Contemporary project management flashcard data (excl ch. 5/9/12/13/14/15)

Project

A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

Stakeholders

An individual, group, or organization that may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project.

Project management

The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.

Process

A series of actions designed to bring about a consistent and similar result or service.

Soft skills

Active listening, interpersonal skills, conflict management, and leadership skills.

Hard skills

Teachable abilities or skill sets that are easy to quantify.

Functional manager

Manages the work of similar people and hands off deliverables to another group.

Project life cycle

The series of phases that a project passes through from start to completion.

Project management process group

Project management phases: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and control, and closing.

Initiating

Processes to define a new project or phase by obtaining authorization.

Planning

Processes to establish the project scope and refine objectives.

Executing

Processes performed to complete the work defined in the project management plan.

Monitoring and controlling

Processes to track, review, and regulate project progress.

Closing

Processes to formally complete or close the project or phase.

Integration management

Process of identifying, defining, combining, unifying, and coordinating project activities.

Scope management

Processes to ensure that the project includes all the work required for completion.

Schedule management

Processes to manage timely completion of the project.

Cost management

Processes involved in planning, estimating, and controlling project costs.

Quality management

Processes for incorporating quality policies regarding project and product quality.

Resource management

Processes to identify, acquire, and manage resources for project completion.

Communications management

Processes for managing project information and communication.

Risk management

Processes for planning, identifying, analyzing, and responding to project risks.

Procurement management

Processes to purchase or acquire products, services, or results from outside the project team.

Stakeholder management

Processes to identify and analyze stakeholders to engage them effectively.

Project Processes

Forty-nine individual project work processes categorized into process groups and knowledge areas.

Deliverable

Any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability produced to complete a process.

Scope

The sum of the products, services, and results to be provided by a project.

Quality

The degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements.

Product scope

The features and functions that characterize a product, service, or result.

Project scope

The work performed to deliver a product or service with specified features.

Sponsor

An individual or group providing resources and support for a project.

Steering / leadership team

A committee that decides on priorities and manages organization operations.

PMO (project management office)

A management structure that standardizes project-related governance processes.

Project manager

The person assigned to lead the team responsible for achieving project objectives.

Project team

Members of a project team responsible for achieving project objectives.

Agile

An iterative approach to delivering a project throughout its life cycle.

Agile lifecycle

Lifecycle composed of several iterations towards project completion.

Iterative process

Incremental steps toward completing a project.

Emergent design

A design constructed as it evolves, starting with functionality.

Product owner

Role responsible for managing the product backlog.

Scrum master

Facilitates work performed by removing obstacles.

WBS (work breakdown structure)

A hierarchical decomposition of the total project scope.

Vision

A statement describing what a company desires to achieve in the long run.

Mission statement

Defines what line of business a company is in and its purpose.

Strategic objectives

High-level goals outlining desired achievements with deadlines.

S M A R T

Specific, measurable, achievable, results-based, and timebound objectives.

Portfolio management

Centralized management of one or more portfolios to achieve strategic objectives.

Portfolio

Projects and programs managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives.

Program

Related projects managed in a coordinated manner for additional benefits.

Program management

Application of knowledge to achieve program objectives.

Subproject

A significant point or event subordinate to the project.

Statement of work

A description of products, services, or results to be delivered.

Business case

A documented economic feasibility study to establish project validity.

Cost benefit analysis

A tool used to determine the benefits of a project against its costs.

Source selection criteria

Desired attributes by the purchaser for sellers to meet or exceed.

Product roadmaps

Plans for how a product will evolve over time.

Release

Final delivery of a software package after multiple iterations.

Portfolio vision

Description of the future state of a portfolio’s value streams.

Solutions

Products or services designed to meet specific agile methods.

Products

Artifacts produced and can be either end or component items.

User stories

Description of needs including who wants it, how, and why.

Product backlog

Ordered list of user-centric requirements maintained for a product.

Epic

Large user stories, difficult to estimate or complete in one iteration.

Eat your dessert first

Practice of delivering early value.

Minimum viable product (mvp)

Early product version with just enough features for usability.

Customer driven-value

Establishing expectations based on customer needs.

Refine requirements

Iterative process of evolving requirements after MVP.

Customer prioritization

Giving priority to customer defined needs.

Risk-adjusted backlog

Backlog containing risk response tasks.

Prioritized backlog

Organizing product backlog items for development.

Project charter

Document authorizing a project, giving a manager authority.

Milestone schedule

Schedule that presents milestones with planned dates.

Acceptance criteria

Conditions the software must meet to satisfy the customer.

Risk

An uncertain event that has a positive or negative effect on project objectives.

Assumptions

Factors in planning considered true without proof.

Constraint

Factors limiting options for managing a project.

Resources

People, parts, equipment, and expendables needed for a project.

Lessons learned

Knowledge gained during a project for future improvement.

Scope creep

Uncontrolled expansion of project scope without adjustments.

Uncertainties

Unpredictability and ambiguity regarding future events.

Assumptions log

Collection of assumed factors in a planning process.

Share knowledge

Agreement to inform others of important project information.

Product vision

Describes the product’s purpose and intended use.

Time boxes

Fixed periods of time allocated for specific project activities.

Defer decisions

Practice of delaying decisions to ongoing project progress.

Sustainable pace

Ideal working pace to avoid developer burnout.

Commit to work

Team members commitment to prioritized work for a sprint.

Commitment

Agreement to complete work within a specified period.

Definition of done

Checklist of criteria for deliverable readiness.

Sprint (aka iteration)

Fixed period for a project activity, typically 1-4 weeks.

Functional organization

Structure with staff grouped by specialization and limited project manager authority.

Projected organization

Structure where the project manager has full authority.

Co-location

Placing multiple resources in a single location.

Matrix organization

Structure where project manager shares authority with functional manager.

Milestone

A significant event in a project.

Agile

Mindset of values and principles as set in the Agile Manifesto.

Duration

A period of time required to perform project activities.

Experimentation

Procedure to support or refute a hypothesis.

Empiricism

Knowledge derived from experience.

Small releases

Delivering small working increments quickly.