such that the assessment of compliance results in a binomial result stated as "compliant" or "noncompliant."
Compliance
75
The process of obtaining seller responses, selecting a seller, and awarding a contract.
Conduct Procurements
76
A subsystem of the overall project management system. It is a collection of formal documented procedures used to apply technical and administrative direction and surveillance to: identify and document the functional and physical characteristics of a product, result, service, or component: control any changes to such characteristics; record and report each change and its implementation status; and support the audit of products, results, or components to verify conformance to requirements. It includes the documentation, tracking systems, and defined approval level necessary for authorizing and controlling changes.
Configuration Management System
77
Handling, controlling, and guiding a conflictual situation to achieve a resolution.
Conflict Management
78
Within the quality management system, this is a general concept of delivering results that fall within the limits that define acceptable variation for a quality requirement.
Conformance
79
In the cost of quality framework, conformance work is done to compensate for imperfections that prevent organizations from completing planned activities correctly as essential first-time work. This consists of action that are related to prevention and inspection.
Conformance Work
80
A limiting factor that affects the execution of a project, program, portfolio, or process.
Constraint
81
A visual depiction of the product scope showing a business system (process, equipment, computer system, etc.) and how people and other systems (actors) interact with it.
Context Diagrams
82
An event or occurrence that could affect the execution of the project that may be accounted for with a reserve.
Contingency
83
Budget within the cost baseline or performance measurement baseline that is allocated for identified risks that are accepted and for which contingent or mitigating responses are developed.
Contingency Reserve
84
Responses provided which may be used in the event that a specific trigger occurs.
Contingent Response Strategies.
85
A contract is a mutually binding agreement that obligates the seller to provide the specified product or service or result and obligates the buyer to pay for it.
Contract
86
The system used to collect, track, adjudicate, and communicate changes to a contract.
Contract Change Control System
87
Comparing actual performance with planned performance, analyzing variances, assessing trends to effect process improvements, evaluating possible alternatives, and recommending appropriate corrective action as needed.
Control
88
A management control point where scope, budget, actual cost, and schedule are integrated and compared to earned value for performance measurement.
Control Account
89
A graphic display of process data over time and against established control limits, which has a centerline that assists in detecting a trend of plotted values toward their control limit.
Control Chart
90
The process of monitoring and controlling communications throughout the entire project life cycle to ensure the information needs of the project stakeholders are met.
Control Communications.
91
The process of monitoring the status of the project to update the project costs and managing changes to the cost baseline.
Control Costs
92
The area composed of three standard deviations on either side of the centerline or mean of a normal distribution of data plotted on a control chart, which reflects the expected variation in the data.
Control Limits
93
The process of managing procurement relationships, monitoring contract performance, and making changes and corrections as appropriate.
Control Procurements
94
The process of monitoring and recording results of executing the quality activities to assess performance and recommend necessary changes.
Control Quality
95
The process of implementing risk response plans, tracking identified risks, monitoring residual risks, identifying new risks, and evaluating risk process effectiveness throughout the project.
Control Risks
96
The process of monitoring the status of project activities to update project progress and manage changes to the schedule baseline to achieve the plan.
Control Schedule
97
The process of monitoring the status of the project and product scope and managing changes to the scope baseline.
Control Scope
98
The process of monitoring overall project stakeholder relationships and adjusting strategies and plans for engaging stakeholders.
Control Stakeholder Engagement
99
An intentional activity that realigns the performance of the project work with the project management plan.
Corrective Action
100
Summing the lower-level cost estimates associated with the various work packages for a given level within the project's WBS or for a given cost control account.
Cost Aggregation
101
The approved version of the time-phased project budget, excluding any management reserves, which can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison to actual results.
Cost Baseline
102
A component of a project or program management plan that describes how costs will be planned, structured, and controlled.
Cost Management Plan
103
A method of determining the costs incurred to ensure quality. Prevention and appraisal costs (cost of conformance) include costs for quality planning, quality control (QC), and quality assurance to ensure compliance to requirements (i.e., training, QC systems, etc.). Failure costs (cost of nonconformance) include costs to rework products, components, or processes that are non-compliant, costs of warranty work and waste, and loss of reputation.
Cost of Quality (COQ)
104
A measure of the cost efficiency of budgeted resources expressed as the ratio of earned value to actual cost.
Cost Performance Index (CPI)
105
A category of contract that involves payments to the seller for all legitimate actual costs incurred for completed work, plus an award fee representing seller profit.
Cost Plus Award Fee Contract (CPAF)
106
A type of cost-reimbursable contract where the buyer reimburses the seller for the seller's allowable costs (allowable costs are defined by the contract), and the seller earns its profit if it meets defined performance criteria.
Cost Plus Incentive Fee Contract (CPIF)
107
The amount of budget deficit or surplus at a given point in time, expressed as the difference between the earned value and the actual cost.
Cost Variance (CV)
108
A financial analysis tool used to determine the benefits provided by a project against its costs.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
109
A type of contract involving payment to the seller for the seller's actual costs, plus a fee typically representing seller's profit. Cost-reimbursable contracts often include incentive clauses where, if the seller meets or exceeds selected project objectives, such as schedule targets or total cost, then the seller receives from the buyer an incentive or bonus payment.
Cost-Reimbursable Contract
110
A technique used to shorten the schedule duration for the least incremental cost by adding resources.
Crashing
111
The process of subdividing project deliverables and work into smaller, more manageable components.
Create WBS
112
Standards, rules, or tests on which a judgement or decision can be based or by which a product, service, result, or process can be evaluated.
Criteria
113
A schedule method that allows the project team to place buffers on a any project schedule path to account for limited resources and project uncertainties.
Critical Chain Method
114
The sequence of activities that represents the longest path through a project, which determines the shortest possible duration.
Critical Path
115
Any activity on the critical path in a project schedule.
Critical Path Activity
116
A method used to estimate the minimum project duration and determine the amount of scheduling flexibility on the logical network paths within the schedule model.
Critical Path Method (CPM)
117
The person(s) or organization(s) that will pay for the project's product, service, or result. They can be internal or external to the performing organization.
Customer
118
Within the quality management system, a state of fulfillment in which the needs of a customer are met or exceeded for the customer's expected experiences as assessed by the customer at the moment of evaluation.
Customer Satisfaction
119
A point in time when the status of the project is recorded.
Data Date
120
Techniques used to collect, organize, and present data and information.
Data Gathering and Representation Techniques
121
A diagramming and calculation technique for evaluating the implications of a chain of multiple options in the presence of uncertainty.
Decision Tree Analysis
122
A technique used for dividing and subdividing the project scope and project deliverables into smaller, more manageable parts.
Decomposition
123
An imperfection or deficiency in a project component where that component does not meet its requirements or specifications and needs to be either repaired or replaced.
Defect
124
An intentional activity to modify a nonconforming product or product component.
Defect Repair
125
The process of identifying and documenting the specific actions to be performed to produce the project deliverables.
Define Activities
126
The process of developing a detailed description of the project and product.
Define Scope
127
Any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability to perform a service that is required to be produced to complete a process, phase, or project.
Deliverable
128
An information gathering technique used as a way to reach a consensus of experts on a subject. Experts on the subject participate in this technique anonymously. A facilitator uses a questionnaire to solicit ideas about the important project points related to the subject. The responses are summarized and are then recirculated to the experts for further comment. Consensus may be reached in a few rounds of this process. This technique helps reduce bias in the data and keeps any one person from having undue influence on the outcome.
Delphi Technique
129
A technique used to identify the type of dependency that is used to create the logical relationships between predecessor and successor activities.
Dependency Determination
130
A statistical method for identifying which factors may influence specific variables of a product or process under development or in production.
Design of Experiments
131
The process of aggregating the estimated costs of individual activities or work packages to establish an authorized cost baseline.
Determine Budget
132
The process of developing a document that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational research to project activities.
Develop Project Charter
133
The process of defining, preparing, and coordinating all subsidiary plans and integrating them into a comprehensive project management plan.
Develop Project Management Plan
134
The process of improving consistencies, team member interaction, and overall team environment to enhance project performance.
Develop Project Team
135
The process of analyzing activity sequences, durations, resource assignments, and schedule constraints to create the project schedule model.
Develop Schedule
136
Approaches to presenting information with logical linkages that aid in understanding.
Diagramming Techniques
137
A group decision-making technique in which one individual makes the decision for the group.
Dictatorship
138
The process of leading and performing the work defined in the project management plan and implementing approved changes to achieve the project's objectives.
Direct and Manage Project Work
139
An activity that can be planned and measured and that yields a specific output. (Note: This is one of three earned value management (EVM) types of activities used to measure work performance).
Discrete Effort
140
A relationship that is established based on knowledge of best practices within a particular application area or an aspect of the project where a specific sequence is desired.
Discretionary Dependency
141
An elicitation technique that analyzes existing documentation and identifies information relevant to the requirements.
Document Analysis
142
The process of gathering a corpus of information and reviewing it to determine accuracy and completeness.
Documentation Reviews
143
The total number of work periods (not including holidays or other nonworking periods) required to complete a schedule activity or work breakdown structure component. Usually expressed as workdays or workweeks. Sometimes incorrectly equated with elapsed time.
Duration (DU or DUR)
144
In the critical path method, the earliest possible point in time when the uncompleted portions of a schedule activity can finish based on the schedule network logic, the data date, and any schedule constraints.
Early Finish Date (EF)
145
In the critical path method, the earliest possible point in time when the uncompleted portions of a schedule activity can start based on the schedule network logic, the data date, and any schedule constraints.
Early Start Date (ES)
146
The measure of work performed expressed in terms of the budget authorized for that work.
Earned Value (EV)
147
A methodology that combines scope, schedule, and resource measurements to assess project performance and progress.
Earned Value Management
148
The number of labor units required to complete a schedule activity or work breakdown structure component, often expressed in hours, days, or weeks.
Effort
149
The capability to identify, assess, and manage the personal emotions of oneself and other people, as well as the collective emotions of groups of people.
Emotional Intelligence
150
Conditions, not under the immediate control of the team, that influence, constrain, or direct the project, program, or portfolio.
Enterprise Environmental Factors
151
A quantitative assessment of the likely amount or outcome. Usually applies to project costs, resources, effort, and durations and is usually proceeded by a modifier (i.e. preliminary, conceptual, feasibility, order-of-magnitude, definitive). It should always include some indication of accuracy (e.g., +/- x percent).
Estimate
152
The process of estimating the number of work periods needed to complete individual activities and estimated resources.
Estimate Activity Durations
153
The process of estimating the type and quantities of material, human resources, equipment, or supplies required to perform each activity.
Estimate Activity Resources
154
The expected total cost of completing all work expressed in terms of the monetary resources needed to complete project activities.
Estimate at Completion (EAC)
155
The process of developing an approximation of the monetary resources needed to complete project activities.
Estimate Costs
156
The expected cost to finish all the remaining project work.
Estimate to Complete (ETC)
157
Directing, managing, performing, and accomplishing the project work; providing the deliverables; and providing work performance mitigation.
Execute
158
Those processes performed to complete the work defined in the project management plan to satisfy the project specifications.
Executing Process Group
159
A statistical technique that calculates the average outcome when the future includes scenarios that may or may not happen. A common use of this technique is within decision tree analysis.
Expected Monetary Value (EMV) Analysis
160
Judgment provided based upon expertise in an application area, knowledge area, discipline, industry, etc., as appropriate for the activity being performed. Such expertise may be provided by any group or person with specialized education, knowledge, skill, experience, or training.
Expert Judgment
161
A relationship between project activities and non-project activities.
External Dependency
162
An elicitation technique using focused sessions that bring key cross-functional stakeholders together to define product requirements.
Facilitated Workshops
163
An analytical procedure in which each potential failure mode in every component of a product is analyzed to determine its effect on the reliability of that component and, by itself or in combination with other possible failure modes, on the reliability of the product or system and on the required function of the component; or the examination of a product (at the system and/or lower levels) for all ways that a failure may occur. For each potential failure, an estimate is made of its effect on the total system and of its impact. In addition, a review is undertaken of the action planned to minimize the probability of failure and to minimize its effects.
Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA)
164
Plans that include an alternative set of actions and tasks available in the event that the primary plan needs to be abandoned because of issues, risks, or other causes.
Fallback Plan
165
A schedule compression technique in which activities or phases normally done in sequence are performed in parallel for at least a portion of their duration.
Fast Tracking
166
Represents profit as a component of compensation to a seller.
Fee
167
A point in time associated with a schedule activity's completion. Usually qualified by one of the following: actual, planned, estimated, scheduled, early, late, baseline, target, or current.
Finish Date
168
A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor activity has finished.
Finish-to-Finish (FF)
169
A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has finished.
Finish-to-Start (FS)
170
A type of fixed price contract where the buyer pays the seller a set amount (as defined by the contract), regardless of the seller's costs.
Firm-Fixed-Price Contract (FFP)
171
An earned value method for assigning a specified percentage of budget value for a work package to the start milestone of the work package with the remaining budget value percentage assigned when the work package is complete.
Fixed Formula Method
172
A type of contract where the buyer pays the seller a set amount (as defined by the contract), and the seller can earn an additional amount if the seller meets defined performance criteria.
Fixed Price Incentive Fee Contract (FPIF)
173
A fixed-price contract, but with a special provision allowing for predefined adjustments to the contract price due to changed conditions, such as inflation changes, or cost increases (or decreases) for specific commodities.
Fixed Price with Economic Price Adjustment Contract (FP-EPA)
174
An agreement that sets the fee that will be paid for a defined scope of work regardless of the cost or effort to deliver it.
Fixed-Price Contract
175
Also called slack.
Float
176
The depiction in a diagram format of the inputs, process actions, and outputs of one or more processes within a system.
Flowchart
177
An elicitation technique that brings together prequalified stakeholders and subject matter experts to learn about their expectations and attitudes about a proposed product, service, or result.
Focus Groups
178
An estimate or prediction of conditions and events in the project's future based on information and knowledge. The information is based on the project's past performance and expected future performance, and includes information that could impact the project in the future, such as estimate of completion and estimate to complete.
Forecast
179
A critical path method technique for calculating the early start and early finish dates by working forward through the schedule model from the project start date or a given point in time.
Forward Pass
180
The amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of any successor or violating a schedule constraint.
Free Float
181
Someone with management authority over an organizational unit within a functional organization. The manager of any group that actually makes a product or performs a service. Sometimes called a line manager.
Functional Manager
182
A hierarchical organization where each employee has one clear superior, and staff are grouped by areas of specialization and managed by a person with expertise in that area.
Functional Organization
183
The process of comparing the planned expenditure of project funds against any limits on the commitment of funds for the project to identify any variances between the funding limits and the planned expenditures.
Funding Limit Reconciliation
184
A bar chart of schedule information where activities are listed on the vertical axis, dates are shown on the horizontal axis, and the activity durations are shown as horizontal bars placed according to start and finish dates.
Gantt Chart
185
A category or rank used to distinguish items that have the same functional use (e.g., "hammer") but do not share the same requirements for quality (e.g., different hammers may need to withstand different amounts of force).
Grade
186
Expectations regarding acceptable behavior by project team members.
Ground Rules
187
Techniques that are used to generate ideas within a group of stakeholders.
Group Creativity Techniques
188
Techniques to assess multiple alternatives that will be used to generate, classify, and prioritize product requirements.
Group Decision-Making Techniques
189
An official recommendation or advice that indicates policies, standards, or procedures for how something should be accomplished.
Guideline
190
A special form of bar chart used to describe the central tendency, dispersion, and shape of a statistical distribution.
Histogram
191
Documents and data on prior projects including project files, records, correspondence, closed contracts, and closed projects.
Historical Information
192
A component of the project management plan that describes how the roles and responsibilities, reporting relationships, and staff management and will be addressed and structured.
Human Resource Management Plan
193
Technique used to consolidate ideas created through individual brainstorming sessions into a single map to reflect commonality and differences in understanding and to generate new ideas.
Idea/Mind Mapping
194
The process of determining which risks may affect the project and documenting their characteristics.
Identify Risks
195
The process of identifying the people, groups, or organizations that could impact or be impacted by a decision, activity, or outcome of the project; and analyzing and documenting relevant information regarding their interests, involvement, interdependencies, influence, and potential impact on project success.
Identify Stakeholders
196
A fixed date imposed on a schedule activity or schedule milestone, usually in the form of a "start no earlier than" date
Imposed Date
197
A set of financial incentives related to cost, schedule, or technical performance of the seller.
Incentive Fee
198
A project life cycle where the project scope is generally determined early in the project life cycle, but time and cost estimates are routinely modified as the project team's understanding of the product increases. Iterations develop the product through a series of repeated cycles, while increments successively add to the functionality of the product.
Incremental Life Cycle
199
A process of using a third party to obtain and analyze information to support prediction of cost, schedule, or other items.
Independent Estimates
200
A graphical representation of situations showing casual influences, time ordering of events, and other relationships among variables and outcomes.
Influence Diagram
201
Repeatable processes used to assemble and organize data across a spectrum of sources.
Information Gathering Techniques
202
Facilities, processes, and procedures used to collect, store, and distribute information between producers and consumers of information in physical or electronic format.
Information Management Systems
203
Those processes performed to define a new project or a new phase of an existing project by obtaining authorization to start the project or phase.
Initiating Process Group
204
Any item, whether internal or external to the project that is required by a process before that process proceeds. May be an output from a predecessor process.
Input
205
Examining or measuring to verify whether an activity, component, product, result, or service conforms to specified requirements.
Inspection
206
A process to observe performance of contracted work or a promised product against agreed-upon requirements.
Inspections and Audits
207
Ability to establish and maintain relationships with other peole.
Interpersonal Skills
208
A quality management planning tool, the interrelationship digraphs provide a process for creative problem-solving in moderately complex scenarios that possess intertwined logical relationships.
Interrelationship Digraphs
209
A formal or informal approach to elicit information from stakeholders by talking to them directly.
Interviews
210
Generally, this term is equivalent to request for proposal. However, in some application areas, it may have a narrower or more specific meaning.
Invitation for Bid (IFB)
211
A point or matter in question or in dispute, or a point or matter that is not settled and is under discussion or over which there are opposing views or disagreements.
Issue
212
A project document used to document and monitor elements under discussion or in dispute between project stakeholders.
Issue Log
213
A project life cycle where the project scope is generally determined early in the project life cycle, but time and cost estimates are routinely modified as the project team's understanding of the product increases. Iterations develop the product through a series of repeated cycles, while increments successively add to the functionality of the product.
Iterative LIfe Cycle
214
The amount of time whereby a successor activity is required to be delayed with respect to a predecessor activity.
Lag
215
In the critical path method, the latest possible point in time when the uncompleted portions of a schedule activity can finish based on the schedule network logic, the project completion date, and any schedule constraints.
Late Finish Date (LF)
216
In the critical path method, the latest possible point in time when the uncompleted portions of a schedule activity can start based on the schedule network logic, project completion date, and any schedule constraints.
Late Start Date (LS)
217
The amount of time whereby a successor activity can be advanced with respect to a predecessor activity.
Lead
218
The knowledge gained during a project which shows how project events were addressed or should be addressed in the future with the purpose of improving future performance.
Lessons Learned
219
A store of historical information and lessons learned about both the outcomes of previous project selection decisions and previous project performance.
Lessons Learned Knowledge Base
220
An activity that does not produce definitive end products and is measured by the passage of time (Note: One of the three earned value management (EVM) types of activities used to measure work performance).
Level of Effort (LOE)
221
A document used to record and describe or denote selected items identified during execution of a process or activity. Usually used with a modifier, such as issue, quality control, action, or defect.
Log
222
A dependency between two activities, or between an activity and a milestone.
Logical Relationship
223
Support from more than 50 percent of the members of the group.
Majority
224
The process of gathering and organizing data about product requirements and analyzing them against available alternatives including the purchase or internal manufacture of the product.
Make-or-Buy Analysis
225
Decisions made regarding the external purchase or internal manufacture of a product.
Make-or-Buy Decisions
226
The process of creating, collecting distributing, storing, retrieving, and the ultimate disposition of project information in accordance with the communications management plan.
Manage Communications
227
The process of tracking team member performance, providing feedback, resolving issues, and managing team changes to optimize project performance.
Manage Project Team
228
The process of communicating and working with stakeholders to meet their needs/expectations, address issues as they occur, and foster appropriate stakeholder engagement in project activities throughout the project life cycle.
Manage Stakeholder Engagement
229
An amount of the project budget withheld for management control purposes. These are budgets reserved for unforeseen work that is within scope of the project. This is not included in the performance measurement baseline (PMB).
Management Reserve
230
The ability to plan, organize, direct, and control individuals or groups of people to achieve specific goals.
Management Skills
231
A relationship that is contractually required or inherent in the nature of the work.
Mandatory Dependency
232
The process of gathering information at conferences, online reviews, and a variety of sources to identify market capabilities.
Market Research
233
A summary-level project schedule that identifies the major deliverables and work breakdown structure components and key schedule milestones.
Master Schedule
234
The aggregate of things used by an organization in undertaking, such as equipment, apparatus, tools, machinery, gear, and supplies.
Material
235
A quality management and control tool used to perform data analysis within the organizational structure created in the matrix. The matrix diagram seeks to show the strength of relationships between factors, causes, and objectives that exist between the rows and columns that form the matrix.
Matrix Diagrams
236
Any organizational structure in which the project manager shares responsibility with the functional managers for assigning priorities and for directing the work of persons assigned to the project.
Matrix Organization
237
A system of practices, techniques, procedures, and rules used by those who work in a discipline.
Methodology
238
A significant point or event in a project, program, or portfolio.
Milestone
239
A list identifying all project milestones and normally indicates whether the milestone is mandatory or optional.
Milestone List
240
A summary-level schedule that identifies the major schedule milestones.
Milestone Schedule
241
Collect project performance data with respect to a plan, produce performance measures, and report an disseminate performance information.
Monitor
242
The process of tracking, reviewing, and reporting the progress to meet the performance objectives defined in the project management plan.
Monitor and Control Project Work
243
Those processes required to track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project; identify any areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiate the corresponding changes.
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group
244
A process which generates hundreds of thousands of probable performance outcomes based on probability distributions for cost and schedule on individual tasks. The outcomes are then used to generate a probability distribution for the project as a whole.
Monte Carlo Simulation
245
An estimate of the most probable activity duration that takes into account all of the known variables that could affect performance.
Most Likely Duration
246
This technique utilizes a decision matrix to provide a systematic analytical approach for establishing criteria, such as risk levels, uncertainty, and valuation, to evaluate and rank many ideas.
Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis
247
A schedule activity that has low total float. The concept of near-critical is equally applicable to a schedule activity or schedule network path. The limit below which total float is considered near critical is subject to expert judgment and varies from project to project.
Near-Critical Activity
248
The process and activities to resolving disputes through consultations between involved parties.
Negotiation
249
The collection of schedule activity dependencies that makes up a project schedule network diagram.
Network Logic
250
Any continuous series of schedule activities connected with logical relationships in a project schedule network diagram.
Network Path
251
Establishing connections and relationships with other people from the same or other organizations.
Networking
252
One of the defining points of a schedule network; a junction point joined to some or all of the other dependency lines.
Node
253
A technique that enhances brainstorming with a voting process used to rank the most useful ideas for further brainstorming or prioritization.
Nominal Group Technique
254
In the cost of quality framework, this is done to deal with the consequences of errors and failures in doing activities correctly on the first attempt. In efficient quality management systems, the amount of this will approach zero.
Nonconformance Work
255
Something toward which work is to be directed, a strategic position to be attained, a purpose to be achieved, a result to be obtained, a product to be produced, or a service to be performed.
Objective
256
A technique that provides a direct way of viewing indivisuals in their environment performing their jobs or tasks and carrying out processes.
Observations
257
A risk that would have a positive effect on one or more project objectives.
Opportunity
258
An estimate of the shortest activity duration that takes into account all of the known variables that could affect performance.
Optimistic Duration
259
A hierarchical representation of the project organization that illustrates the relationship between project activities and the organizational units that will perform those activities.
Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS)
260
Plans, processes, policies, procedures, and knowledge bases that are specific to and used by the performing organization.
Organizational Process Assets
261
The level of an organization's ability to deliver the desired strategic outcomes in a predictable, controllable, and reliable manner.
Organizational Project Managemnet Maturity
262
A product, result, or service generated by a process. May be an input to a successor process.
Output
263
An estimating technique in which an algorithm is used to calculate cost or duration based on historical data and project parameters.
Parametric Estimating
264
A histogram, ordered by frequency of occurrence, that shows how many results were generated by each identified case.
Pareto Diagram
265
A relationship in which a schedule activity has more than one predecessor.
Path Convergence
266
A relationship in which a schedule activity has more than one successor.
Path Divergence
267
The system used to provide and track supplier's invoices and payments for services and products.
Payment Systems
268
An estimate expressed as a percent of the amount of work that has been completed on an activity or a work breakdown structure component.
Percent Complete
269
The process of reviewing all change requests; approving changes and managing changes to deliverables, organizational process assets, project documents, and the project management plan; and communicating their disposition.
Perform Integrated Change Control
270
The process of prioritizing risks for further analysis or action by assessing and combining their probability of occurrence and impact.
Performan Qualitative Risk Analysis
271
The process of auditing the quality requirements and the results from quality control measurements to ensure that appropriate quality standards and operational definitions are used.
Perform Quality Assurance
272
The process of numerically analyzing the effect of identified risks on overall project objectives.
Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
273
An approved, integrated scope-schedule-cost plan for the project work against which project execution is compared to measure and manage performance. This includes contingency reserve, but excludes management reserve.
Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB)
274
A technique that is used to measure, compare, and analyze actual performance of work in progress on the project against the baseline.
Performance Reviews
275
An enterprise whose personnel are most directly involved in doing the work of the project or program.
Performing Organization
276
Estimate of the longest activity duration that takes into account all of the known variables that could affect performance.
Pessimistic Duration
277
A review at the end of a phase in which a decision is made to continue to the next phase, to continue with modification, or to end a project or program.
Phase Gate
278
The process of developing an appropriate approach and plan for project communications based on stakeholder's information needs and requirements and available organizational assets.
Plan Communications Management
279
The process of establishing the policies, procedures, and documentation for planning, managing, expending, and controlling project costs.
Plan Cost Management
280
The process of identifying and documenting project roles, responsibilities, required skills, reporting relationships, and creating a staffing management plan.
Plan Human Resource Management
281
The process of documenting project procurement decisions, specifying the approach, and identifying potential sellers.
Plan Procurement Management
282
The process of identifying quality requirements and/or standards for the project and its deliverables, and documenting how the project will demonstrate compliance with quality requirements and/or standards.
Plan Quality Management
283
The process of defining how to conduct risk management activities for a project.
Plan Risk Management
284
The process of developing options and actions to enhance opportunities and to reduce threats to project objectives.
Plan Risk Responses
285
The process of establishing the policies, procedures, and documentation for planning, developing, managing, executing, and controlling the project schedule.
Plan Schedule Management
286
The process of creating a scope management plan that documents how the project scope will be defined, validated, and controlled.
Plan Scope Management
287
The process of developing appropriate management strategies to effectively engage stakeholders throughout the project life cycle, based on the analysis of their needs, interests, and potential impact on project success.
Plan Stakeholder Management
288
The authorized budget assigned to scheduled work.
Planned Value (PV)
289
A work breakdown structure component below the control account with known work content but without detailed schedule activities.
Planning Package
290
Those processes required to establish the scope of the project, refine the objectives, and define the course of action required to attain the objectives that the project was undertaken to achieve.
Planning Process Group
291
Decisions made by the largest block in a group, even if a majority is not achieved.
Plurality
292
A structured pattern of actions adopted by an organization such that the organization's policy can be explained as a set of basic principles that govern the organization's conduct.
Policy
293
Projects, programs, subportfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives.
Portfolio
294
The centralized management of one or more portfolios to achieve strategic objectives.
Portfolio Management
295
A specific type of professional or management activity that contributes to the execution of a process and that may employ one or more techniques and tools.
Practice
296
A technique used for constructing a schedule model in which activities are represented by nodes and are graphically linked by one or more logical relationships to show the sequence in which the activities are to be performed.
Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
297
The term used in the precedence diagramming method for a logical relationship. In current usage, however, these relationships, logical relationship, and dependency are widely used interchangeably, regardless of the diagramming method used.
Precedence Relationship
298
Within the quality management system, this is a measure of exactness.
Precision
299
An activity that logically comes before a dependent activity in a schedule.
Predecessor Activity
300
A form of project life cycle in which the project scope, and the time and cost required to deliver that scope, are determined as early in the life cycle as possible.
Predictive Life Cycle
301
An intentional activity that ensures the future performance of the project work is aligned with the project management plan.
Preventive Action
302
A quality management planning tool used to identify key issues and evaluate suitable alternatives to define a set of implementation priorities.
Prioritization Matrices
303
A grid for mapping the probability of each risk occurrence and its impact on project objectives if that risk occurs.
Probability and Impact Matrix
304
An established method of accomplishing a consistent performance or result, this can typically be described as the sequence of steps that will be used to execute a process.
Procedure
305
A systematic series of activities directed towards causing an end result such that one or more inputs will be acted upon to create one or more outputs.
Process
306
A process analysis follows the steps outlined in the process improvement plan to identify needed improvements.
Process Analysis
307
This is used to understand a goal in relation to the steps for getting to the goal.
Process Decision Program Charts (PDPC)
308
A subsidiary plan of the project management plan. It details the steps for analyzing processes to identify activities that enhance their value.
Process Improvement Plan
309
The reviews of contracts and contracting processes for completeness, accuracy, and effectiveness.
Procurement Audits
310
The documents utilized in bid and proposal activities, which include the buyer's Invitation for Bid, Invitation for Negotiations, Request for Information, Request for Quotation, Request for Proposal, and seller's responses.
Procurement Documents
311
A component of the project or program management plan that describes how a project team will acquire good and services from outside the performing organization.
Procurement Management Plan
312
A structured review of the seller's progress to deliver project scope and quality, within cost and on schedule, as compared to the contract.
Procurement Performance Reviews
313
Describes the procurement item in sufficient detail to allow prospective sellers to determine if they are capable of providing the products, services, or results.
Procurement Statement of Work
314
An artifact that is produced, is quantifiable, and can be either an end item in itself or a component item. Additional words for this are materials and goods.
Product
315
For projects that have a product as a deliverable, it is a tool to define scope that generally means asking questions about a product and forming answers to describe the use, characteristics, and other relevant aspects of what is going to be manufactured.
Product Analysis
316
The series of phases that represent the evolution of a product, from concept through delivery, growth, maturity, and to retirement.
Product Life Cycle
317
The features and functions that characterize a product, service, or result.
Product Scope
318
The documented narrative description of the product scope.
Product Scope Description
319
A group of related projects, subprograms, and program activities managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually.
Program
320
A technique for estimating that applies a weighted average of optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely estimates when there is uncertainty with the individual activity estimates.
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
321
The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to a program to meet the program requirements and to obtain benefits and control not available by managing projects individually.
Program Management
322
The iterative process of increasing the level of detail in a project management plan as greater amounts of information and more accurate estimates become available.
Progressive Elaboration
323
A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
Project
324
A variety of organizational forms that involve the creation of temporary systems for the performance of projects. These conduct the majority of their activities as projects and/or provide project over functional approaches.
Project-Based Organizations (PBOs)
325
A calendar that identifies working days and shifts that are available for schedule activities.
Project Calendar
326
A document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities.
Project Charter
327
This includes the processes that are required to ensure timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, control, monitoring, and the ultimate disposition of project information.
Project Communications Management
328
This includes the processes involved in planning, estimating, budgeting, financing, funding, managing, and controlling costs so that the project can be completed within the approved budget.
Project Cost Management
329
Forecast project costs to be paid that are derived from the cost baseline for total or periodic requirements, including projected expenditures plus anticipated liabilities.
Project Funding Requirements
330
The alignment of project objectives with the strategy of the larger organization by the project sponsor and project team. This is defined by and is required to fit within the larger context of the program or organization sponsoring it, but is separate from organizational governance.
Project Governance
331
This includes the processes that organize, manage, and lead the project team.
Project Human Resource Management
332
Launching a process that can result in the authorization of a new project.
Project Initiation
333
This includes the processes and activities to identify, define, combine, unify, and coordinate the various processes and project management activities within the Project Management Process Groups.
Project Integration Management
334
The series of phases that a project passes through from its initiation to its closure.
Project Life Cycle
335
The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.
Project Management
336
An inclusive term that describes the sum of knowledge within the profession of project management. As with other professions, such as law, medicine, and accounting, this rests with practitioners and academics that apply and advance it. It includes proven traditional practices that are widely applied and innovative practices that are emerging in the profession. It includes both published and unpublished materials. It is constantly evolving. It identifies a subset that is generally recognized as good practice.
Project Management Body of Knowledge
337
An information system consisting of the tools and techniques used to gather, integrate, and disseminate the outputs of project management processes. It is used to support all aspects of the project from initiating through closing, and can include both manual and automated systems.
Project Management Information System
338
An identified area of project management defined by its knowledge requirements and described in terms of its component processes, practices, inputs, outputs, tools, and techniques.
Project Management Knowledge Area
339
An organizational structure that standardizes the project-related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies, tools, and techniques.
Project Management Office (PMO)
340
The document that describes how the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled.
Project Management Plan
341
A logical grouping of project management inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs. These include initiating processes, planning processes, executing processes, monitoring and controlling processes, and closing processes. These are not project phases.
Project Management Process Group
342
The members of the project team who perform project management activities such as schedule, communications, risk management, etc.
Project Management Staff
343
The aggregation of the processes, tools, techniques, methodologies, resources, and procedures to manage a project.
Project Management System
344
The members of the project team who are directly involved in project management activities. On some smaller projects, this may include virtually all of the project team members.
Project Management Team
345
The person assigned by the performing organization to lead the team that is responsible for achieving the project objectives.
Project Manager (PM)
346
A document that graphically depicts the project team members and their interrelationships for a specific project.
Project Organization Chart
347
A collection of logically related project cultivates that culminates in the completion of one or more deliverables.
Project Phase
348
This includes the processes necessary to purchase or acquire products, services, or results needed from outside the project team.
Project Procurement Management
349
This includes the processes and activities of the performing organization that determine quality policies, objectives, and responsibilities so that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken.
Project Quality Management
350
This includes the processes of conducting risk management planning, identification, analysis, response planning, and controlling risk on a project.
Project Risk Management
351
An output of a schedule model that presents linked activities with planned dates, durations, milestones, and resources.
Project Schedule
352
A graphical representation of the logical relationships among the project schedule activities.
Project Schedule Network Diagram
353
The work performed to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions.
Project Scope
354
This includes the processes required to ensure tha tthe project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully.
Project Scope Management
355
The description of the project scope, major deliverables, assumptions, and constraints.
Project Scope Statement
356
This includes the processes required to identify the people, groups, or organizations that could impact or be impacted by the project, to analyze stakeholder expectations and their impact on the project, and to develop appropriate management strategies for effectively engaging stakeholders in project decisions and execution.
Project Stakeholder Management
357
A set of individuals who support the project manager in performing the work of the project to achieve its objectives.
Project Team
358
A documented list of project team members, their project roles, and communication information.
Project Team Directory
359
This includes the processes required to manage the timely completion of the project.
Project Time Management
360
An organizational structure in which the project manager has full authority to assign priorities, apply resources, and direct the work of persons assigned to the project.
Projectized Organization
361
The process of reviewing proposals provided by suppliers to support contract award decisions.
Proposal Evaluation Techniques
362
A method of obtaining early feedback on requirements by providing a working model of the expected product before actually building it.
Prototypes
363
The degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements.
Quality
364
A quality audit is a structured, independent process to determine if project activities comply with organizational and project policies, processes, and procedures.
Quality Audits
365
A structured tool used to verify that a set of required steps has been performed.
Quality Checklists
366
The documented results of control quality activities.
Quality Control Measurements
367
A facilitated workshop technique that helps to determine critical characteristics for new product development.
Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
368
They are a type of quality planning tools used to link and sequence the activities identified.
Quality Management and Control Tools
369
A component of the project or program management plan that describes how an organization's quality policies will be implemented.
Quality Management Plan
370
The organizational framework whose structure provides the policies, processes, procedures, and resources required to implement the quality management plan. The typical project quality management plan should be compatible to this in the organization.
Quality Management System
371
A description of a project or product attribute and how to measure it.
Quality Metrics
372
A policy specific to the Project Quality Management Knowledge Area, it establishes the basic principles that should govern the organization's actions as it implements its system for quality management.
Quality Policy
373
A condition or capability that will be used to assess conformance by validating the acceptability of an attribute for the quality of a result.
Quality Requirement
374
Commonly used techniques for both event-oriented and project-oriented analysis approaches.
Quantitative Risk Analysis and Modeling Techniques
375
Written sets of questions designed to quickly accumulate information from a large number of respondents.
Questionnaires and Surveys
376
A common type of responsibility assignment matrix that uses responsible, accountable, consult, and inform statuses to define the involvement of stakeholders in project activities.
RACI
377
A specific set of processes, related control functions, and tools that are consolidated and combined to record and retain information about the project.
Records Management System
378
An analytical technique where a series of input variables are examined in relation to their corresponding output results in order to develop a mathematical or statistical relationship.
Regression Analysis
379
Requirements imposed by a governmental body. These requirements can establish product, process, or service characteristics, including applicable administrative provisions that have government-mandated compliance.
Regulation
380
Facilities, processes, and procedures used to generate or consolidate reports from one or more information management systems and facilitate report distribution to the stakeholders.
Reporting Systems
381
A type of procurement document whereby the buyer requests a potential seller to provide various pieces of information related to a product or service or seller capability.
Request for Information (RFI)
382
A type of procurement document used to request proposals from prospective sellers of products or services. In some application areas, it may have a narrower or more specific meaning.
Request for Proposal (RFP)
383
A type of procurement document used to request price quotations from prospective sellers of common or standard products or services. Sometimes used in place of request for proposal and, in some application areas, it may have a narrower or more specific meaning.
Request for Quotation (RFQ)
384
A formally documented change request that is submitted for approval to the integration change control process.
Requested Change
385
A condition or capability that is required to be present in a product, service, or result to satisfy a contract or other formally imposed specification.
Requirement
386
A description of how individual requirements meet the business need for the project.
Requirements Documentation
387
A component of the project or program management plan that describes how requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed.
Requirements Management Plan
388
A grid that links product requirements from their origin to the deliverables that satisfy them.
Requirements Traceability Matrix
389
A provision in the project management plan to mitigate cost and/or schedule risk. Often used with a modifier (e.., management reserve, contingency reserve) to provide further detail on what types of risk are meant to be mitigated.
Reserve
390
An analytical technique to determine the essential features and relationships of components in the project management plan to establish a reserve for the schedule duration, budget, estimated cost, or funds for a project.
Reserve Analysis
391
A risk that remains after risk responses have been implemented.
Residual Risk
392
Skilled human resources (specific disciplines either individually or in crews or teams), equipment, services, supplies, commodities, material, budgets, or funds.
Resource
393
A hierarchical representation of resources by category and type.
Resource Breakdown Structure
394
A calendar that identifies the working days and shifts on which each specific resource is available.
Resource Calendar
395
A bar chart showing the amount of time that a resource is scheduled to work over a series of time periods. Resource availability may be depicted as a line for comparison purposes. contrasting bars may show actual amounts of resources used as the project progresses.
Resource Histrogram
396
A technique in which start and finish dates are adjusted based on resource constraints with the goal of balancing demand for resources with the available supply.
Resource Leveling
397
A technique that is used to adjust the start and finish dates of activities that adjust planned resource use to be equal to or less than resource availability.
Resource Optimization Techniques
398
A technique which adjusts the activities of a schedule model such that the requirement for resources on the project do not exceed certain predefined resource limits.
Resource Smoothing
399
An assignment that can be delegated within a project management plan such that the assigned resource incurs a duty to perform the requirements of the assignment.
Responsibility
400
A grid that shows the proejct resources assigned to each work package.
Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)
401
An output from performing project management processes and activitiess. Results include outcomes (e.g., integrated systems, revised process, restructured organization, tests, trained personnel, etc.) and documents (e.g., policies, plans, studies, procedures, specifications, reports, etc.).
Result
402
Action taken to bring a defective or nonconforming component into compliance with requirements or specifications.
Rework
403
An uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on one or more project objectives.
Risk
404
A risk response strategy whereby the project team decides to acknowledge the risk and not take any action unless the risk occurs.
Risk Acceptance
405
The degree of uncertainty an entity is willing to take on, in anticipation of a reward.
Risk Appetite
406
Examination and documentation of the effectiveness of risk responses in dealing with identified risks and their root causes, as well as the effectiveness of the risk management process.
Risk Audits
407
A risk response strategy whereby the project team acts to eliminate the threat or protect the projects from its impact.
Risk Avoidance
408
A hierarchical representation of risks according to their risk categories.
Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS)
409
Organization by sources of risk (e.g., using the RBS), the area of the project affected (e.g., using the WBS), or other useful category (e.g., project phase) to determine the areas of the project most exposed to the effects of uncertainty.
Risk Categorization
410
A group of potential causes of risk.
Risk Category
411
Technique to evaluate the degree to which the data about risks is useful for risk management.
Risk Data Quality Assessment
412
A components of the project, program, or portfolio management plan that describes how risk management activities will be structured and performed.
Risk Management Plan
413
A risk response strategy whereby the project team acts to reduce the probability of occurrence or impact of a risk.
Risk Mitigation
414
Risk reassessment is the identification of new risks, reassessment of current risks, and the closing of risks that are outdated.
Risk Reassessment
415
A document in which the results of risk analysis are risk response planning are recorded.
Risk Register
416
Measure of the level of uncertainty or the level of impact at which a stakeholder may have a specific interest. Below this, the organization will accept the risk. Above this, the organization will not tolerate the risk.
Risk Threshold
417
The degree, amount, or volume of risk that an organization or individual will withstand.
Risk Tolerance
418
A risk response strategy whereby the project team shifts the impact of a threat to a third party, together with ownership of the response.
Risk Transference
419
Review and determination of the timing of actions that may need to occur sooner than other risk items.
Risk Urgency Assessment
420
A defined function to be performed by a project team member, such as testing, filing, inspecting, or coding.
Role
421
An iterative planning technique in which the work to be accomplished in the near term is planned in detail, while the work in the future is planned at a higher level.
Rolling Wave Planning
422
An analytical technique used to determine the basic underlying reason that causes a variance or a defect or a risk. This may underlie more than one variance or defect or risk.
Root Cause Analysis
423
A correlation chart that uses a regression line to explain or to predict how the change in an independent variable will change a dependent variable.
Scatter Diagram
424
The approved version of a schedule model that can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison to actual results.
Schedule Baseline
425
Techniques used to shorten the schedule duration without reducing the project scope.
Schedule Compression
426
The collection of information for describing and controlling the schedule.
Schedule Data
427
Estimates or predictions of conditions and events in the project's future based on information and knowledge available at the time the schedule is calculated.
Schedule Forecasts
428
A components of the project management plan that establishes the criteria and the activities for developing, monitoring, and controlling the schedule.
Schedule Management Plan
429
A representation of the plan for executing the project's activities including durations, dependencies, and other planning information, used to produce a project schedule along with other scheduling artifacts.
Schedule Model
430
The technique of identifying early and late start dates, as well as early and late finish dates, for the uncompleted portions of project schedule activities.
Schedule Network Analysis
431
A set of activities and relationships that have been established that can be used repeatedly for a particular application area or an aspect of the project where a prescribed sequence is desired.
Schedule Network Templates
432
A measure of schedule efficiency expressed as the ratio of earned value to planned value.
Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
433
A measure of schedule performance expressed as the difference between the earned value and the planned value.
Schedule Variance (SV)
434
A tool that provides schedule component names, definitions, structural relationships, and formats that support the application of a scheduling method.
Scheduling Tool
435
The sum of the products, services, and results to be provided as a project.
Scope
436
The approved version of a scope statement, work breakdown structure (WBS), and its associated WBS dictionary, that can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison.
Scope Baseline
437
Any change to the project scope. It almost always required an adjustment to the project cost or schedule.
Scope Change
438
The uncontrolled expansion to product or project scope without adjustments to time, cost, and resources.
Scope Creep
439
A component of the project or program management plan that describes how the scope will be defined, developed, monitored, controlled, and verified.
Scope Management Plan
440
A risk that arises as a direct results of implementing a risk response.
Secondary Risk
441
The sellers which have been selected to provide a contracted set of services or products.
Selected Sellers
442
A provider or supplier of products, services, or results to an organization.
Seller
443
Formal responses from sellers to a request for proposal or other procurement document specifying the price, commercial terms of sale, and technical specifications or capabilities the seller will do for the requesting organization that, if accepted, would bind the seller to perform the resulting agreement.
Seller Proposals
444
A quantitative risk analysis and modeling technique used to help determine which risks have the most potential impact on the project. It examines the extent to which the uncertainty of each project element affects the objective being examined when all other uncertain elements are held at their baseline values. The typical display of results is in the form of a tornado diagram.
Sensitivity Analysis
445
The process of identifying and documenting relationships among the project activities.
Sequence Activities
446
A standard toolkit used by quality management professionals who are responsible for planning, monitoring, and controlling the issues related to quality in an organization.
Seven Basic Quality Tools
447
This uses a project model that translates the uncertainties specified at a detailed level into their potential impact on objectives that re expressed at the level of the total project. These use computer models and estimates of risk, usually expressed as a probability distribution of possible costs or durations at a detailed work level, and are typically performed using Monte Carlo analysis.
Simulation
448
A set of attributes desired by the buyer which a seller is required to meet or exceed to be selected for a contract.
Source Selection Criteria
449
A document that specifies, in a complete, precise, verifiable manner, the requirements, design, behavior, or other characteristics of a system, component, product, result, or service and the procedures for determining whether these provisions have been satisfied.
Specification
450
The area, on either side of the centerline, or mean, of data plotted on a control chart that meets the customer's requirements for a product or service. This area may be greater than or less than the area defined by the control limits.
Specification Limits
451
A person or group who provides resources and support for the project, program, or portfolio and is accountable for enabling success.
Sponsor
452
The entity responsible for providing the project's sponsor and a conduit for project funding or other project resources
Sponsoring Organization
453
A component of the human resource plan that describes when and how project team members will be acquired and how long they will be needed.
Staffing Management Plan
454
An individual, group, or organization who may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, or outcome of a project.
Stakeholder
455
A technique of systematically gathering and analyzing quantitative and qualitative information to determine whose interests should be taken into account throughout the project.
Stakeholder Analysis
456
The stakeholder management plan is a subsidiary plan to the project management plan that defines the processes, procedures, tools, and techniques to effectively engage stakeholders in project decisions and execution based on the analysis of their needs, interests, and potential impact.
Stakeholder Management Plan
457
A project document including the identification, assessment, and classification of project stakeholders.
Stakeholder Register
458
A document that provides, for common and repeated, use, rules, guidelines, or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context.
Standard
459
A point in time associated with a schedule activity's start, usually qualified by one of the following: actual, planned, estimated, scheduled, early, late, target, baseline, or current.
Start Date
460
A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor activity has started.
Start-to-Finish (SF)
461
A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has started.
Start-to-Start (SS)
462
A narrative description of products, services, or results to be delivered by the project.
Statement of Work (SOW)
463
Choosing part of a population of interest for inspection.
Statistical Sampling
464
A subdivision (fragment) of a project schedule network diagram, usually representing a subproject or a work package. Often used to illustrate or study some potential or proposed schedule condition, such as changes in preferential schedule logic or project scope.
Subnetwork
465
A smaller portion of the overall project created when a proejct is subdivided into more manageable components or pieces.
Subproject
466
A dependent activity that logically comes from another activity in a schedule.
Successor Activity
467
A group of related schedule activities aggregated and displayed as a single activity.
Summary Activity
468
Analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of an organization, project, or option.
SWOT Analysis
469
The act of carefully selecting process and related inputs and outputs contained within the PMBOK Guide to determine a subset of specific processes that will be included within a project's overall management approach.
Tailor
470
A defined systematic procedure employed by a human resource to perform an activity to produce a product or result or deliver a service, and that may employ one or more tools.
Technique
471
A partially complete document in a predefined format that provides a defined structure for collecting, organizing, and presenting information and data.
Templates
472
A risk that would have a negative effect on one or more project objectives.
Threat
473
A technique used to estimate cost or duration by applying an average of optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely estimates when there is uncertainty with the individual activity estimates.
Three-Point Estimate
474
A cost, time, quality, technical, or resource value used as a parameter, and which may be included in product specifications,. Crossing this should trigger some action, such as generating an exception report.
Threshold
475
A type of contract that is a hybrid contractual arrangement containing aspects of both cost-reimbursable and fixed-price contracts. These resemble cost-reimbursable type arrangements in that they have no definitivve end, because the full value of the arrangement is not defined at the time of the award. Thus, these can grow in contract value as if they were cost-reimbursable-type arrangements. Conversely, these can also resemble fixed-price arrangements. For example, the unit rates are preset by the buyer and seller, when both parties agree on the rates for the category of senior engineers.
Time and Material Contract (T&M)
476
Any project schedule network diagram drawn in such a way that the positioning and length of the schedule activity represents its duration. Essentially, it is a bar chart that includes schedule network logic.
Time-Scaled Schedule Network Diagram
477
A measure of the cost performance that is required to be achieved with the remaining resources in order to meet a specified management goal, expressed as the ratio of the costs to finish the outstanding work to the remaining budget.
To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI)
478
The quantified description of acceptable variation for a quality requirement.
Tolerance
479
A special type of bar chart used in sensitivity analysis for comparing the relative importance of variables.
Tornado Diagram
480
Something tangible, such as template or software program, used in performing an activity to produce a product or result.
Tool
481
The amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed or extended from its early start date without delaying the project finish date or violating a schedule constraint.
Total Float
482
A systematic diagram of a decomposition hierarchy used to visualize as parent-to-child relationships a systematic set of rules.
Tree Diagram
483
An analytical technique that uses mathematical models to forecast future outcomes based on historical results. It is a method of determining the variance from a baseline of a budget, cost, schedule, or scope parameter by using prior progress reporting periods' data and projecting how much that parameter's variance from baseline might be at some future point int he project if no changes are made in executing the project.
Trend Analysis
484
An event or situation that indicates that a risk is about to occur.
Trigger Condition
485
Agreement by everyone inthe group on a single course of action.
Unanimity
486
The process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables.
Validate Scope
487
The assurance that a product, service, or system meets the needs of the customer and other identified stakeholders. It often involves acceptance and suitability with external customers.
Validation
488
An approach used to optimize project life cycle costs, save time, increase profits, improve quality, expand market share, solve problems, and/or use resources more effectively.
Value Engineering
489
A quantifiable deviation, departure, or divergence away from a known baseline or expected value.
Variance
490
A technique for determining the cause and degree of difference between the baseline and actual performance.
Variance Analysis
491
A projection of the amount of budget deficit or surplus, expressed as the difference between the budget at completion and the estimate at completion.
Variance at Completion (VAC)
492
An actual condition that is different form the expected condition that is contained in the baseline plan.
Variation
493
A measure of a team's productivity rate at which the deliverables are produced, validated, and accepted within a predefined interval. This is a capacity planning approach frequently used to forecast future project work.
Velocity
494
The evaluation of whether or not a product, service, or system complies with a regulation, requirement, specification, or imposed condition. It is often an internal process.
Verification
495
Completed project deliverables that have been checked and confirmed for correctness through the Control Quality process.
Verified Deliverables
496
A planning technique used to provide products, services, and results that truly reflect customer requirements by translating those customer requirements into the appropriate technical requirements for each phase of project product development.
Voice of the Customer
497
A document that provides detailed deliverable, activity, and scheduling information about each component in the work breakdown structure.
WBS Dictionary
498
An earned value method that divides a work package into measureable segments, each ending with an observable milestone, and then assigns a weighted value to the achievement of each milestone.
Weighted Milestone Method
499
The process of evaluating scenarios in order to predict their effect on project objectives.
What-If Scenario Analysis
500
A permission and direction, typically written, to begin work on a specific schedule activity or work package or control account. It is a method for sanctioning project work to ensure that the work is done by the identified organization, at the right time, and in the proper sequence.
Work Authorization
501
A subsystem of the overall project management system. It is a collection of formal documented procedures that defines how project work will be authorized (committed) to ensure that the work is done by the identified organization, at the right time, and in the proper sequence. It includes the steps, documents, tracking system, and defined approval levels needed to issue work authorizations.
Work Authorization System
502
A hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
503
An entry in the work breakdown structure that can be at any level.
Work Breakdown Structure Component
504
The work defined at the lowest level of the work breakdown structure for which cost and duration can be estimated and managed.
Work Package
505
The raw observations and measurements identified during activities being performed to carry out the project work.
Work Performance Data
506
The performance data collected from various controlling processes, analyzed in context and integrate based on relationships across areas.
Work Performance Information
507
The physical or electronic representation of work performance information compiled in project documents, intended to generate decisions, actions, or awareness.
Work Performance Reports
508
A response to a threat that has occurred, for which a prior response had not been planned or was not effective.
Workaround
