Project Management Flashcards

Flashcards to review key vocabulary and concepts from the Project Management lecture notes.

Project Purpose

Explains why the project is needed, addressing the business need, problem, or opportunity.

Project Goal

Describes what the project aims to achieve, specifying the desired result or outcome.

SMART Goal Framework

Framework for setting actionable goals that are Specific, Measurable, Accepted, Realistic, and Time-limited.

Project Triangle (Triple Constraint)

Illustrates how scope, time, and cost are interconnected in a project.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Hierarchical breakdown of all project work, from the entire project to major deliverables and tasks.

Product Breakdown Structure (PBS)

Hierarchical breakdown of product components or deliverables, focusing on what is delivered, not how.

Project Success

Delivered expected value.

Project management success

Delivered on time, scope, and budget.

Project governance success

Was oversight/alignment effective?

Portfolio success

Did the overall project portfolio deliver strategic value?

Solution-neutral Approach

Set goals focused on outcomes, not specific solutions.

Delivery goals

Outputs, what’s delivered.

Impact goals

Outcomes, long-term benefits or changes.

Activity-on-Arrow (AoA)

Network Diagram where arrows = tasks, nodes = milestones.

Activity-on-Node (AoN)

Network Diagram where nodes = tasks, arrows = dependencies.

Critical Path Method (CPM)

Calculates the longest path of dependent tasks (the minimum project duration).

Total Float (Slack)

How much time an activity can be delayed without delaying project finish.

Free Float (Slack)

How much an activity can be delayed without delaying its immediate successor.

Probabilistic “Go-live” Roll-out

Calculates weighted project durations.

PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique)

Estimates uncertain task durations.

Logical Dependency

When an activity must wait for another’s output.

Resource Dependency

When activities compete for shared, limited resources.

Critical Chain Method (CCM)

Builds on CPM by adding resource constraints and buffers.

Inside view

Detailed estimates from project components.

Outside view

Estimates from historical data of similar past projects (avoids planning fallacy).

Risk Analysis

Identify, assess, and plan responses for risks.

Chaos

Completely unpredictable.

Unforeseen

Unknown unknowns.

Foreseen

Known risks.

Variation

Predictable variability (e.g., delivery fluctuations).

Scope Creep

Uncontrolled growth in project scope without adjusting time, cost, or resources.

Pre-mortem Analysis

Brainstorm “Why would this project fail?” during planning to identify top risks.

Earned Value Analysis (EVA)

Combines scope, time, and cost to measure performance.

Planned Value (PV)

Budgeted cost of scheduled work.

Earned Value (EV)

Budgeted cost of completed work.

Actual Cost (AC)

Actual cost incurred.

Cost Variance (CV)

EV - AC; Positive = under budget.

Schedule Variance (SV)

EV - PV; Positive = ahead of schedule.

Cost Performance Index (CPI)

EV / AC; >1 = cost-efficient.

Schedule Performance Index (SPI)

EV / PV; >1 = ahead of schedule.

Analytical Note

A report summarizing EVA, explaining variances, and recommending corrective actions.

Project Prioritization

Ranking projects based on value, risk, and strategic alignment.

Payback period

Time to recover investment.

Activity Crashing

Shorten project duration by adding resources to critical tasks; increases cost.

Crashing Diagram

Shows cost vs. time trade-offs when crashing activities.

Contribution Costing

Analyzes only variable costs to determine contribution margin.

Communication Plan

Defines who communicates what, when, how, and to whom.

Project Sustainability

Ensuring environmental, social, and economic responsibility in project delivery.

Avoiding

Ignoring.

Competing

Asserting.

Collaborating

Win-win.

Compromising

Middle ground.

Accommodating

Yielding.

Situational Leadership Model

Adapts leadership style to team’s maturity and task readiness.

Task Conflicts

Disagreements about work.

Relationship Conflicts

Personal conflicts.

Process Conflicts

Disagreements about how to work.

Team

Shared goals, collective accountability.

Work Group

Individual tasks, loose connection.

Explicit Knowledge

Documented, easy to share.

Tacit Knowledge

Experience-based, hard to articulate.

Directing

High direction.

Coaching

Direction + support.

Supporting

Low direction, high support.

Delegating

Low direction, low support.