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Laddering
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A method of showing the logical precedential relationship of a set of activities that is repeated several times consecutively.
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Required Completion Time
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The time or date by which a project must be completed.
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Critical Path
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In a network diagram, any path of activities with zero or negative total slack.
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Responsibility Matrix
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A table that lists the individuals or organizational units responsible for accomplishing each work item in a work breakdown structure.
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Contract
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An agreement between a contractor, who agrees to provide a product or service (deliverables), and a customer, who agrees to pay the contractor a certain amount of money in return.
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Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT)
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GERT: A type of network planning technique.
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Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
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A project management planning tool consisting of a set of phases or steps to be completed over the course of development of an information system.
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Baseline Plan
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The original plan, or roadmap, laying out the way in which the project scope will be accomplished on time and within budget.
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Work Breakdown Structure
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A hierarchical tree of work elements or items that will be accomplished or produced by the project team during the project.
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Cost
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The amount the customer has agreed to pay for acceptable project deliverables.
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Critical Path Method(CPM)
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CPM: A network planning technique.
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Activity in the Box (AIB)
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A form of network diagramming in which activities are represented by boxes.
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Cost Estimate
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Estimate of total cost of an activity based on the types and quantities of resources required for that activity.
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Cutsomer Requirements
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Specifications for a project and/or attributes of a deliverable specified by a customer in a request for proposal. Requirements may include size, quantity, color, speed, and other physical or operational parameters that a contractor’s proposed solution must satisfy.
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Work Package
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The lowest-level item of any branch of a work breakdown structure.
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Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
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PDM: A network planning technique.
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Project scope
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All the work that must be done to accomplish the project’s objective to the customer’s satisfaction; scope of the project; work scope.
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Free Slack (FS)
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The amount of time that a particular activity can be delayed without delaying the earliest start time of its immediately succeeding activities; the relative difference between the amounts of total slack for activities entering into that same activity. It’s always a positive value.
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Activity on the arrow (AOA)
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A form of network diagramming in which activities are represented by arrows.
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Network Diagram
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A graphic display of the activities to be performed to achieve the overall project work scope, showing their sequence and interdependencies.
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Activity
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A defined piece of work that consumes time; task.
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Information System (IS)
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A computer-based system that accepts data as input, processes the data, and produces information for users.
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Fixed Price Contract
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A contract in which a customer and a contractor agree on a price that will not change no matter how much the project actually costs the contractor.
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Planning
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The systematic arrangement of tasks to accomplish an objective; determining what needs to be done, who will do it, how long it will take, and how much it will cost.
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Bid / No Bid Decision
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An evaluation by a contractor of whether to go ahead with the preparation of a proposal in response to a customer’s request for proposal.
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Project life cycle
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The four phases through which a project moves: identification of a need, problem, or opportunity; development of a proposed solution; implementation of the proposed solution; and termination of the project.
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Most Critical Path
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In a network diagram, the most time-consuming (longest) path of activities; the path of activities that has the lowest value—either least positive or most negative—for total slack.
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Overhead
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A percentage of the direct costs of a particular project, added to a contractor’s proposal to cover costs of doing business, such as insurance, depreciation, general management, and human resources; indirect costs.
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Earliest Start Time (ES)
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The earliest time at which a particular activity can begin; the project’s estimated start time plus the estimated duration of preceding activities.
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Predecessor Event
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The event at the beginning of an activity (tail of the arrow) in the activity-on-the-arrow form of network diagramming; start event.
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Standard Deviation
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A measure of the dispersion, or spread, of a distribution from its expected value; the square root of the variance.
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Dummy Activity
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A special type of activity, used in the activity-on-the-arrow form of network diagramming, that consumes no time. A dummy activity is represented by a dashed arrow.
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Work Items
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Individual pieces of a project in a work breakdown structure.
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Earliest Finish Time (EF)
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The earliest time by which a particular activity can be completed; the activity’s earliest start time plus the activity’s estimated duration.
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Events
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Interconnecting points that link activities in the activity-on-the-arrow form of network diagramming. An event is represented by a circle.
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Project Scope
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An endeavor to accomplish a specific objective through a unique set of interrelated tasks and the effective utilization of resources.
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(BAFO) Best and Final Offer
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A final price for a project, submitted by a contractor at the request of a customer who is considering proposals from several contractors for the same project.
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Total Slack (AKA Float)
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Float. If it’s a positive value, it’s the amount of time that the activities on a particular path can be delayed without jeopardizing completion of the project by its required completion time. If it’s a negative value, it’s the amount of time that the activities on a particular path must be accelerated in order to complete the project by its required completion time.
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Project Seletion
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Evaluating various needs or opportunities and then deciding which of these should move forward as a project to be implemented.
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Management Reserve (Contingency)
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An amount a contractor may include in a proposal to cover unexpected costs that may arise during a project; management reserve.
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Contingency
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An amount a contractor may include in a proposal to cover unexpected costs that may arise during a project; management reserve.
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Request for proposal (RFP)
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A document, usually prepared by the customer, that defines a need or problem, requirements, and expectations.
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Variance
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A measure of the dispersion, or spread, of a distribution from its expected value.
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Cost Reimbursement Contract
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A contract in which a customer agrees to pay a contractor for all actual costs incurred during a project, plus some agreed-upon profit.
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Program Evaluation and Review Techniques (PERT)
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PERT: A network planning technique.
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Objective
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The expected result or product of a project, usually defined in terms of scope, schedule, and cost.
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Normal Probability Distribution
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A bellshaped distribution of values that is symmetrical around its mean value.
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Due Date
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The date, specified in a request for proposal, by which a customer expects potential contractors to submit proposals.
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Successor Event
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The event at the end of an activity (head of the arrow) in the activity-on-the-arrow form of network diagramming; finish event.
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Latest Finish Time (LF)
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The latest time by which a particular activity must be completed in order for the entire project to be finished by its required completion time.
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Estimated Start Time
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The time or date when a project is expected to begin.
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Gantt Chart
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A planning and scheduling tool that displays project activities along a time scale; bar chart.
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Deliverables
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The tangible items or products that the customer expects the contractor to provide during performance of the project.
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Beta Probability Distribution
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A distribution that is frequently used to calculate the expected duration and variance for an activity based on the activity’s optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic time estimates.
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Latest Start time (LS)
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The latest time by which a particular activity must be started in order for the entire project to be finished by its required completion time; the activity’s latest finish time minus the activity’s estimated duration.
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Schedule
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A timetable for a project plan.
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Statement of Work (SOW)
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A document outlining the tasks, or work elements, the customer wants the contractor to perform.
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Work Scope
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An endeavor to accomplish a specific objective through a unique set of interrelated tasks and the effective utilization of resources.
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Indirect Costs (Overhead)
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A percentage of the direct costs of a particular project, added to a contractor’s proposal to cover costs of doing business, such as insurance, depreciation, general management, and human resources; indirect costs.
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Bar Chart
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AKA Gant Chart.
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Customer
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The entity that provides the funds necessary to accomplish a project. A customer may be a person, an organization, or a group of people or organizations.
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Exception
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A variation from a customer’s specified requirements, stated by a contractor in a proposal.
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Evaluation Criteria
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The standards, specified in a request for proposal, that a customer will use to evaluate proposals from competing contractors.
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Precedential Relationship
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The order in which activities must be finished before other activities can start.
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Proposal
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A document, usually prepared by a contractor, that outlines an approach to meeting a need or solving a problem for a potential customer.
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