Project Management and International Studies Glossary

Vocabulary flashcards covering core project management phases, estimation methods, cost baseline concepts, change and risk control, as well as foundational terms in international studies, globalization, and international organizations.

Initiation Phase

The starting point of a project life cycle where an organization determines why the project is needed, what it intends to accomplish, and whether it is feasible.

Planning Phase

The phase of the project life cycle that involves defining project scope, establishing schedules, budgets, tasks, and refining objectives into a detailed project plan.

Execution Phase

The phase of the project life cycle in which the project team carries out planned tasks and utilizes resources to produce project deliverables.

Monitoring and Controlling Phase

The phase that occurs alongside execution to continuously track progress, compare performance against the project plan, and implement corrective actions.

Closing Phase

The final project life cycle phase focused on obtaining formal acceptance of deliverables, completing documentation, releasing resources, and documenting lessons learned.

Waterfall Methodology

A project management approach following a fixed, sequential process (Requirements -> Design -> Development -> Testing -> Implementation -> Maintenance) with requirements set at the beginning.

Agile Methodology

A flexible project management approach focused on rapid iterations, continuous collaboration, frequent stakeholder feedback, and incremental deliverables.

Time Stamping

Technology that records the exact date and time when an activity, document, or transaction occurs to maintain accountability and schedule tracking.

Project Charter

A formal document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project and gives the project manager authority to apply organizational resources.

Project Scope Statement

A document defining what is and is not included in the project, detailing boundaries, deliverables, requirements, assumptions, and constraints.

Scope Creep

The uncontrolled expansion of a project's scope beyond its original objectives without proper evaluation of cost, time, or resource impacts.

Stakeholder

An individual, group, or organization that may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project.

Stakeholder Register

A living centralized document that identifies, categorizes, and organizes details regarding project stakeholders, including their influence, expectations, and communication strategies.

Rolling Wave Planning

An iterative project planning technique where near-term work is planned in detail while long-term work is kept at a high level and progressively elaborated over time.

Sustainable Project Planning

The process of managing projects by balancing economic viability, social equity, and environmental stewardship across the project lifecycle.

Cost Baseline

The approved, time-phased budget used to track, measure, and control overall project cost performance.

Planned Value (PV)

The authorized budget assigned to scheduled work expected to be completed by a specific measurement date.

Earned Value (EV)

The measurement of work actually completed expressed in terms of the budget authorized for that work.

Actual Cost (AC)

The total financial expenditures incurred for work performed on project activities during a specific time period.

Sunk Costs

Past expenditures that have already been incurred and cannot be recovered, which should be ignored when making future project decisions.

Analogous Estimating

An estimation technique that calculates cost or duration based on historical data from a similar previous project.

Parametric Estimating

An estimation technique using historical data and statistical relationships to calculate costs using measurable parameters, calculated as $\text{Estimate} = \text{Quantity} \times \text{Rate}$.

Three-Point Estimating (PERT)

An estimating technique evaluating uncertainty by combining optimistic (O), most likely (M), and pessimistic (P) values using the weighted formula $E = \frac{O + 4M + P}{6}$.

Change Request

A formal proposal to modify any project baseline, document, scope, schedule, budget, or resource requirement.

Post-Implementation Review (PIR)

A structured evaluation conducted after a change or project goes live to measure actual outcomes against original objectives and document lessons learned.

Risk Register

A centralized project management document used to record identified risks, their severity, priority, probability, impact, owners, and planned responses.

International Studies

An interdisciplinary field examining political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental interactions and processes connecting countries and actors across borders.

Global Citizenship

The awareness of being part of an interconnected global community, respecting diversity, and taking responsible local and global actions for a fair and sustainable world.

Economic Globalization

The increasing integration and interdependence of national economies through cross-border trade, capital movement, technology transfer, and global supply chains.

Cultural Homogenization

The process where dominant global or Western media and consumer products lead to the erosion of distinct local traditions and cultural identities.

Global Governance

The collective system of rules, institutions, and processes through which sovereign states and non-state actors cooperate to address global problems.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

An international organization established in 1995 that sets trade rules, enforces agreements, promotes trade liberalization, and resolves international trade disputes.

World Health Organization (WHO)

A specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health, whose constitution took effect on April 7, 1948.

International Labour Organization (ILO)

A specialized UN agency established in 1919 with a tripartite structure involving governments, employers, and workers to promote decent work and labor standards.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

An investment made by an entity from one country into a business operating in another country with the goal of establishing lasting interest or management control.

Greenfield Investment

A form of FDI where a parent company builds entirely new operational facilities, such as factories or offices, from the ground up in a foreign country.

Brownfield Investment

A form of FDI where a company purchases, leases, or upgrades existing facilities or operational businesses in a foreign country.