Free PMP Resources: Terms and Definitions
Framework Glossary
Something made by the team for the project, especially something that may be reused
A project management office that provides support and requires compliance in the form of an adoption of mandated project management frameworks, governance frameworks, and/or tools and documentation.
A financial analysis approach that compares the project's benefits (revenue) to its costs. (Sometimes called a benefit cost analysis.)
Development Approach Glossary
A development approach where requirements can be uncertain and volatile throughout the project because change is expected.
An iterative software development approach, expressed in a variety of methodologies, which embraces incremental delivery, flexibility, cross-functional and self-organizing teams, direct customer-developer communication and collaboration, and frequent inspection and adaptation
A life cycle that can be iterative or incremental in nature. Commonly called change-driven and applied when there is a high degree of change expected, or uncertainty present.
Uncertainty Glossary
A strategy for managing positive or negative risks where nothing is done until the risk occurs.
The state of being unclear; not able to identify the cause of events or having many options to select from.
A premise considered to be true without benefit of proof
Stakeholder Glossary
A technique that requires the listener to concentrate on the message conveyed by the speaker, then to repeat or paraphrase the message to confirm understanding.
A group decision making technique where one party makes the decisions based on the inputs of others.
A role that interrupts information flow on the project
Team Glossary
Activities associated with providing guidance and reinforcement to people, so they can be more effective.
A technique for improving team effectiveness, as well as communication and collaboration among team members, by placing them in close proximity to each other
A group whose members collectively provide the skills required to complete the project
Planning General Glossary
A top-down method that approximates size, cost, or scope based on the size, cost, or scope of a similar object or process
A methodology for establishing values for the current project based on those from a previous project with similar characteristics; values obtained from this method include activity duration, required resources, and estimated costs
The agreed upon level of work (or other variable) used as a basis for comparison; once established, any changes must be authorized through formal change control procedures
Planning Scope Glossary
A tool used to gather ideas and organize them into groupings so they can be reviewed and analyzed; typically used for ideas generated from brainstorming sessions
The process to group similar items into the same category.
A graphical representation of the scope of a business system that includes processes, equipment, and computer systems and indicates the manner in which people and other systems interact with the business system
Planning Schedule Glossary
A unique, scheduled segment of project work that typically has an associated cost, duration, and resources; sometimes called a task
The characteristics of an activity that include activity codes, predecessor activities, successor activities, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, imposed dates, constraints, and assumptions
The relationship between two activities or between an activity and a milestone, also known as a logical relationship
Planning Cost Glossary
The total cost accrued for an activity over a designated time period; also known as the actual cost of work performed (ACWP)
The total cost of all project iterations including adjustments for change
The total project budget derived from incorporating all items from the project's individual budgets; also called the sum of all planned value (PV)
Planning Quality Glossary
Graphical representation depicting the movement of data between processes, objects, and storage within the system
An iterative, four step process used to improve quality
A workshop approach used in manufacturing environments to establish requirements.