Project Management Glossary

Flashcards for key vocabulary terms related to project management, based on lecture notes.

Data Gathering and Analysis Methods

Methods used to collect, assess, and evaluate data and information to gain a deeper understanding of a situation.

Decision Tree Analysis

A diagramming and calculation method for evaluating the implications of a chain of multiple options in the presence of uncertainty.

Decomposition

A method used for dividing and subdividing the project scope and project deliverables into smaller, more manageable parts.

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.

Deliverable

Any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability to perform a service that is required to be produced to complete a process, phase, or project.

Delivery Performance Domain

The performance domain that addresses activities and functions associated with delivering the scope and quality that the project was undertaken to achieve.

Development Approach

A method used to create and evolve the product, service, or result during the project life cycle, such as a predictive, adaptive, or hybrid method.

Development Approach and Life Cycle Performance Domain

The performance domain that addresses activities and functions associated with the development approach, cadence, and life cycle phases of the project.

DevOps

A collection of practices for creating a smooth flow of deliveries by improving collaboration between development and operations staff.

Digital Product

A product or service that is delivered, used, and stored in an electronic format.

Discretionary Dependency

A relationship that is based on best practices or project preferences.

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.

Earned Value Analysis (EVA)

An analysis method that uses a set of measures associated with scope, schedule, and cost to determine the cost and schedule performance of a project.

Effort

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

Emotional Intelligence

The ability to identify, assess, and manage the personal emotions of oneself and other people, as well as the collective emotions of groups of people.

Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF)

Conditions, not under the immediate control of the team, that influence, constrain, or direct the project, program, or portfolio.

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.