Project Schedule Management Flashcards
The primary output of breaking down the WBS work packages.
Activity list
The identification of more than one solution. Consider roles, materials, tools, and approaches to the project work.
Alternative analysis
A somewhat unreliable estimating approach that relies on historical information to predict what current activity durations should be. It is more reliable, however, than team member recollections. It is also known as top-down estimating and is a form of expert judgment.
Analogous estimating
The most accurate time-and-cost estimating approach a project manager can use. This estimating approach starts at “the bottom” of the project and considers every activity, its predecessor and successor activities, and the exact amount of resources needed to complete each activity.
Bottom-up estimating
A WBS entry that considers the time, cost, and scope measurements for that deliverable within the WBS. The estimated performance is compared against the actual performance to measure overall performance for the deliverables within it. The specifics are documented in its plan.
Control account
A predetermined range of acceptable variances, such as +/–10 percent off schedule. Should the variance exceed the threshold, then project control processes and corrected actions will be enacted.
Control threshold
A schedule compression approach that adds more resources to activities on the critical path to complete the project earlier. When implementing this approach on a project, costs are added because the associated labor and sometimes resources (such as faster equipment) cause costs to increase.
Crashing
The path in the project network diagram that cannot be delayed, otherwise the project completion date will be late. There can be more than one critical path. Activities in this path have no float.
Critical path
These dependencies are the preferred order of activities. Project managers should use these relationships at their discretion and should document the logic behind the decision. It allows activities to happen in a preferred order because of best practices, conditions unique to the project work, or external events. Also known as preferential or soft logic.
Discretionary dependencies
The earliest a project activity can finish. Used in the forward pass procedure to discover the critical path and the project float.
Early finish
The earliest a project activity can begin. Used in the forward pass procedure to discover the critical path and the project float.
Early start
As the name implies, these are dependencies outside of the project’s control. Examples include the delivery of equipment from a vendor, the deliverable of another project, or the decision of a committee, lawsuit, or expected new law.
External dependencies
A schedule compression method that changes the relationship of activities. With this activities that would normally be done in sequence are allowed to be done in parallel or with some overlap. This can be accomplished by changing the relation of activities from FS to SS or even FF or by adding lead time to downstream activities. However, it does add risk to the project.
Fast tracking
An activity relationship type that requires the current activity to be finished before its successor can finish.
Finish-to-finish
An activity relationship type that requires the current activity to be finished before its successor can start.
Finish-to-start
A representation of a project network diagram that is often used for outsourced portions of a project, repetitive work within a project, or a subproject. Also called a subnet.
Fragnet
This is the total time a single activity can be delayed without affecting the early start of its immediately following successor activities.
Free float
Logic that describes activities that must happen in a particular order. For example, the dirt must be excavated before the foundation can be built. The foundation must be in place before the framing can begin. Also known as a mandatory dependency.
Hard logic