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A glossary of terms relating to
project management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. T ...
and consulting.


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Agile software development In software development, agile (sometimes written Agile) practices include requirements discovery and solutions improvement through the collaborative effort of self-organizing and cross-functional teams with their customer(s)/ end user(s), ...
is a set of fundamental principles about how software should be developed based on an agile way of working in contrast to previous heavy-handed software development methodologies. * Aggregate planning is an operational activity which does an aggregate plan for the production process, in advance of 2 to 18 months, to give an idea to management as to what quantity of materials and other resources are to be procured and when, so that the total cost of operations of the organization is kept to the minimum over that period. * Allocation is the assignment of available resources in an economic way.


B

* Benefits management plan a document that describes the activities necessary for achieving the benefits of a project and when these planned benefits will be delivered. It also outlines metrics and procedures to measure progress against benefits. * BOSCARD a strategic planning tool used in project management to give the Terms of reference for new projects. *
Budget A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environme ...
generally refers to a list of all planned expenses and revenues. *
Budgeted cost of work performed Budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) also called earned value (EV), is the budgeted cost of work that has actually been performed in carrying out a scheduled task during a specific time period. The BCWP is the sum of the budgets for completed wo ...
(BCWP) measures the budgeted cost of work that has actually been performed, rather than the cost of work scheduled. * Budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS) the approved budget that has been allocated to complete a scheduled task (or Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) component) during a specific time period. *
Business case A business case captures the reasoning for initiating a project or task. It is often presented in a well-structured written document, but may also come in the form of a short verbal agreement or presentation. The logic of the business case is that ...
a document that examines business need and cost-benefits analysis of a project to justify the approval of the project and to set its boundaries. *
Business model A business model describes how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value,''Business Model Generation'', Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, and 470 practitioners from 45 countries, self-published, 2010 in economic, soci ...
is a profit-producing system that has an important degree of independence from the other systems within an enterprise. *
Business analysis Business analysis is a professional discipline of identifying business needs and determining solutions to business problems. Solutions often include a software-systems development component, but may also consist of process improvements, organiza ...
is the set of tasks, knowledge, and techniques required to identify business needs and determine solutions to business problems. Solutions often include a systems development component, but may also consist of process improvement or organizational change. *
Business operations Business operations is the ''harvesting'' of value from assets owned by a business. Assets can be either ''physical'' or ''intangible''. An example of value derived from a physical asset, like a building, is rent. An example of value derived from ...
are those ongoing recurring activities involved in the running of a business for the purpose of producing value for the stakeholders. They are contrasted with project management, and consist of business processes. *
Business process A business process, business method or business function is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks by people or equipment in which a specific sequence produces a service or product (serves a particular business goal) for a parti ...
is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service or product (serve a particular goal) for a particular customer or customers. There are three types of business processes: Management processes, Operational processes, and Supporting processes. *
Business process modeling Business process modeling (BPM) in business process management and systems engineering is the activity of representing processes of an enterprise, so that the current business processes may be analyzed, improved, and automated. BPM is typically ...
(BPM) is the activity of representing processes of an enterprise, so that the current ("as is") process may be analyzed and improved in future ("to be").


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Capability maturity model The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is a development model created in 1986 after a study of data collected from organizations that contracted with the U.S. Department of Defense, who funded the research. The term "maturity" relates to the degree o ...
(CMM) in software engineering is a model of the maturity of the capability of certain business processes. A maturity model can be described as a structured collection of elements that describe certain aspects of maturity in an organization, and aids in the definition and understanding of an organization's processes. *
Change control Within quality management systems (QMS) and information technology (IT) systems, change control is a process—either formal or informal—used to ensure that changes to a product or system are introduced in a controlled and coordinated manner. It ...
is the procedures used to ensure that changes (normally, but not necessarily, to IT systems) are introduced in a controlled and coordinated manner. Change control is a major aspect of the broader discipline of change management. *
Change management Change management (sometimes abbreviated as CM) is a collective term for all approaches to prepare, support, and help individuals, teams, and organizations in making organizational change. It includes methods that redirect or redefine the use ...
is a field of management focused on organizational changes. It aims to ensure that methods and procedures are used for efficient and prompt handling of all changes to controlled
IT infrastructure Information technology infrastructure is defined broadly as a set of information technology (IT) components that are the foundation of an IT service; typically physical components (computer and networking hardware and facilities), but also vario ...
, in order to minimize the number and impact of any related incidents upon service. *
Case study A case study is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case (or cases) within a real-world context. For example, case studies in medicine may focus on an individual patient or ailment; case studies in business might cover a particular fi ...
is a research method which involves an in-depth, longitudinal examination of a single instance or event: a case. They provide a systematic way of looking at events, collecting data, analyzing information, and reporting the results. *
Certified Associate in Project Management Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) is a credential offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The CAPM is an entry-level certification for project practitioners. Designed for those with less project experience, the CAPM is i ...
is an entry-level certification for project practitioners offered by Project Management Institute. *
Communications log Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
is an ongoing documentation of communication events between any identified project stakeholders, managed and collected by the project manager that describes: the sender and receiver of the communication event; where, when and for how long the communication event elapsed; in what form the communication event took place; a summary of what information was communicated; what actions/outcomes should be taken as a result of the communication event; and to what level of priority should the actions/outcomes of the communication event be graded *
Constructability Constructability (or buildability) is a concept that denotes ease of construction. It can be central to project management techniques to review construction processes from start to finish during pre-construction phase. Buildability assessment is ...
is a project management technique to review the construction processes from start to finish during pre-construction phrase. It will identify obstacles before a project is actually built to reduce or prevent error, delays, and cost overrun. *
Cost In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in whic ...
s in economics, business, and accounting are the value of money that has been used up to produce something, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which case the amount of money expended to acquire it is counted as cost. *
Cost engineering Cost engineering is "the engineering practice devoted to the management of project cost, involving such activities as estimating, cost control, cost forecasting, investment appraisal and risk analysis". "Cost Engineers budget, plan and monitor inve ...
is the area of engineering practice where engineering judgment and experience are used in the application of scientific principles and techniques to problems of cost estimating, cost control, business planning and management science,
profitability In economics, profit is the difference between the revenue that an economic entity has received from its outputs and the total cost of its inputs. It is equal to total revenue minus total cost, including both explicit and implicit costs. It i ...
analysis,
project management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. T ...
, and planning and scheduling." *
Construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and ...
, in the fields of architecture and civil engineering, is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of multitasking. Normally the job is managed by the project manager and supervised by the construction manager, design engineer, construction engineer or project architect. *
Cost overrun A cost overrun, also known as a cost increase or budget overrun, involves unexpected incurred costs. When these costs are in excess of budgeted amounts due to a value engineering underestimation of the actual cost during budgeting, they are known ...
is defined as excess of actual cost over budget. * Critical path method (CPM) is a mathematically based modeling technique for scheduling a set of project activities, used in project management. * Critical chain project management (CCPM) is a method of planning and managing projects that puts more emphasis on the resources required to execute project tasks.


D

* Dependency in a project network is a link amongst a project's terminal elements. *
Dynamic systems development method Dynamic systems development method (DSDM) is an agile project delivery framework, initially used as a software development method. First released in 1994, DSDM originally sought to provide some discipline to the rapid application development ( ...
(DSDM) is a software development methodology originally based upon the rapid application development methodology. DSDM is an iterative and incremental approach that emphasizes continuous user involvement. * Duration of a project's terminal element is the number of calendar periods it takes from the time the execution of element starts to the moment it is completed. *
Deliverable A deliverable is a tangible or intangible good or service produced as a result of a project that is intended to be delivered to a customer (either internal or external). A deliverable could be a report, a document, a software product, a server upgr ...
A contractually required work product, produced and delivered to a required state. A deliverable may be a document, hardware, software or other tangible product.


E

* Earned schedule (ES) is an extension to earned value management (EVM), which renames 2 traditional measures, to indicate clearly they are in units of currency or quantity, not time. *
Earned value management Earned value management (EVM), earned value project management, or earned value performance management (EVPM) is a project management technique for measuring project performance and progress in an objective manner. Overview Earned value manag ...
(EVM) is a project management technique for measuring project progress in an objective manner, with a combination of measuring scope, schedule, and cost in a single integrated system. * Enterprise modeling is the process of understanding an enterprise business and improving its performance through creation of enterprise models. This includes the modelling of the relevant business domain (usually relatively stable), business processes (usually more volatile), and Information technology *
Estimation Estimation (or estimating) is the process of finding an estimate or approximation, which is a value that is usable for some purpose even if input data may be incomplete, uncertain, or unstable. The value is nonetheless usable because it is de ...
in project management is the processes of making accurate estimates using the appropriate techniques. * Event chain diagram : diagram that show the relationships between events and tasks and how the events affect each other. *
Event chain methodology Event chain methodology is a network analysis technique that is focused on identifying and managing events and relationship between them (event chains) that affect project schedules. It is an uncertainty modeling schedule technique. Event chain me ...
is an uncertainty modeling and schedule network analysis technique that is focused on identifying and managing events and event chains that affect project schedules. * Executive sponsor is the senior member of the project board and often the chair. * Extreme project management (XPM) refers to a method of managing very complex and very uncertain projects.


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Float Float may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Float'' (Aesop Rock album), 2000 * ''Float'' (Flogging Molly album), 2008 * ''Float'' (Styles P album), 2013 Songs * "Float" (Tim and the Glory Boys song), 2022 * "Float", by Bush ...
in a project network is the amount of time that a task in a project network can be delayed without causing a delay to subsequent tasks and or the project completion date. *
Focused improvement Focused improvement in the theory of constraints is an ensemble of activities aimed at elevating the performance of any system, especially a business system, with respect to its goal by eliminating its constraints one by one and by ''not'' working o ...
in Theory of Constraints is the ensemble of activities aimed at elevating the performance of any system, especially a business system, with respect to its goal by eliminating its constraints one by one and by not working on non-constraints. *
Fordism Fordism is a manufacturing technology that serves as the basis of modern economic and social systems in industrialized, standardized mass production and mass consumption. The concept is named after Henry Ford. It is used in social, economic, and ...
, named after Henry Ford, refers to various social theories. It has varying but related meanings in different fields, and for Marxist and non-Marxist scholars.


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Henry Gantt Henry Laurence Gantt (; May 20, 1861 – November 23, 1919) was an American mechanical engineer and management consultant who is best known for his work in the development of scientific management. He created the Gantt chart in the 1910s. Gan ...
was an American mechanical engineer and management consultant, who developed the Gantt chart in the 1910s. *
Gantt chart A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule, named after its popularizer, Henry Gantt (1861–1919), who designed such a chart around the years 1910–1915. Modern Gantt charts also show the dependency relationshi ...
is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule. It illustrates the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project. Terminal elements and summary elements comprise the work breakdown structure of the project. *
Goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ...
or objective consists of a projected state of affairs which a person or a system plans or intends to achieve or bring about — a personal or organizational desired end-point in some sort of assumed development. Many people endeavor to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines *
Goal setting A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or a ...
involves establishing specific, measurable and time targeted objectives * Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT) is a network analysis technique that allows probabilistic treatment of both network logic and activity duration estimated.


H

* Hammock activity is a grouping of subtasks that "hangs" between two end dates it is tied to (or the two end-events it is fixed to). *
HERMES Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orat ...
is a Project Management Method developed by the Swiss Government, based on the German V-Modell. The first domain of application was software projects.


I

* Integrated Master Plan (IMP) is an event-based, top level plan, consisting of a hierarchy of Program Events. * ISO 10006 is a guidelines for quality management in projects, is an international standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization. *
Iterative and Incremental development Iterative and incremental development is any combination of both iterative design or iterative method and incremental build model for development. Usage of the term began in software development, with a long-standing combination of the two terms ...
is a cyclic software development process developed in response to the weaknesses of the
waterfall model The waterfall model is a breakdown of project activities into linear sequential phases, meaning they are passed down onto each other, where each phase depends on the deliverables of the previous one and corresponds to a specialization of tasks. ...
. It starts with an initial planning and ends with deployment with the cyclic interaction in between


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Kickoff meeting A kickoff meeting is the first meeting with the project team and with or without the client of the project. This meeting would follow definition of the base elements for the project and other project planning activities. This meeting introduces th ...
is the first meeting with the project team and the client of the project.


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Level of Effort In project management, level of effort (LOE) is a support-type project activity that must be done to support other work activities or the entire project effort. It usually consists of short amounts of work that must be repeated periodically. Examp ...
(LOE) is qualified as a support type activity which doesn't lend itself to measurement of a discrete accomplishment. Examples of such an activity may be project budget accounting, customer liaison, etc. *
Linear scheduling method Linear scheduling method (LSM) is a graphical scheduling method focusing on continuous resource utilization in repetitive activities. Application LSM is used mainly in the construction industry to schedule resources in repetitive activities comm ...
(LSM) is a graphical scheduling method focusing on continuous resource utilization in repetitive activities. It is believed that it originally adopted the idea of Line-Of-Balance method. *
Lean manufacturing Lean manufacturing is a production method aimed primarily at reducing times within the production system as well as response times from suppliers and to customers. It is closely related to another concept called just-in-time manufacturing (J ...
or lean production, which is often known simply as "Lean", is the practice of a theory of production that considers the expenditure of resources for any means other than the creation of value for the presumed customer to be wasteful, and thus a target for elimination.


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Management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...
in business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. *
Management process Management process is a process of setting goals, planning and/or controlling the organising and leading the execution of any type of activity, such as: * a project (project management process) or * a process ( process management process, somet ...
is a process of planning and controlling the performance or execution of any type of activity. *
Management science Management science (or managerial science) is a wide and interdisciplinary study of solving complex problems and making strategic decisions as it pertains to institutions, corporations, governments and other types of organizational entities. It is ...
(MS), is the discipline of using mathematical modeling and other analytical methods, to help make better business management decisions. *
Megaproject A megaproject is an extremely large-scale investment project. According to the ''Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management'', "Megaprojects are large-scale, complex ventures that typically cost $1 billion or more, take many years to develop and ...
is an extremely large-scale investment project. * Milestones are tools used in project management to mark specific points along a project timeline. *
Motivation Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-dire ...
is the set of reasons that prompts one to engage in a particular behavior.


N

* Nonlinear Management (NLM) is a superset of management techniques and strategies that allows order to emerge by giving organizations the space to self-organize, evolve and adapt, encompassing Agile, Evolutionary and Lean approaches, as well as many others.


O

* Operations management is an area of business that is concerned with the production of good quality goods and services, and involves the responsibility of ensuring that business operations are efficient and effective. It is the management of resources, the distribution of goods and services to customers, and the analysis of queue systems. * Operations, see Business operations *
Operations Research Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve decis ...
(OR) is an interdisciplinary branch of applied mathematics and formal science that uses methods such as mathematical modeling, statistics, and algorithms to arrive at optimal or near optimal solutions to complex problems. *
Organization An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived f ...
is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals, which controls its own performance, and which has a boundary separating it from its environment. *
Organization development Organization development (OD) is the study and implementation of practices, systems, and techniques that affect organizational change, the goal of which is to modify an organization's performance and/or culture. The organizational changes are ...
(OD) is a planned, structured, organization-wide effort to increase the organization's effectiveness and health.


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Planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is c ...
in organizations and public policy is both the organizational process of creating and maintaining a plan; and the psychological process of thinking about the activities required to create a desired goal on some scale. *
Portfolio Portfolio may refer to: Objects * Portfolio (briefcase), a type of briefcase Collections * Portfolio (finance), a collection of assets held by an institution or a private individual * Artist's portfolio, a sample of an artist's work or a c ...
in finance is an appropriate mix of or collection of investments held by an institution or a private individual. *
PRINCE2 PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is a structured project management method and practitioner certification programme. PRINCE2 emphasises dividing projects into manageable and controllable stages. It is adopted in many countries wor ...
: PRINCE2 is a project management methodology. The planning, monitoring and control of all aspects of the project and the motivation of all those involved in it to achieve the project objectives on time and to the specified cost, quality and performance. * Process is an ongoing collection of activities, with an inputs, outputs and the energy required to transform inputs to outputs. *
Process architecture Process architecture is the structural design of general process systems. It applies to fields such as computers (software, hardware, networks, etc.), business processes ( enterprise architecture, policy and procedures, logistics, project managemen ...
is the structural design of general process systems and applies to fields such as computers (software, hardware, networks, etc.), business processes (enterprise architecture, policy and procedures, logistics, project management, etc.), and any other process system of varying degrees of complexity. * Process management is the ensemble of activities of planning and monitoring the performance of a process, especially in the sense of business process, often confused with reengineering. *
Product breakdown structure {{more citations needed, date=January 2021 In project management under the PRINCE2 methodology, a product breakdown structure (PBS) is a tool for analysing, documenting and communicating the outcomes of a project, and forms part of the product b ...
(PBS) in project management is an exhaustive, hierarchical tree structure of components that make up an item, arranged in whole-part relationship. *
Product description In the PRINCE2 project management method, a product description (PDD) is a structured format that presents information about a project product. It is a management product (document), usually created by the project manager during the process of i ...
in project management is a structured format of presenting information about a project product *
Program Evaluation and Review Technique The program evaluation and review technique (PERT) is a statistical tool used in project management, which was designed to analyze and represent the tasks involved in completing a given project. First developed by the United States Navy i ...
(PERT) is a statistical tool, used in project management, designed to analyze and represent the tasks involved in completing a given project. *
Program Management Program management, is the process of managing several related projects, often with the intention of improving an organization's performance. It is distinct from ''project'' management. In practice and in its aims, program management is oft ...
is the process of managing multiple ongoing inter-dependent projects. An example would be that of designing, manufacturing and providing support infrastructure for an automobile manufacturer. *
Project A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...
: A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. *
Project accounting Project accounting is a type of managerial accounting oriented toward the goals of project management and delivery. It involves tracking, reporting, and analyzing financial results and implications, and sometimes the creation of financial repor ...
Is the practice of creating financial reports specifically designed to track the financial progress of projects, which can then be used by managers to aid project management. *
Project charter In project management, a project charter, project definition, or project statement is a statement of the scope, objectives, and participants in a project. It provides a preliminary delineation of roles and responsibilities, outlines the project's k ...
is a statement of the scope, objectives, and participants in a project. *
Project Cost Management Project Cost Management (PCM) is a method that uses technology to measure cost and productivity through the full life-cycle of enterprise level projects. PCM encompasses several specific functions of project management including estimating, job c ...
A method of managing a project in real-time from the estimating stage to project control; through the use of technology cost, schedule and productivity is monitored. *
Project management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. T ...
: The complete set of tasks, techniques, tools applied during project execution'. *
Project Management Body of Knowledge The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is a set of standard terminology and guidelines (a body of knowledge) for project management. The body of knowledge evolves over time and is presented in ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of ...
(PMBOK) : The sum of knowledge within the profession of project management that is standardized by ISO. *
Project management office A project management office (abbreviated to PMO) is a group or department within a business, government agency, or enterprise that defines and maintains standards for project management within the organization. The PMO strives to standardize and in ...
: The Project management office in a business or professional enterprise is the department or group that defines and maintains the standards of process, generally related to project management, within the organization. The PMO strives to standardize and introduce economies of repetition in the execution of projects. The PMO is the source of documentation, guidance and metrics on the practice of project management and execution. *
Project management process Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. Th ...
is the management process of planning and controlling the performance or execution of a project. *
Project Management Professional Project Management Professional (PMP) is an internationally recognized professional designation offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI). As of 31 July 2020, there are 1,036,368 active PMP-certified individuals and 314 chartered chapters ...
is a certificated professional in project management. *
Project Management Simulator Project management simulation is simulation used for project management training and analysis. Project management simulation is often used as training simulation for project managers. In other cases it is used for what-if analysis and for support ...
s are computer-based tools used in
project management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. T ...
training programs. Usually, project management simulation is a group exercise. The computer-based simulation is an interactive learning activity. *
Project management software Project management software (PMS) has the capacity to help plan, organize, and manage resource tools and develop resource estimates. Depending on the sophistication of the software, it can manage estimation and planning, scheduling, cost control ...
is a type of software, including scheduling, cost control and
budget management Cost accounting is defined as "a systematic set of procedures for recording and reporting measurements of the cost of manufacturing goods and performing services in the aggregate and in detail. It includes methods for recognizing, classifying, al ...
, resource allocation, collaboration software, communication, quality management and documentation or administration systems, which are used to deal with the complexity of large projects. *
Project Management Triangle The project management triangle (called also the ''triple constraint'', ''iron triangle'' and ''project triangle'') is a model of the constraints of project management. While its origins are unclear, it has been used since at least the 1950s. It ...
is a model of the constraints of project management. *
Project manager A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined start and a defined ...
: professional in the field of project management. Project managers can have the responsibility of the planning, execution, and closing of any project, typically relating to construction industry, architecture, computer networking, telecommunications or software development. * Project network is a graph (flow chart) depicting the sequence in which a project's terminal elements are to be completed by showing terminal elements and their dependencies. *
Project plan A project plan, according to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), is: "...a formal, approved document used to guide both ''project execution'' and ''project control''. The primary uses of the project plan are to document planning as ...
is a formal, approved document used to guide both ''project execution'' and ''project control''. The primary uses of the project plan are to document planning assumptions and decisions, facilitate communication among ''stakeholders'', and document approved scope, cost, and schedule ''baselines''. A project plan may be summary or detailed. *
Project planning Project planning is part of project management, which relates to the use of schedules such as Gantt charts to plan and subsequently report progress within the project environment. Project planning can be done manually or by the use of project m ...
is part of project management, which relates to the use of schedules such as Gantt charts to plan and subsequently report progress within the project environment. * Project stakeholders are those entities within or without an organization which sponsor a project or, have an interest or a gain upon a successful completion of a project. *
Project team In a project, a project team or team is defined as "an interdependent collection of individuals who work together towards a common goal and who share responsibility for specific outcomes of their organizations". An additional requirement to the or ...
is the management team leading the project, and provide services to the project. Projects often bring together a variety number of problems. Stakeholders have important issues with others. * Proport refers to the combination of the unique skills of an organisation's members for collective advantage.


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Quality Quality may refer to: Concepts *Quality (business), the ''non-inferiority'' or ''superiority'' of something *Quality (philosophy), an attribute or a property *Quality (physics), in response theory * Energy quality, used in various science discipl ...
can mean a high degree of excellence ("a quality product"), a degree of excellence or the lack of it ("work of average quality"), or a property of something ("the addictive quality of alcohol"). Distinct from the vernacular, the subject of this article is the business interpretation of quality. *
Quality, Cost, Delivery Quality, cost, delivery (QCD), sometimes expanded to quality, cost, delivery, morale, safety (QCDMS), is a management approach originally developed by the British automotive industry. QCD assess different components of the production process an ...
(QCD) as used in lean manufacturing measures a businesses activity and develops Key performance indicators. QCD analysis often forms a part of continuous improvement programs


R

* Reengineering is radical redesign of an organization's processes, especially its business processes. Rather than organizing a firm into functional specialties (like production, accounting, marketing, etc.) and considering the tasks that each function performs; complete processes from materials acquisition, to production, to marketing and distribution should be considered. The firm should be re-engineered into a series of processes. *
Resources Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which are technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and wants. Resources can broadly be classified upon their av ...
are what is required to carry out a project's tasks. They can be people, equipment, facilities, funding, or anything else capable of definition (usually other than labour) required for the completion of a project activity. * Resource leveling : 'A scheduling calculation that delays activities such that resource usage is kept below specified limits. It is also known as resource limited scheduling'. *
Risk In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environm ...
is the precise probability of specific eventualities. * Risk management is a management specialism aiming to reduce different risks related to a preselected domain to the level accepted by society. It may refer to numerous types of threats caused by environment, technology, humans, organizations and politics. * Risk register is a tool commonly used in project planning and organizational risk assessments.


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Schedule A schedule or a timetable, as a basic time-management tool, consists of a list of times at which possible tasks, events, or actions are intended to take place, or of a sequence of events in the chronological order in which such things are ...
s in project management consists of a list of a project's terminal elements with intended to start and finish dates. *
Scientific management Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engine ...
is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflow processes, improving labor productivity. *
Scope Scope or scopes may refer to: People with the surname * Jamie Scope (born 1986), English footballer * John T. Scopes (1900–1970), central figure in the Scopes Trial regarding the teaching of evolution Arts, media, and entertainment * Cinema ...
of a project in project management is the sum total of all of its products and their requirements or features. * Scope creep refers to uncontrolled changes in a project's scope. This phenomenon can occur when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled. It is generally considered a negative occurrence that is to be avoided. * Scrum is an iterative incremental process of software development commonly used with agile software development. Despite the fact that "Scrum" is not an acronym, some companies implementing the process have been known to adhere to an all capital letter expression of the word, i.e. SCRUM. * Six Sigma is a business management strategy, originally developed by Motorola, that today enjoys widespread application in many sectors of industry. * Slot-based scheduling term is first used by IBM Spectrum Symphony as a resource allocation method. It is implemented to project management literature by mentioning each slot as the replaceable qualified human hours required to complete a given task. *
Software engineering Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term '' ...
is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software. * Standards are documents approved by a recognized body, that provide, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines, or characteristics for products, processes, or services with which compliance is not mandatory. (ISO 9453) * Stakeholder Clients or other parties invested in the Project. *
Systems Development Life Cycle In systems engineering, information systems and software engineering, the systems development life cycle (SDLC), also referred to as the application development life cycle, is a process for planning, creating, testing, and deploying an informa ...
(SDLC) is any logical process used by a systems analyst to develop an information system, including requirements, validation, training, and user ownership. An SDLC should result in a high quality system that meets or exceeds customer expectations, within time and cost estimates, works effectively and efficiently in the current and planned
IT infrastructure Information technology infrastructure is defined broadly as a set of information technology (IT) components that are the foundation of an IT service; typically physical components (computer and networking hardware and facilities), but also vario ...
, and is cheap to maintain and cost-effective to enhance. *
Systems engineering Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their life cycles. At its core, systems engineering utilizes systems thinki ...
is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed.


T

* Task is part of a set of actions which accomplish a job, problem or assignment. * Tasks in project management are activity that needs to be accomplished within a defined period of time. *
Task analysis Task analysis is the analysis of how a task is accomplished, including a detailed description of both manual and mental activities, task and element durations, task frequency, task allocation, task complexity, environmental conditions, necessary cl ...
is the analysis or a breakdown of exactly how a task is accomplished, such as what sub-tasks are required *
Time limit A time limit or deadline is a narrow field of time, or a particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished. Once that time has passed, the item may be considered overdue (e.g., for work projects or school assignments). In ...
is a narrow field of time, or a particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished. *
Timeline A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale represen ...
is a graphical representation of a chronological sequence of events, also referred to as a chronology. It can also mean a schedule of activities, such as a timetable.


U

*
Unified Process The Unified Software Development Process or Unified Process is an iterative and incremental software development process framework. The best-known and extensively documented refinement of the Unified Process is the Rational Unified Process (R ...
: The Unified process is a popular iterative and incremental
software development process In software engineering, a software development process is a process of dividing software development work into smaller, parallel, or sequential steps or sub-processes to improve design, product management. It is also known as a software deve ...
framework. The best-known and extensively documented refinement of the Unified Process is the
Rational Unified Process The Rational Unified Process (RUP) is an iterative software development process framework created by the Rational Software Corporation, a division of IBM since 2003. RUP is not a single concrete prescriptive process, but rather an adaptable proce ...
(RUP).


V

*
Value engineering Value engineering (VE) is a systematic analysis of the functions of various components and materials to lower the cost of goods, products and services with a tolerable loss of performance or functionality. Value, as defined, ...
(VE) is a systematic method to improve the "value" of goods and services by using an examination of function. Value, as defined, is the ratio of function to
cost In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in whic ...
. Value can therefore be increased by either improving the function or reducing the
cost In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in whic ...
. It is a primary tenet of value engineering that basic functions be preserved and not be reduced as a consequence of pursuing value improvements. *
Vertical slice A vertical slice, sometimes abbreviated to VS, is a type of milestone, benchmark, or deadline, with emphasis on demonstrating progress across all components of a project. It may have originated in the video game industry. The term "vertical slic ...
is a type of milestone, benchmark, or deadline, with emphasis on demonstrating progress across all components of a project. *
Virtual Design and Construction Virtual design and construction (VDC) is the management of integrated multi-disciplinary performance models of design–construction projects, including the product (facilities), work processes, and organization of the design – construction – o ...
(VDC) is the use of integrated multi-disciplinary performance models of design-construction projects, including the Product (i.e., facilities), Work Processes and Organization of the design - construction - operation team in order to support explicit and public business objectives.


W

* Wideband Delphi is a consensus-based estimation technique for estimating effort. * Work in project management is the amount of effort applied to produce a deliverable or to accomplish a task (a terminal element). *
Work Breakdown Structure A work-breakdown structure (WBS) in project management and systems engineering is a deliverable-oriented breakdown of a project into smaller components. A work breakdown structure is a key project deliverable that organizes the team's work into ...
(WBS) is a method and a kind of representation that defines a project and groups the project's discrete work elements in a way that helps organize and define the total work scope of the project. A Work breakdown structure element may be a product, data, a service, or any combination. WBS also provides the necessary framework for detailed cost estimating and control along with providing guidance for schedule development and control. * Work package is a subset of a project that can be assigned to a specific party for execution. Because of the similarity, work packages are often misidentified as projects. * Work stream is a set of associated activities, focused around a particular scope that follow a path from initiation to completion.


Related lists

* List of production topics *
List of project management topics The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to project management: Project management – discipline of planning, organizing, securing, managing, leading, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals. A proj ...
*
List of management topics The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to management: Business management – management of a business. Business management rule #1 is delegation, assign the best qualified people to each position and trust ...
* List of Theory of Constraints topics *
List of topics in industrial organization The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to industrial organization: Industrial organization – describes the behavior of firms in the marketplace with regard to production, pricing, employment and other decisi ...
* Timeline of project management * List of statistical tools used in project management


References


External links


Project Management Institute

Wideman Comparative Glossary of Project Management Terms

AACE International Cost Engineering Terminology



Project Management Dictionary (PM Hut)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glossary Of Project Management
Project management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. T ...
Project management topics