Project Management Fundamentals Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary terms and formulas derived from the lecture notes on project management processes, EVM formulas, and organizational structures.

Project

A temporary endeavor with a defined start and finish that is unique and consists of interrelated activities.

Cost Performance Index (CPI)

An Earned Value Management metric calculated using the formula $CPI = \frac{EV}{AC}$.

Schedule Performance Index (SPI)

A metric where a value greater than $1$ indicates the project is ahead of schedule.

Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)

A tool used to relate the organizational breakdown structure to the work breakdown structure to ensure each work component is assigned, such as the RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consult, Inform) model.

Projectized Organization

An organizational structure where the project manager has the most power and team members are often assigned to the project full-time.

Functional Organization

An organization where the functional manager has stronger power than the project manager, and team members are never assigned to the project full-time.

Scope Creep

Unregulated changes to a project's scope without the proper process and authority, often leading to completion delays and cost escalation.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

A deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team.

8-80 Rule

A guideline for work breakdown structures stating that work packages should be between $8$ and $80$ hours of effort.

Critical Path

The sequence of activities in a project schedule that cannot be delayed without extending the project end date.

Fast Tracking

A schedule compression technique done by performing sequential activities in parallel for at least a portion of their duration.

Crashing

A schedule compression technique that adds more resources (labor, overtime) to activities to reduce duration, often increasing costs.

Analogous Estimating

An estimating technique that uses historical information from a similar past project or activity to create an estimate.

Parametric Estimating

A technique that uses a mathematical model based on historical data and other variables (e.g., $50$ per square foot) to calculate cost or duration.

Bottom-up Estimating

A method of estimating project duration or cost by aggregating the estimates of the lower-level components of the WBS.

PERT Analysis (Te)

A technique to calculate expected activity duration using the formula $Te = \frac{To + 4Tm + Tp}{6}$, where $To$ is optimistic, $Tm$ is most likely, and $Tp$ is pessimistic.

Contingency Reserve

Budget tied to specific work packages or activities to account for identified risks; it is included in the project cost baseline.

Management Reserve

Budget for the entire project not tied to specific work packages, used for unforeseen work; it is in the project budget but not the cost baseline.

Total Project Budget

The sum of the Cost Baseline (Activity Cost Estimates plus Contingency Reserves) and the Management Reserves.

Conflict Management Approaches

The five managerial techniques used to handle disagreements: Confronting, Compromising, Smoothing, Forcing, and Avoiding.

Lateral Communication

Communication exchanged between peers or colleagues at the same level of the organization.

Total Communication Channels

The number of potential paths for communication on a team of size $N$, calculated as $\frac{N \times (N-1)}{2}$.

Risk Mitigation

A risk response strategy that seeks to reduce the probability and/or impact of a negative risk to within acceptable threshold limits.

Risk Transfer

A response strategy for negative risks where the project manager shifts the impact and ownership of the risk to a third party, such as a vendor.

Stakeholder Power/Interest Grid

A tool used to classify stakeholders: High Power/Low Interest should be 'Kept Satisfied', and Low Power/High Interest should be 'Kept Informed'.

Project Charter

A document issued by the sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager authority over resources.

Project Scope vs. Product Scope

Product scope is measured against requirements/features, while project scope is the work needed to deliver that product, measured against the project management plan.

Direct Costs

Costs specifically attributable to the project work, such as team wages, travel, and materials.

Variable Costs

Costs that change with the amount of production, such as the cost of materials and supplies.

Schedule Variance (SV)

An Earned Value Management measure of schedule performance calculated as $SV = EV - PV$.

Estimate To Completion (ETC)

The expected cost to finish all the remaining project work, calculated as $ETC = EAC - AC$.

Estimate At Completion (EAC)

The expected total cost of completing all work, often calculated as $EAC = \frac{BAC}{CPI}$.

S-Curve

A graphic depiction of the relationship between the cost baseline budget and the project timeline.

Lessons Learned Register

A document used to capture what went well and what could have been better to recreate success or prevent past failures in future projects.

Mandatory Dependency

A schedule relationship that is contractually required or inherent in the nature of the work (e.g., government approval before construction).