Project Schedule Management Terms Flashcards
Activity list
The primary output of breaking down the
WBS work packages
Alternative analysis
The identification of more than one
solution. Consider roles, materials, tools,
and approaches to the project work.
Analogous estimating
A somewhat unreliable estimating approach that relies on historical information to predict what current activity durations should be. Analogous estimating is more reliable, however, than team member recollections. Analogous estimating is also known as top-down estimating and is a form of expert judgment.
Bottom-up 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. v
Control account
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 that control account. The specifics of a control account are documented in a control account plan.
Control threshold
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.
Crashing
A schedule compression approach that adds more resources to activities on the critical path to complete the project earlier. When crashing a project, costs are added because the associated labor and sometimes resources (such as faster equipment) cause costs to increase.
Critical path
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 the critical path have no float.
Discretionary dependencies
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. Discretionary dependencies allow 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.
Early finish
The earliest a project activity can finish.
Used in the forward pass procedure to
discover the critical path and the project
float.
Early start
The earliest a project activity can begin.
Used in the forward pass procedure to
discover the critical path and the project
float.
External dependencies
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.
Fast tracking
A schedule compression method that changes the relationship of activities. With fast tracking, activities that would normally be done in sequence are allowed to be done in parallel or with some overlap. Fast tracking 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, fast tracking does add risk to the project.
Finish-to-finish
An activity relationship type that requires
the current activity to be finished before
its successor can finish
Finish-to-start
An activity relationship type that requires
the current activity to be finished before
its successor can start.
Fragnet
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.
Free float
This is the total time a single activity can
be delayed without affecting the early
start of its immediately following
successor activities.
Hard logic
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
Internal dependencies
Internal relationships to the project or the
organization. For example, the project
team must create the software as part of
the project’s deliverable before the
software can be tested for quality control.
Lag time
Positive time that moves two or more
activities further apart.
