Chapter 2: Project, Program, and Portfolio Selection pp 42-76

Balanced scorecard

a methodology that converts in organization’s value drivers to a series of defined metrics

Cash flow

benefits minus costs or income minus expenses

Discretionary costs

costs that organizations have discretion in deciding whether to fund them

Discount factor

a multiplier for each year based on the discount rate and year

Discount rate

the rate used in discounting future cash flows

Gantt chart

a standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format

Internal rate of return (IRR)

the discount rate that results in an NPV of zero for a project

Lean

a management approach that focuses on creating more value for customers by eliminating waste and optimizing processes

Mind mapping

a technique that uses branches radiating out from a core idea to structure thoughts and ideas

Net present value (NPV) analysis

a method of calculating the expected net monetary gain or loss from a project by discounting all expected future cash inflows and outflows to the present point in time

Non-discretionary cost

costs that organizations must fund to stay in business

Opportunity cost of capital

return available by investing the capital elsewhere

Payback period

the amount of time it will take to recoup, in the form of net cash inflows, the total dollars invested in a project

Product roadmap

a tool used to show a high-level visual summary of the vision and direction of a product or products over time

Quarterly business review (QBR)

an agile approach to project planning where people meet to link the business strategy with quarterly planning

Required rate of return

the minimum acceptable rate of return on an investment

Return on investment (ROI)

(benefits minus cost) divided by costs

Strategic planning

the process of determining long-term objectives by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of an organization, studying opportunities and threats in the business environment, predicting future trends, and projecting the need for new products and services

SWOT analysis

analyzing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

Weighted scoring model

a technique that provides a systematic process for basing project selection on numerous criteria