| Glossary of Project
Management |
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cause-and-effect diagrams (also called
Ishikawa diagrams and fishbone diagrams)
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| These diagrams are used for root cause analysis of what
factors are creating the risks within the project. The goal is to identify and
treat the root of the problem, not the symptom |
| centralized
contracting
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All contracts for all projects need to be approved through a central
contracting unit within the performing organization
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| Change
Control Board (CCB)
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This board determines the validity and need for project
change requests and approves or denies them.
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| Change
Control System (CCS |
| An internal process the project manager can use to block
anyone, including management, from changing the deliverables of a project
without proper justification. Change control requires the requestor to have an
excellent reason to attempt a change and then it evaluates the proposed
change’s impact on all facets of the project. |
| Change
Impact Statement |
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A formal response from the project manager to the originator
of a Project Change Request form. It is summary of the project manager’s
proposed plan to incorporate the changes. Usually this is a listing of the
paths and trade-offs the project manager is willing to implement.
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| chart of
accounts
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A coding system used by the performing organization’s
accounting system to account for the project work.
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| checklists
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A list of activities that workers check to ensure the work
has been completed consistently. Checklists are used in quality control.
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| closing
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The period when a project or phase moves through formal
acceptance to bring the project or phase to an orderly conclusion.
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| coercive
power
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The type of power that comes with the authority to discipline the project team
members. This is also known as “penalty power.” It is generally used to
describe the power structure when the team is afraid of the project manager
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| collective bargaining
agreements
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These are contractual agreements initiated by employee
groups, unions, or other labor organizations. They may act as a constraint on
the project.
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| communication channel
formula
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| A formula to predict the number of communication channels
within a project; the formula is N(N – 1)/2, where N represents the number of
stakeholders. |
| Communications
Management Plan
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| A plan that documents and organizes stakeholder needs for
communication. This plan covers the communications system, its documentation,
the flow of communication, modalities of communication, schedules for
communications, information retrieval, and any other stakeholder requirements
for communications |
| compromising |
| A conflict resolution method that requires both parties to
give up something. The decision ultimately made is a blend of both sides of the
argument. Because neither party completely wins, it is considered a lose-lose
solution |
| configuration
management
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| Activities focusing on controlling the characteristics of
a product or service. A documented process of controlling the features,
attributes, and technical configuration of any product or service. It is
sometimes considered a rigorous CCS |
| constrained
optimization methods
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| These are complex mathematical formulas and algorithms
that are used to predict the success of projects, variables within projects,
and tendencies to move forward with selected project investments. Examples
include linear programming, integer algorithms, and multi- objective
programming |
| constraint |
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A boundary or limit based on the relationship between tasks.
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| consultative
decision-making process
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| The project team meets with the project manager and
together they may arrive at several viable solutions. The project manager then
can take the proposed solutions and make a decision based on what she thinks is
best for the project |
| contingency plan
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| A predetermined decision that will be enacted should the
project go away |
| contingency reserve
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A time or dollar amount allotted as a response to risk events
that may occur within a project.
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| Continuous Quality
Improvement
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| The theory that all practices within an organization are
processes and that processes can be infinitely improved |
| contract |
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A legal, binding agreement, preferably written, between a
buyer and seller detailing the requirements and obligations of both parties. It
must include an offer, an acceptance, and a consideration.
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| contract
administration
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| The process of ensuring that the buyer and the seller both
perform to the specifications within the contract |
| contract Change
Control System
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| A system that defines the procedures for how contracts may
be changed. Includes the paperwork, tracking, conditions, dispute resolution
procedures, and the procedures for getting the changes approved within the
performing organization. |
| contract closeout
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| A process for confirming that the obligations of the
contract have been met as expected. The project manager, customer, key
stakeholder, and, in some instances, seller complete the product verification
together to confirm the contract has been completed |
| contract file
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| A complete indexed set of records of the procurement
process incorporated into the administrative closure process. These records
include financial information as well as information on the performance and
acceptance of the procured work |
| control account plans
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A control tool within the project that represents the
integration of the project scope, project schedule, and budget. It allows
management to measure the progress of a project.
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| control charts
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These illustrate the performance of a project over time. They
map the results of inspections against a chart. Control charts are typically
used in projects or operations that have repetitive activities such as
manufacturing, test series, or help desk functions. Upper and lower control
limits indicate if values are within control or out of control.
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controlling
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| The project is controlled and managed. The project manager
controls the project scope and changes, and monitors changes to the project
budget, schedule, and scope by comparing plans to actual results and taking
corrective action as necessary |
| core processes
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| These processes are common to all projects. The core
processes are scope planning, scope definition, activity definition, resource
planning, activity sequencing, activity duration estimation, cost estimating,
risk management planning, schedule development, cost budgeting, and project
plan development |
| cost baseline
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| This shows what the project is expected to spend. It’s
usually shown in an S-Curve and allows the project
manager and management to predict when the project will be spending monies and
over what duration. The purpose of the cost baseline is to measure and predict
project performance |
| cost budgeting
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A process of assigning a cost to an individual work package.
This process shows costs over time. The cost budget results in an
S-Curve that becomes the cost baseline for the project.
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Cost Change Control
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This is part of the Integrated Change Control System and
documents the procedures to request, approve, and incorporate changes to
project costs.
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| cost control
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| An active process to control causes of cost change,
document cost changes, and monitor cost fluctuations within the project. When
changes occur, the cost baseline must be updated. |
| cost estimating
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The process of calculating the costs, by category, of the
identified resources to complete the project work.
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| Cost of conformance
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| The cost of completing the project work to satisfy the
project scope and the expected level of quality. Examples include training,
safety measures, and quality management activities |
| cost of nonconformance
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| The cost of completing the project work without meeting
the quality standards. The biggest issue here is the money lost by having to
redo the project work; it’s always more cost-effective to do the work right the
first time. Other nonconformance costs are loss of sales, loss of customers,
downtime, and corrective actions to fix problems caused by the incorrect work. |
| Cost Performance Index
(CPI) |
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This is a reflection of the amount of actual cumulative
dollars spent on a project’s work and how closely that value is to the
predicted budgeted amount. The formula for the CPI is as follows: CPI = EV/AC.
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| cost variance
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The difference in the amount of budgeted expense and the
actual expense. A negative variance means that more money was spent on the
service or goods than what was budgeted for it.
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| crashing |
| This is the addition of more resources to activities on
the critical path in order to complete the project earlier. Crashing results in
higher project costs |
| critical path
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| The sequence of events that determine the project
completion date |
| Critical Path Method
(CPM)
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| The CPM is the most common approach to calculating when a
project may finish. It uses a “forward” and “backward” path to reveal which
activities are considered critical, and which contain float. If activities on
the critical path are delayed, the project end date will be delayed. |
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