Project Management Glossary – Course 4

Vocabulary flashcards covering key project-management terms and definitions from the lecture glossary.

Abandoned project

A project in which inadequate hand-off or transition of the project deliverables occurs.

Acceptance criteria

Pre-established standards or requirements that a product, service, or process must meet.

Accessible

Something that is easily used, accessed, or adapted for use by people experiencing disabilities.

Action item

A task that needs to be completed.

Adoption metrics

Metrics that indicate whether a product, service, or process is accepted and used.

Air cover

Support for and protection of a team in the face of out-of-scope requests or criticism from leadership.

Analytics

The process of answering business questions, discovering relationships, and predicting outcomes based on the analysis of data.

Bad compromise

A situation in which two parties settle on a so-called solution but the end product still suffers.

Bar chart

A chart that uses color and length to compare categories in a data set; useful for comparing values.

Bug

A technical issue.

Burndown chart

A line chart that measures time against the amount of work done and the amount remaining; useful for granular task tracking.

Change

Anything that alters or impacts the tasks, structures, or processes within a project.

Change log

A record of all notable changes on a project.

Character

The qualities that distinguish a person, such as honesty, integrity, and kindness.

Collaboration

People working together on an activity.

Confirmation bias

A data bias referring to the tendency to search for information that confirms pre-existing beliefs.

Conger’s four steps

Jay A. Conger’s approach to persuading others: establish credibility, frame for common ground, provide evidence, and connect emotionally.

Continuous improvement

An ongoing effort to improve products or services by creating, eliminating, or refining processes and tasks.

Control (experiment)

An experiment or observation designed to minimize the effects of variables.

Cost variance

The difference between actual cost and budgeted cost.

Critical user journey

The sequence of steps a user follows to accomplish tasks in a product.

Customer satisfaction score

A metric that shows how well the project met customer and stakeholder needs.

Dashboard

A user interface—often a graph or summary chart—providing a snapshot view of project progress or performance.

Data

A collection of facts or information about different aspects of a project.

Data analysis

The collection, transformation, and organization of data to draw conclusions and drive decision-making.

Data bias

A type of error influenced by one’s inherent beliefs.

Data ethics

Standards of right and wrong that govern how data is collected, shared, and used.

Data privacy

Protecting a data subject’s information and activity during any data transaction.

Data visualization

A graphical representation of information to facilitate understanding.

Data-driven improvement frameworks

Techniques used to make decisions based on actual data.

Dependability

A quality indicating team members are reliable and complete their work on time.

Dependencies

Tasks, activities, or milestones that are reliant on one another.

Dependency management

Managing interrelated tasks and resources to ensure a project finishes successfully, on time, and on budget.

Deviation

Anything that alters the original course of action.

Discretionary dependencies

Dependencies the team chooses to link even though tasks could occur independently.

Diversity

The set of visible and invisible differences each individual possesses, giving unique perspectives.

DMAIC

Five steps for continuous improvement: define, measure, analyze, improve, control.

Duration

The amount of time it takes to complete or produce something.

Edge case

Rare outliers that original project requirements did not account for.

Engagement metrics

Metrics indicating how often, how long, and how broadly a product or service is used.

Escalation

Enlisting higher-level leadership to remove obstacles, clarify priorities, or validate next steps.

Ethical leadership

Leadership that promotes honesty, justice, respect, community, and integrity.

Expressiveness

One’s ability to communicate with others.

External dependencies

Tasks reliant on outside factors, such as regulatory agencies or other projects.

Feedback survey

A survey where users state features they like or dislike about a product.

Force majeure

An unforeseen circumstance preventing fulfillment of a contract due to a major crisis.

Gantt chart

A visual timeline useful for tracking schedules, especially with many dependencies.

Happiness metrics

Metrics relating to user satisfaction with a product or service.

Headline

The one-sentence main point that illustrates a slide.

History (relationship)

The level of personal history between oneself and another person.

Impact

The belief that one’s work results matter and create change.

Impact report

A slide-guided presentation that shows stakeholders the value added by the project.

Inclusive leadership

Leadership that respects and integrates everyone’s unique identity, background, and experiences.

Inclusivity

The practice of including people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized.

Influencing

The ability to alter another person’s thinking or behaviors.

Influencing statement

A conversation opener that sets a person up for success with their audience.

Infographic

A visual representation of data intended to present information quickly and clearly.

Information (power)

An organizational source of power based on access to and control over information.

Internal dependencies

The relationship between two tasks within the same project.

Interpretation bias

The tendency to interpret ambiguous situations as either negative or positive.

Issue

A known and real problem that may affect task completion.

Knowledge

Power drawn from expertise, unique abilities, and the capacity to learn new things.

Key performance indicator (KPI)

A measurable value that demonstrates how effective a company is at achieving business objectives.

Legend

The part of a chart that describes each section or data series.

Line chart

A chart that displays data as a series of points connected by lines; useful for showing trends over time.

Mandatory dependencies

Tasks that are legally or contractually required.

Metric

A quantifiable measurement used to track and assess a business objective.

Milestone

An important point in the schedule that indicates progress or the completion of a deliverable/phase.

Network

The people one is connected with professionally and personally.

Never-ending project

A project in which deliverables and tasks cannot be completed.

Observer bias

A data bias where different people observe different things.

On-time completion rate

A productivity metric indicating how the project is progressing against schedule.

PDCA

A four-step problem-solving process: plan, do, check, act.

Pie chart

A chart divided into sections, each representing a portion of a whole.

Portfolio

A collection of programs and projects across an organization.

Probability and impact matrix

A tool used to prioritize project risks.

Process improvement

Identifying, analyzing, and improving processes to enhance performance or user experience.

Productivity metrics

Metrics tracking effectiveness and efficiency of a project, such as tasks, milestones, and duration.

Program

A collection of related projects managed together.

Project closeout report

A document describing what the team did, how they did it, and what they delivered, evaluating quality, budget, and schedule.

Project closing

The process performed to formally complete a project, phase, and contractual obligations.

Project status report

An overview of all common project elements summarized at a specific point in time.

Project task

An activity that must be accomplished within a set period of time.

Projection (forecast)

A prediction of future outcomes based on current information.

Psychological safety

An individual’s perception of the consequences of taking an interpersonal risk.

Qualitative data

Information about subjective qualities that cannot be measured numerically.

Quality

The degree to which deliverables meet or exceed outlined requirements and expectations.

Quality assurance (QA)

A review process evaluating whether a project is moving toward delivering high quality.

Quality control (QC)

Techniques used to ensure quality standards after a problem is identified.

Quality metrics

Metrics related to achieving acceptable outcomes, such as number of changes, issues, and cost variance.

Quality planning

Actions to identify relevant quality standards and determine how to satisfy them.

Quality standards

Requirements or guidelines ensuring materials, products, and services fit for purpose.

Quantitative data

Statistical and numerical facts.

RAG status report

A traffic-light report: red for critical issues, amber for potential issues, green for on track.

Reputation

How others perceive a person overall.

Retrospective

A meeting where teams discuss successes, failures, and improvements for a project.

Risk

A potential event that could impact a project.

Risk exposure

A measure of potential future loss from a specific activity or event.

Risk management

Identifying, evaluating, and addressing potential risks that could impact a project.

Risk register

A table or chart containing a list of risks.