Project Management & Technical Communication - CRASH COURSE

50/50 Rule (EVM work measurement)

A task is considered 50% complete when it starts. The remaining 50% credit is given when the task is completed.

0/100 Rule (EVM work measurement)

A task obtains 0% credit when the activity begins and 100% credit when the task is completed.

20/80 Rule (EVM work measurement)

A task is considered 20% complete when it starts. The remaining 80% credit is given when the task is completed.

3P analysis (in presentation)

Analysis of Person (audience), Purpose (purpose), and Place (place/environment).

5W2HIT principle

A set of basic questions (Why, What, Target, How, When, Who, Where, How much) to be asked when writing most reports.

7 Basic Quality Tools (7QC tools)

Used to solve quality-related problems within the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Action) cycle. Includes Pareto Chart, Cause and Effect Diagram, Control Chart, Scatter Diagram, Flowchart, Check sheet, and Histogram.

80-20 rule (Pareto’s rule)

Found by Pareto, meaning that the top 20% of customers generate 80% of sales, and solving the core 20% of problems tend to solve 80% of all problems.

Acceptance (Negative Risk Response)

Strategy adopted when risk elimination is not possible; can be passive (no action) or active (contingency reserve).

Acceptance (Positive Risk Response)

Choose to take advantage of opportunities but not actively pursue them so that risks arise.

Actual Cost (AC)

The costs actually incurred for the work completed.

Activity duration estimation

A process of estimating the time it will take to perform each activity with the allocated resources.

Adaptive life cycle

An agile process that reacts promptly to external changes, and its purpose is to flexibly respond to changing requirements to fulfill the value of the project.

Adjusted FP Count

Unadjusted FP Count x VAF.

Agile methodology

An adaptive model that continuously creates prototypes at regular intervals, adds and modifies requirements in a timely manner, compared to existing traditional methodologies.

Alternative hypothesis

A new argument that we hope to prove as a new truth through testing.

Analogous Estimating (activity duration estimation)

A method of estimation by referring to similar projects performed in the past.

Analogous Estimating (cost estimation)

A method of estimating the cost of the current project based on the scope, cost, budget, and duration of similar projects in the past.

Analysis (Technical Document)

A document specifying detailed conditions required when designing or manufacturing SW products. OR a document to be made to understand the requirements for SW in order to develop SW.

Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

A technique that leads to the final decision by arranging the information of the situation in hierarchical tree for decision-making and analyzing it in stages.

Appraisal Costs (Cost of Conformance)

Cost for product quality validation/verification (e.g., test, inspection).

Approval

The act of a person who has the correct authority to decide his or her decision.

Avoid (Negative Risk Response)

A method of isolating or changing the project's objectives from the scope of the risk's impact to completely eliminate the risk.

Backward Pass

A method of deriving the start date based on the project finish date from duration of and the relationship between tasks.

Balanced matrix organization

A structure in which members of the functional organization play the role of project managers.

Bottom-up Estimating

A method of estimating the sum of the lowest-level work packages to come up with upper-level cost.

Bottom-up communication

includes reports from bottom to top of the organization.

Brainstorming

A kind of meeting method to come up with ideas.

Budgeting (cost management)

A process of creating an approved cost baseline by collecting individual activities and work packages of cost estimation, or estimated costs, in order to manage all costs in an integrated manner.

Business

continually managing something in a structured manner with a certain purpose and plan. OR a series of activities that provide products and services to customers and obtain profits in return (in business administration).

Business communication

a system and process in which a company shares with various stakeholders information and meanings arising in the process of performing a series of business to provide products or services to customers in return for profits.

Business documents

All types of documents necessary for business activities such as process planning documents, business reports, meeting minutes, results and status reports.

Business plan (plan)

A guideline that includes business-related details such as the content of the project, the characteristics of the target market, and the possibility of success in the market so that the business plan can review the feasibility of the project and prepare for possible future risks.

Business problem solving

The process of finding the “blue ocean’, which is a business opportunity, and it is the process of creating a new market through a solution that can address the current problems (planning aspect) OR a task to more efficiently execute a current market opportunity (improving internal processes aspect).

CMS (Configuration Management System)

A management tool that systematically manages source codes or deliverables in an environment where several people work at the same time to prevent duplicate revisions or loss of updated contents.

CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration)

Designed to provide guidance to improve the processes and capabilities of an organization that develops, acquires, and maintains software products or services. OR A standard to measure the maturity of a software development organization.

COCOMO (Constructive Cost Model)

An estimation method of the cost of a software development project that calculates cost using a regression formula with parameters like development period, man per month, and maintenance costs.

COCOMO 2 (Constructive Cost Model 2)

An improved COCOMO model that estimates software development costs considering code reusability, off-the-shelf components, etc.

Cause Analysis (Step 2 in problem solving)

Stage where a defined problem is classified according to logical criteria and structured step by step.

Cause and Effect Diagram (Fishbone/Ishikawa Diagram)

Diagram designed to represent how the cause and effect relate to and affect each other.

Clear Scope

The project scope must be clearly defined.

Closing process group

A process to complete all activities including contractual obligations.

Code of Account

A unique identification or numbering system in which unique numbers are assigned to each unique work package of the work breakdown structure.

Communication

a system or process that shares information or meaning through mutually understood means between two different people or groups.

Communication Management

A knowledge area that manages a series of activities performed to create, collect, store, distribute, control, and monitor project information requirements to stakeholders.

Complete Scope

Being complete means that there should be no missing, excessive, or overlapping parts.

Contingency reserves

Used in case of contingencies other than planned activities by project managers, included in the cost baseline.

Control Chart

A tool to determine whether a process maintains a certain level of quality.

Cost

The monetary value of resources invested in the production of a product or service.

Cost Management

A key knowledge area that manages cost planning, calculation, budgeting, and controlling activities to complete a project within the approved budget.

Cost Performance Index (CPI)

A measure of actual cost against the budgeted cost (CPI = EV / AC).

Cost Variance (CV)

A measure of actual cost against the budgeted cost (CV = EV - AC).

Cost baseline

The approved version of the project budget, excluding management reserves.

Cost management planning

A task of establishing and determining cost management methods during the life cycle of a project.

Cost of Quality

A concept of calculating the cost of all activities of the project team to achieve a predetermined quality target.

Crashing

A technique that compresses the schedule by adding extra resources at minimum cost.

Critical Path Method (CPM)

A network analysis technique used to determine the minimum duration of a project. OR a technique of finding the path that determines the minimum duration of the project among many, that is, the critical path.

Critical Chain Method (CCM)

A scheduling method that allows the project team to buffer the project schedule in consideration of limited resources and uncertainty.

Critical path

The minimum path connecting activities with “Zero” float.

Data Functions (FP)

Subdivided into Internal Logical Files and External Interface Files.

Decoding

process required for the receiver to obtain information from the medium.

Deductive reasoning

a method of deriving a specific fact from general premises that are already known.

Definition of Activity (schedule management)

A process of identifying and documenting the relevant activities to be performed to produce the project deliverables.

Design brief

A document that implements the requirements described based on the analysis specifying detailed requirements for designing or manufacturing a SW product.

Direct Cost (M/M)

Expenses directly required for software development (e.g., royalties for tools, travel, materials).

Direct Labor Cost (M/M)

Determined by allocating required labor for each work package and applying unit price per labor.

Discretionary approval

Refers to the fact that the head of the organization has delegated the approval authority to the leader of the sub-organization according to the delegation regulation.

Draft text (Official Letter)

A document created to receive approval from the head of the organization.

Earned Value (EV or BCWP)

The value of the work actually done at the point of measuring performance. OR The budgeted cost of work that has actually been performed.

Earned Value Management (EVM)

A project performance management technique that analyzes performance through integrated management of project schedule and cost, and predicts the cost and schedule of the final project at the present time.

Early Finish (EF)

The earliest date an activity can possibly finish.

Early Start (ES)

The earliest date an activity can possibly begin.

Email

One of the communication techniques that have been widely adopted with the invention of the Internet.

Encoding

process required for the sender to include information in the medium.

Enhance (Positive Risk Response)

A strategy to maximize the probability and impact of an opportunity by identifying main causes and taking action.

Estimate At Completion (EAC)

Estimated total cost at project completion (EAC = Actual Cost (AC) + Estimate to Complete (ETC)).

Estimate To Complete (ETC)

Estimated cost of the remaining work.

Evolutionary life cycle

The project is divided into several phases, and the iteration itself proceeds sequentially.

Ex-ante Evaluation

Analyze the feasibility of the project in advance and support decision-making on IT investments; prioritize multiple projects.

Ex-post Evaluation

Performed in a certain period of time after the project is completed; check whether the company's management goals for IT investment are achieved.

Executing process group

A process to complete the tasks defined in the project management plan.

Execution text (Official Letter)

Created by deleting the approval section from an approved draft text and delivered to the receiving organization.

Expert Judgment (activity duration estimation)

A method that a resource estimation expert uses internal or external resources with similar experience to calculate the resources to be put into the activity.

Expert Judgment (cost estimation)

A method of presenting information about the project including labor costs, raw materials costs, inflation and risk factors, based on the surrounding environment and information about previous similar projects.

Exploit (Positive Risk Response)

An activity that eliminates uncertainty so that opportunities are evident during the project's execution period.

External Inputs (EI)

A type of transaction function in Function Point Analysis.

External Interface Files (EIF)

A type of data function in Function Point Analysis.

External Failure Costs (Cost of Nonconformance)

Cost of correcting defects found after delivery of products and services to external customers (e.g., recall, repair).

External Inquiries (EQ)

A type of transaction function in Function Point Analysis.

External Outputs (EO)

A type of transaction function in Function Point Analysis.

Fast Tracking

A method of shortening a certain period of time in which activities or steps that are performed sequentially are conducted simultaneously in a specific section of a certain duration.

Feedback (in communication)

essential process to minimize noise and confirm whether clear information is received.

Feeding Buffer

Additional buffer placed at each point at which non-critical activities merge into the critical chain.

Finish-to-Finish Relationship

A Successor Activity cannot finish until a Predecessor Activity has finished.

Finish-to-Start Relationship

A Successor Activity cannot start until a Predecessor Activity has finished.

Forward Pass

A method of deriving the expected finish date based on the project start date from duration of and the relationship between tasks.

Function Point (FP)

A method of estimating the cost by measuring the scale of software development as a Function Point (FP) and multiplying the unit price per function point.

Functional Organization

A conventional corporate structure in which an organization is divided into smaller groups based on each task or function, and the project of a group is conducted independently from other groups.

Gantt chart

Effective representation of the progress of each activity.

Horizontal communication

communication between colleagues.

ISO 12207

A quality model that provides standards across the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).