Project+ Flash Cards
360-degree appraisal
A performance review completed by a person’s peers, managers, and subordinates. It’s called a 360-degree appraisal as it’s a circle of reviews by people at different levels of an organization.
Acceptance
This is a response to a risk event, generally made when the probability of the event and/or impact are small. It is used when mitigation, transference, or avoidance are not selected.
Active Listening
This occurs when the receiver confirms the message is being received by feedback, questions, prompts for clarity, and other signs of having received the message.
Activity attributes
Activities that special conditions, requirements, risks, and other conditions should be documented.
Activity cost estimates
The cost of resources including materials, services, and when warranted, labor should be estimated.
Activity lists
A listing of all of the project activities required to complete each project phase or the entire project. This list is an input to the project network diagram.
Activity on node
A network diagramming approach that places the activities on a node in the project network diagram.
Activity sequencing
The process of mapping the project activities in the order in which the work should be completed.
Actual Costs
The amount funds the project has spent to date. The difference between actual costs and the earned value will reveal the cost variance.
Adjourning
The final stage of team development; once the project is done, the team moves onto other assignments either as a unit or the project team ream is disbanded and individual team members go onto other work.
Affinity diagram
Clusters like ideas together and allows for decomposition of ideas to compare and contrast project requirements.
Analogous estimating
This relies on historical information to predict estimates for current projects. Analogous estimating is also known as top-down estimating and is a form of expert judgment.
Application areas
The areas of discipline that a project may center upon. Consider technology, law, sales, marketing, and construction among many others.
Assumption log
A document that clearly identifies and tracks assumptions that are made in the project. All assumptions need to be tested for their validity and the outcome of the test should be recorded.
Updated 12/3/2015
Autocratic
The project manager makes all of the decisions.
Avoidance
This is one response to a risk event. The risk is avoided by planning a different technique to remove the risk from the project.
Benchmarking
A process of using prior projects within or external to the performing organization to compare and set quality standards for processes and results.
Benefit measurement methods
Project selection methods that compare the benefits of projects to determine which project the organization should select for investment.
Benefit/cost analysis
The process of determining the pros and cons of any project, process, product, or activity.
Benefit/cost ratios
Shows the proportion of benefits to costs; for example 4:1 would equate to four benefits and just one cost.
Bid
A document from the seller to the buyer. Used when price is the determining factor in the decision-making process.
Bidder conferences
A meeting with prospective sellers to ensure all sellers have a clear understanding of the product or service to be procured. Bidder conferences allow sellers to query the buyer on the details of the product to help ensure that the proposal the seller creates is adequate and appropriate for the proposed agreement.
Bottom-up estimating
A technique where an estimate for each component in the WBS is developed and then totaled for an overall project budget. This is the longest method to complete, but it provides the most accurate estimate.
Brainstorming
The most common approach to risk identification; it is performed by a project team to identify the risks within the project. A multidisciplinary team, hosted by a project facilitator, can also perform brainstorming.