Project Management Foundations Vocabulary

A set of practice flashcards focusing on core vocabulary from the lecture regarding Project, Program, and Portfolio management.

Project

A temporary effort with a clear start and end that produces something unique - a product, service, or result.

Project Management

Applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project work in order to meet or exceed the intended value.

Value

The benefits gained from a project/program/portfolio minus what was invested to get them - includes both financ

Value - financial examples

Profit, cost savings, return on investment (ROI).

Value - nonfinancial examples

Convenience, satisfaction, safety, goodwill, reputation, social impact.

Value delivery system

Allthe business activities an organization uses together to create and deliver value.

Program Management

Mnaging a group of related projects together in a coordinated way to get benefits and control that wouldn't be p

Program - key test

Ask: does managing these together create a benefit that would be lost if they were managed individually? If yes, i

Portfolio Management

Managing a collection of programs, projects, and/or operations as a group to hit strategic objectives - not necessa

Portfolio vs Program - the trap

'Strategic objective' language appears in BOTH definitions. The real tell is coordination benefit (program) vs. strate

Project vs Program relationship

A poject may or may not be part of a program, but a program always contains projects.

Portfolio structure

A portfolio can contain a mix of programs, standalone projects, and operations - not everything has to be grouped

Operations Management

Managing ongoing work with no end date - the continuous production of goods and/or services.

Project vs Operation

Projects are temporary and unique; operations are ongoing and repetitive. This is the #1 test for 'is this a project o

Projects Enable Change

A project can act as the vehicle that moves an organization from its current state to a desired future state.

Current state vs Desired state

The 'before' and 'after' a project is meant to produce - the gap between them is what the project exists to close.

Program manager resource conflict

If a resource conflict involves an UNRELATED project outside the program, that's a portfolio-level prioritization call, not something the program manager decides unilaterally.