IT-343: Midterm Key Terms

Project

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

Project Management

Application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet requirements.

Triple Constraint

Scope, Time, and Cost — balancing these while maintaining quality.

Stakeholders

Individuals and organizations actively involved in a project or whose interests may be affected.

Knowledge Areas

Ten areas of specialization including scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, etc.

Program

Group of related projects managed in a coordinated way.

Portfolio

Collection of projects and programs managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives.

Systems Thinking

Approach that views projects as part of an overall system with interdependent components.

Three-Sphere Model

Framework: Business, Organization, and Technology context of projects.

Organizational Structures

Functional, Projectized, and Matrix (weak, balanced, strong).

Culture

Shared values, norms, and beliefs that influence behavior within an organization.

IT Governance

Framework for ensuring IT supports business goals, manages risks, and optimizes resources.

Project Management Office (PMO)

Centralized unit that oversees project management standards and practices.

Process

Series of actions directed toward a result.

Initiating

Defining and authorizing a new project or phase.

Planning

Establishing scope, objectives, and course of action to attain them.

Executing

Coordinating resources to carry out the plan.

Monitoring & Controlling

Tracking, reviewing, and regulating progress and performance.

Closing

Finalizing all activities to formally complete the project or phase.

Project Charter

Formal document authorizing a project, giving PM authority to use resources.

Formal recognition of a project. (Project Integration Management)

Scrum

Agile framework with roles, artifacts, and ceremonies for iterative development.

Project Integration Management

Processes that ensure coordination of project elements across knowledge areas.

Strategic Planning

Process of determining long-term objectives and selecting projects aligned with goals.

Net Present Value (NPV)

Financial metric: difference between present value of cash inflows and outflows.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Performance measure: (Benefits - Costs) / Costs.

Payback Period

Time required to recoup investment in a project.

Project Management Plan

Comprehensive document that integrates all subsidiary plans.

Change Control Board (CCB)

Group responsible for reviewing and approving/rejecting changes.

Scope

All work required to complete project deliverables.

Deliverable

Any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability produced.

Scope Management Plan

Defines how scope will be defined, validated, and controlled.

Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM)

Table linking requirements to their origins and deliverables.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of project work.

WBS Dictionary

Document providing detailed information about each WBS item.

Scope Creep

Uncontrolled expansion of project scope without adjustments to time/cost/resources.

Validate Scope

Formal acceptance of deliverables by stakeholders.

Control Scope

Monitoring project and product scope and managing changes.

Schedule Management

Processes to ensure timely completion of a project.

Activity

Specific task performed during a project.

Dependency

Logical relationship between activities (Mandatory, Discretionary, External).

Network Diagram

Visual representation of activity dependencies.

Critical Path Method (CPM)

Longest path of activities determining project duration.

Float/Slack

Amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying project completion.

Crashing

Schedule compression technique: add resources to shorten duration.

Fast Tracking

Schedule compression technique: overlapping tasks to save time.

Gantt Chart

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

Bar chart showing project schedule with activities, dates, and dependencies.

Milestone

Significant event with no duration, used to measure progress.

PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique)

Estimation tool using optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely durations.

PERT weight average = (optimistic time + 4 * most likely time + pessimistic time) / 6

Critical Chain Scheduling

Scheduling method that considers resource constraints and buffers.
A technique that focuses on limited resources when creating a project schedule