PMBOK Glossary

acceptance criteria

a set of conditions that are met before deliverables are accepted

accuracy

within the quality management system, accuracy is an assessment of correctness

actual cost (AC)

the realized cost incurred for the work performed on an activity during a specific period

adaptive approach

a development approach in which the requirements are subject to a high level of uncertainty and volatility and are likely to change throughout the project

agile

a term used to describe a mindset of values and principles as set forth in the Manifesto for Agile Software Development

ambiguity

a state of being unclear, having difficulty in identifying the cause of events, or having multiple options from which to choose

artifact

a document or other item created during a portfolio, program or project to help manage it and provide information to the project team, stakeholders, or management

assumption

a factor in the planning process considered to be true, real, or certain, without prof or demonstration

authority

the right to apply project resources, expend funds, make decisions or give approvals

baseline

the approved version of a work product that can be changed using formal change control procedures and is used as the basis for comparison to actual results

benefit

a gain or asset realized by the organization and other stakeholders as the result of outcomes delivered

bid documents

all documents used to solicit information, quotations, or proposals from perspective sellers

bidder conference

meetings with prospective sellers prior to the preparation of a bid or proposal to ensure all prospective vendors have a clear and common understanding of the procurement. also known as a contractor conference, or pre-bid conference

budget

the approved estimate for the portfolio, program, or project, or any work breakdown structure component or schedule activity

budget at completion (BAC)

the sum of all budgets established for the work to be performed

burn chart

a graphical representation of the work remaining in a timebox or the work completed toward the release of a product or project deliverable

business value

the net quantifiable derived from a business endeavor that may be tangible, intangible, or both

cadence

a rhythm of activities conducted throughout the project

change

a modification to any formally controlled deliverable, project management plan component, or project document

change control

a process whereby modifications to documents, deliverables. or baselines associated with the project are identified, documented, approved, or rejected

change control board (CCB)

a formally chartered group responsible for reviewing, evaluating, approving, delaying, or rejecting changes to the project, and or rejected

change management

a comprehensive, cyclic, and structured approach for transitioning individuals, groups, and organizations from a current state to a future state with intended business benefits

closing focus area

processes performed to formally complete or close a project, phase, contract, or in some cases, to terminate a project before completion

complexity

a characteristic of a program, or project or its environment that is difficult to manage human behavior, system behavior, and ambiguity

confirmation bias

a type of cognitive bias that confirms preexisting beliefs or hypotheses

conformance

the degree to which the results meet the set quality requirements

constraint

a limiting factor that affects the execution of a portfolio, program, project, or process

contingency

an event or occurrence that could affect the execution of the project, which may be accounted for with a reserve

contingency reserve

time or money allocated in the schedule or cost baseline for known risks with active response strategies

continuous delivery

the practice of delivering feature increments immediately to customers often through the use of small batches of work and automation technology

contract

a mutually binding agreement that obligates the seller to provide the specified product, service, or result and obligates the buyer to pay for it

control

the process of comparing actual performance with planned performance, analyzing variances, assessing tends to effect process improvements, evaluating possible alternatives, and recommending appropriate corrective action as needed

cost performance index (CPI)

a measure of the cost efficiency of budgeted resources expressed as the ration of earned value to actual cost

cost reimbursable contract

a type of contract involving payment to the sellers actual cost, plus a fee typically representing the sellers profit

cost variance (CV)

the amount of budget deficit or surplus at a given point in time expressed as the difference between the earned value and the actual cost

crashing

a schedule compression technique used to shorten the schedule duration for the least incremental cost by adding resources

criteria

standards, rules, or tests on which a judgement or decision can be based or by which a product, service, result, or process can be evaluated

critical path

the sequence of activities that represents the longest path through a project, which determines the shortest possible duration

cumulative flow diagram

a chart indicating features completed overtime, features in others stats of development and those in the backlog

dashboard

a set of charts and graphs showing progress or performance against important measures of the project

definition of done (DoD)

a checklist of all the criteria required to be met so that a deliverable can be considered ready for customer use

duration

the total number of work periods required to complete an activity or work breakdown structure component, expressed in hours, days, or weeks

earned value (EV)

the measure of work performed expressed in terms of the budget authorized for that work

effort

the number of labor units required to complete a schedule activity or work breakdown structure component, often expressed in hours, days, or weeks

epic

a large, related body of work intended to hierarchically organize a set of requirements and deliver specific business outcomes

estimate

a quantitative assessment of the likely amount or outcome of a variable, such as project costs, resources, effort, or durations

estimate at completion (EAC)

the expected total cost of completing all work expressed as the sum of the actual cost to date and the estimate to complete

estimate to complete (ETC)

the expected cost to finish all the remaining project work

executing focus area

consists of those processes performed to complete the work in a manner consistent with the integrated baseline, which can and shold be changed whenever such a change would enhance the value proposition of the project

expected monetary value (EMV)

the estimated value of an outcome expressed in monetary terms

explicit knowledge

knowledge that can be codified using symbols such as words, numbers, and pictures

exterrnal dependencies

relationships between project activities and non-project activities

fast tracking

a schedule compression technique in which activities or phase normally done in sequence are performed in parallel for at least a portion of their duration

feature

a set of related requirements or functionalities that provides value to an organization

fixed-price contract

an agreement that sets the fee that will be paid for a defined scope of work regardless of the cost or effort to deliver it

flow

the measure of how efficiently work moves through a given process or framework

forecast

an estimate or prediction of conditions and events in the projects feature based on information and knowledge available at the time of the forecast

function point

an estimate of the amount of business functionality in an information system, used to calculate the functional size measurement of a software system

gantt chart

a bar chart of schedule information where activities are listed on the vertical axis dates are shown on the horizontal axis and activity durations are shown as horizontal bars placed according to start and finish dates

governance

the framework for directing and enabling an organization through its established policies, practices, and other relevant documentation

histogram

a bar chart that shows the graphical representation of numerical data

hybrid approach

a combination of elements from both adaptive and predictive approaches that is useful when there is uncertainty or risk around the requirements

impediment

an obstacle that prevents the team from achieving its objectives, also known as a blocker

incremental approach

an adaptive development approach in which the deliverable is produced successively, adding functionality until the deliverable contains the necessary and sufficient capability to be considered complete

initiating focus area

those processes performed to define a new project or new phase of an existing project by obtaining authorization to start the project or phase

internal dependencies

relationships between two or more project activities

issue

a current condition or situation that may have an impact on one or more objectives

iteration

a short cycle of development during which a product or deliverable is released or further matured

iteration plan

a detailed plan for the current iteration

iteration planning

a meeting to clarify the details of the backlog items acceptance criteria, ad work effort required to meet an upcoming iteration commitment

iteration review

a meeting held at the end of an iteration to demonstrate the work that was accomplished during the iterationiterat

iterative approach

a development approach that focuses on an initial, simplified implementation then progressively elaborated adding to the feature set until the final deliverable is complete

kanban board

a visualization tool that shows work in progress to help identify bottlenecks and overcommitments, thereby allowing the team to optimize the workflow

knowledge

a mixture of experience, values, and beliefs, contextual information, intuition, and insight that people use to make sense of new experiences and information

lessons learned

the knowledge gained during a project that shows how project events were addressed or should be addressed in the future for the purpose of improving future performance

log

a document used to record and describe or denote selected items identified during execution of a process or activity. usually used with a modifier such as issue, change, or assumption

management reserve

time or money that management sets aside in addition to the schedule or cost baseline and released for unforseen work that is within the scope of the portfolio, program, or project

mandatory dependency

a relationship that is contractually required or inherent in the nature of the work

method

a means or achieving an outcome, output, result, or project deliverable

methodology

a system of practices, techniques, procedures, and rules used by those who work in a discipline

metric

a description of a project or product attribute and how to measure it

milestone

a significant point or event in a portfolio, program, or project

milestone schedule

a type of schedule that presents milestones with planned dates

minimum viable product (MVP)

a concept used to define the scope of the first release of a solution to customers by identifying the fewest number of features or requirements that would deliver value

modeling

creating simplified representations of systems, solutions, or deliverables such as prototypes, diagrams, or storyboards

monitoring

collecting project performance data, producing performance measures, and reporting and disseminating performance information

monitoring and controlling focus area

those processes required to track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project; identify any areas in which changes to the plan are required, and initiate the corresponding changes

monte carlo analysis / simulation

a method of identifying the potential impacts of risk and uncertainty using multiple iterations of a computer model to develop a probability distribution of a range of outcomes that could result from a decision or course of action

net promoter score

an index that measures the willingness of customers to recommend an organizations products or services to others

network path

a sequence of activities connected by logical relationships in a project schedule network diagram

objective

something toward which work is to be directed - a strategic position to be attained, a purpose to be achieved, a result to be obtained, a product to be produced, or a service to be performed

opportunity

a risk that would have a positive effect on one or more portfolio, program, or project objectives

organizational breakdown structure

a hierarchical representation of the project organization that illustrates the relationship between project activities and the organizational units that will perform those activities

outcome

an end result or consequence of a process or project

performance measurement

measures that characterize physical or functional attributes relating to system operation

phase gate

a review at the end of a phase in which a decision is made to continue to the next phase, to continue with modification, or to end a program or project

plan

a proposed means of accomplishing something

planned value (PV)

the authorized budget assigned to schedule work

planning focus area

those processes that establish the total scope of the effort, define and refine the objectives, and develop the course of action required to attain those objectives

portfolio

a collection of programs, projects, and operations managed as a group to maximize overall value delivery and achieve strategic objectives, meet mandatory obligations, or generate income streams