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 100% rule | idea that all of the work at the lowest levels of he WBS must roll up to create the higher levels and that nothing is left out and nothing unnecessary is included |
| Accepted deliverables | Deliverables that are formally signed off and approved by the customer or sponsor |
| accuracy | a measure ofhow close repeated measurements are to the desired value |
| acquisition | purchasing resources from outside the project |
| activities | the verbs of the project. those things that must be accomplished t create the project deliverables |
| activity attributes | extensions of the activity list that include other information about the activity including descriptions, predecessors, successors, leads and lags and other information |
| activity list | the list of activities developed in the process of decomposing work packages |
| activity sequencing | placing activities in a logical order based on dependencies. dependencies can be mandatory ( required by law) or discretionary(based on risk preferences). External dependencies are imposed on the project from outside the project |
| advertising | publishing the intention to purchase so that the vendor pool can be expanded |
| analogous estimating | compares the project or activity to a similar project that has been completed in the past to identify the cost or duration of the current project. adjustments can be made given the differences between the two projects |
| arbitration | a method of ADR in which an impartial arbitrator reviews the claims and evidence and makes a decision for the parties |
| assumption | those things believed to be real or true for the purposes of project planning. Assumptions deal with uncertainty, but , unlike risks, presume an outcome |
| attribute versus variables sampling | in attribute sampling, the result either conforms or it doesn't. in variables sampling the result is measured on a continuous scale (1-5) |
| Authority | the right to apply project resources, to make decisions , and to sign approvals |
| Benchmarking | comparing the project to another project or operation |
| Bidder conferences | meetings with vendors after the release of the procurement docs but before the due date for vendor responses. Bidder conferences ensure that all vendors have equal information and provide an opportunity for vendors to ask questions about the proposal |
| bottom-up estimating | estimating the total duration of the project or total cost by estimating the duration of each activity and summing those durations. bottom-up estimating is regarded as the most accurate method. it requires the most detailed information |
| buffers | additional time added to the project schedule at appropriate points to take into account the time needed before a resource is available. Buffers are similar to reserves and are associated with the critical chain method of scheduling |
| business case | the documents that evaluates the merit of the project. a feasibility study is less demanding than a business case and determines whether a project can work or not. the business case also includes financial analysis to determine which projects are best |
| change control board | a group authorized to consider requested changes and to decide which will be implemented |
| change requests | official requests filed in accordance with an agreed change management process requesting changes in the project plan. note that deliverables cannot be changed without also changing the plan |
| charter | the doc that initiates a project. it must contain the business need for which the project has been initiated, the solution to be provided and other details. the charter must be a consensus document that reaches agreement between the sponsor, who has a need, and the project team, that agrees to meet the need |
| code and decode | coding is the process of converting a message into terms that can be understood by recipients. decoding is the process of converting the message into terms that can be used by the recipients |
| code of accounts | a numbering system for the elements of the WBS and the activity list. a code of accounts helps link activities to the deliverables that they create |
| co-location | locating the members of the ream in one location for the duration of hte project |
| communications managements analysis | an analysis that determins the communications needs of stakeholders |
| competencies | the skills and capacities needed to complete activities |
| composite organization | and organization that can be functional at one time and projectized in another |
| configurations management | a system that provides for the identification and management of the functional and physical characteristics of a product, service, or component. Configuration management differs from change control in that it is chiefly focused on the characteristics of products and changes in eh m rather then the changes in the project |
| conformance/non-conformance | the two parts of the cost of quality. conformance costs include prevention and appraisal. non-conformance costs include internal failure and external failure. external failure is failure found by the customer |
| consideration | the thing of value exchanged in a contract usually money |
| constraints | anything that limits the project team. constraints often include time constraints and an assigned budget |
| contract | a legally binding doc that obligates a seller to pay for services or goods provided by the vendor |
| control accounts | control points in the WBS that help manage the project. Deliverables can be grouped into control accounts, which can be similar to project phases |
| control charts | a method for tracking results of a process to determine if he process is in control or out of control. control charts attempt to distinguish random errors from special cause errors |
| corrective action | action taken to bring expected future performance into line with the plan |
| cost aggregation | combining the costs of individual activities to determine the total project budget |
| cost of quality | the costs assignable to quality activities. they include the costs of conformance with quality standards and the costs of non-conformance |
| cost-reimbursement contracts | contracts that pay the vendor for the reasonable cost of providing goods or services. these shift cost risk to the buyer |
| cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF) | a fixed fee is usually based on a percentage of the original cost estimate |
| Cost-Plus-Incentive-fee (CPIF) | the vendor and the buyer split the results if costs come in under or over a pre-specified target |
| Cost-Plus-award-fee(CPAF) | the vendor is provided an incentive payment for meeting non-financial targets |
| critical path | longest path through the project network diagram. Because it is the longest, it cannot be delayed without delaying the project |
| data gathering and representation techniques | method of quantitatively assessing project risk. They include interviewing and probability distributions. Other tools are analysis and modeling techniques |
| decision trees | the application of expected monetary value (EVM) to situations involving a choice between alternatives |
| defect repair | identification of defects in products with recommendations for repair or replacement |
| deliverables | the nouns of the project, things that the project create. |
| Project-based deliverables | deliverables that are only of use to the project |
| product-based deliverables | deliverables that are handed off to the user |
| design of experiments | the creation of experiments that allow variables to be successively held constant to identify the impact of each variable on the process or project |
| direct cost | cost that can be clearly and directly assigned to a unit of work |
| in-direct cost | cost that must be allocated to the project. Utility cost for the project can't be directly assigned to a project and must be assigned |
| documentation reviews | a review of project documents to identify risks |
| durations | number of work periods that an activity or project will take |
| early terminations | special case of contract termination in which the contract is terminated early due to a cause or reasons employing early termination clauses in the contract |
| enterprise environmental factors | elements of the project's environment that bear on the project, such as organizational culture and processes. |
| expectancy theory | theory that states that employees are motivated if they can reasonable expect a reward for performance |
| expected monetary value analysis | combination of probability and monetary outcomes to identify the most probable outcome of an uncertain set of circumstances |
| expert judgment | estimating or other advice provided by those whose have clear expertise |
| fallback plans | plans for risk responses in the event that the primary response does not work |
| fixed-price contracts | contracts that party the vendor a fixed price for agreed-upon goods or services. these shift cost risk to the seller |
| Firm-Fixed price contracts (FFP) | a fixed price for work done |
| fixed-price-incentive fee (FPIF) | pays the vendor additional amounts for meeting predefined targets |
| fixed-price with economic price adjustment(FP-EPA) | contracts which allows adjustments to the amount paid based on the changes in the costs of critical commodities. these are most useful for long-term arrangements |
| flowcharting | mapping the flow of process activites to improve efficiency and remove bottlenecks |
| force field analysis | assessment of the positive and negative forces that bear on a project or process to determine how to optimize chances for success |
| forward pass/backward pass | process of identifying the float available to each activity by comparing early start dates and late start dates. if the two are the same the activity is on the critical path and has no float |
| functional manager | a manager in an organization that is arranged traditionally and by function. they control resources that the project manager need |
| funding limit reconciliation | identifying the cash needs of the project and ensuring that cash is available when needed |
| grade | a category assigned to a product having the same functional use but different technical characteristics |
| ground rules | rules for team behavior, which can include rules for conflict management and communications |