Project+ Chapter 8

Sprint Goal

A concise statement describing the objective the Scrum team intends to accomplish during a sprint

Project Estimate

A forecast of the expected time, resource, and cost requirements for a project.

Feature

Smaller agile deliverable than an epic but still sizeable. It usually lasts 1–3 iterations. Once completed, it should deliver a standalone deliverable that supports the epic.

Statement of Work

SOW. A document that defines the expectations for a specific business arrangement.

Project Cadence

The regular rhythm or schedule of recurring project activities and events

Work Breakdown Structure WBS

A hierarchical decomposition of the total project scope into manageable components

WBS Dictionary

A document that provides detailed information about each WBS element

Code of Accounts

A numbering system used to uniquely identify WBS elements

Mutually Exclusive Collectively Exhaustive MECE

A principle stating that categories do not overlap and together include all required work

100 Percent Rule

The WBS must include all project work needed to complete the project and nothing extra

Epic

A large body of work that can be divided into smaller user stories

User Story

The smallest agile deliverable. A short description of a feature written from the user's perspective

Precedence Relationship

The logical order in which project activities must occur

Dependency Determination

The process of identifying relationships between project activities

Project Network Diagram

A diagram showing activity sequencing and dependencies

Finish to Start FS

A dependency where one activity must finish before the next can start. Most common dependency type.

Start to Start SS

A dependency where one activity must start before another can start

Finish to Finish FF

A dependency where one activity must finish before another can finish

Start to Finish SF

A dependency where one activity must start before another can finish. The rarest dependency type.

Mandatory Dependency

A dependency required by the nature of the work or contractual requirements. Usually affected by physical constraints.

Discretionary Dependency

A dependency based on preferred practices or team decisions

External Dependency

A dependency involving activities or events outside the project's control

Internal Dependency

A dependency between activities within the project team's control

Top Down Estimating

An estimating technique that begins with the overall project and breaks estimates into smaller parts

Bottom Up Estimating

An estimating technique that estimates individual tasks and combines them into a total estimate

Analogous Estimating

An estimating technique that uses information from similar past projects

Parametric Estimating

An estimating technique using statistical relationships between historical data and project variables

Three Point Estimating

An estimating technique using optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates

Task Hours

The estimated amount of work required to complete an activity measured in hours

Story Points

A relative measure of the effort or complexity required to complete a user story

Velocity

The amount of work an agile team completes during a sprint measured in story points

Modified Fibonacci Sequence

A sequence commonly used for estimating story points consisting of 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, and 34

Parity

The comparison between estimated work and actual completed work to evaluate estimation accuracy

Resource Loading

The process of assigning work to a person until all their available capacity is consumed.

Project Schedule

Consists of activities, dependencies, duration, and resources.

Work Breakdown Structure vs WBS Dictionary

The WBS identifies project work while the WBS Dictionary describes each WBS element in detail

Epic vs User Story

An epic is a large feature while a user story is a smaller requirement that can be completed within a sprint

Top Down vs Bottom Up Estimating

Top down begins with the overall project while bottom up estimates individual tasks first

Analogous vs Parametric Estimating

Analogous uses similar projects while parametric uses mathematical relationships and historical data

Task Hours vs Story Points

Task hours estimate time while story points estimate relative effort or complexity

Velocity vs Story Points

Story points estimate individual work while velocity measures how many story points a team completes during a sprint

Mandatory vs Discretionary Dependency

Mandatory dependencies are required while discretionary dependencies are based on preference or best practice

Internal vs External Dependency

Internal dependencies are controlled by the project team while external dependencies rely on outside parties

WBS Element

Any individual component within the Work Breakdown Structure that represents a deliverable or subdivision of project work

Level

A layer within the Work Breakdown Structure that indicates the hierarchy of project work from the highest level to the lowest work packages

Leg

A major section of the Work Breakdown Structure that extends from the main project into a primary deliverable or category of work

Branch

A subdivision of a WBS leg that further breaks down deliverables into smaller, more manageable components

Work Package WBS

The lowest element in each branch or leg; an element without a child element is a work package. It's also called a "terminal element."