Backward Pass
Procedure whereby the latest event times or the latest finish and start times for the activities of a network are calculated.

Bar Chart
Chart on which activities and their durations are represented by lines drawn to a common time scale.

Baseline
Reference levels against which the project is monitored and controlled.

Baseline Cost
The amount of money an activity was intended to cost when the schedule was baselined.

Baseline Dates
Original planned start and finished dates for an activity. Used to compare with current planned dates to determine any delays. Also used to calculate budgeted cost of work scheduled for earned-valued analysis.

Baseline Schedule
The baseline schedule is a fixed project schedule. It is the standard by which project performance is measured. The current schedule is copied into the baseline schedule which remains frozen until it is reset. Resetting the baseline is done when the scope of the project has been changed significantly, for example after a negotiated change. At that point, the original or current baseline becomes invalid and should not be compared with the current schedule.

Benefits
The enhanced efficiency, economy and effectiveness of future business or other operations to be delivered by a project or programme.

Benefits Framework
An outline of the expected benefits of the project or programme, the business operations affected and current and target performance measures.

Bid
A tender, quotation or any offer to enter into a contract

Bid Analysis
An analysis of bids or tenders.

Bottom Up Cost Estimating
This is the method of making estimates for every activity in the work breakdown structure and summarising them to provide a total project cost estimate.

Brainstorming
The unstructured generation of ideas by a group of people.

Branching Logic
Conditional logic. Alternative paths in a probabilistic network.

Breakdown Structure
A hierarchical structure by which project elements are broken down, or decomposed. See also Cost Breakdown Structure (PBS), Organisational Breakdown Structure (OBS) and Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).

Budget
Quantification of resources needed to achieve a task by a set time, within which the task owners are required to work.

Budget at Completion (BAC)
The sum total of the time-phased budgets.

Budget Cost
The cost anticipated at the start of a project.

Budget Estimate
An approximate estimate prepared in the early stages of a project to establish financial viability or secure resources.

Budgetary Control
System of creating budgets, monitoring progress and taking appropriate action to achieve budgeted performance.

Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP)
The planned cost of work completed to date. BCWP is also the “earned value” of work completed to date.

Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS)
The planned cost of work that should have been achieved according to the project baseline dates.

Budgeting
Time phased financial requirements.

Business Case
Information necessary to enable approval, authorisation and policy making bodies to assess a project proposal and reach a reasoned decision.

Calendars
A project calendar lists time intervals in which activities or resources can or cannot be scheduled. A project usually has one default calendar for the normal workweek (Monday through to Friday for example), but may have other calendars as well. Each calendar can be customised with its own holidays and extra work days. Resources and activities can be attached to any of the calendars that are defined.

Capital Cost
The carrying cost in a balance sheet of acquiring an asset and bringing it to the condition where it is capable of performing its intended function over a future series of periods.

Capital Employed
Amount of investment in an organisation or project, normally the sum of fixed and current assets, less current liabilities at a particular date.

Cascade Chart
Bar chart on which the vertical order of activities is such that each activity is dependent only on activities higher in the list.

Cash Flow
Cash receipts and payments in a specified period.

Cash Flow, Nett
Difference between cash received and payments made during a specific period.

Champion
An end user representative often seconded into a project team. Someone who acts as an advocate for a proposal or project.

Change Control
Process that ensures potential changes to the deliverables of a project or the sequence of work in a project, are recorded, evaluated, authorised and managed.

Change Log
A record of all project changes, proposed, authorised or rejected.
Change Management
The formal process through which changes to the project plan are approved and introduced.

Change Request
A request needed to obtain formal approval for changes to the scope, design, methods, costs or planned aspects of a project. Change requests may arise through changes in the business or issues in the project. Change requests should be logged, assessed and agreed on before a change to the project can be made.

Client
The party to a contract who commissions the work and pays for it on completion.

Close Out
The completion of work on a project.

Closure
The formal end point of a project, either because it has been completed or because it has been terminated early.

Code of Accounts
Any numbering system, usually based on corporate code of accounts of the primary performing organisation, used to monitor project costs by category.

Commissioning
Advancement of an installation from the stage of static completion to full working order and achievement of the specified operational requirements.

Commitment
A binding financial obligation, typically in the form of a purchase order or contract.

Committed Costs
Costs that are legally committed even if delivery has not taken place with invoices neither raised nor paid.

Completion Date
The date calculated by which the project could finish following careful estimating.

Conception Phase
The phase that triggers and captures new ideas or opportunities and identifies potential candidates for further development in the feasibility phase.

Configuration
Functional and physical characteristics of a product as defined in technical documents and achieved in the product.

Configuration Control
A system through which changes may be made to configuration items.

Conflict Management
The ability to manage conflict creatively and effectively.

Constraints
Applicable restrictions that will affect the scope of the project or the sequence of project activities.

Consumable Resource
A type of resource that only remains available until consumed (for example, a material).

Contingency
A Contingency is the planned allotment of time and cost or other resources for unforeseeable elements with a project.

Contingency Plan
Mitigation plan. Alternative course(s) of action devised to cope with project risks. Note: See Risk Plan.

Contingency Planning
The development of a management plan that uses alternative strategies to minimise or negate the adverse effects of a risk, should it occur.

Contract
A mutually binding agreement in which the contractor is obligated to provide services or products and the buyer is obligated to provide payment for them.

Contract Budget Base
The negotiated contract cost value plus the estimated value of authorised but un-priced work.

Contract Close-out
Settlement of a contract.

Contract Target Cost
The negotiated costs for the original defined contract and all contractual changes that have been agreed and approved, but excluding the estimated cost of any authorised, un-priced changes. The contract target cost equals the value of the budget at completion plus management or contingency reserve.

Contract Target Price
The negotiated estimated costs plus profit or fee.

Contractor
A person, company or firm who holds a contract for carrying out the works and/or the supply of goods or services in connection with the project.

Control
Control is the process of developing targets and plans; measuring actual performance, comparing it against planned performance, analysing the differences and taking effective action to correct the situation.

Co-ordination
Co-ordination is the act of ensuring that work carried out by different organisations and in different places fits together effectively. It involves technical matters, time, content and cost in order to achieve the project objectives effectively.

Corrective Action
Changes made to bring future project performance back into line with the plan.

Cost Account
A cost account defines what work is to be performed who will perform it and who is to pay for it. Cost accounts are the focal point for the integration of scope, cost, and schedule. Another term for Cost Account is Control Account.

Cost Benefit Analysis
An analysis of the relationship between the costs of undertaking a task or project, initial and recurrent, and the benefits likely to arise from the changed situation, initially and recurrently.

Cost Breakdown Structure
Hierarchical breakdown of a project into cost elements.

Cost Budgeting
Allocating cost estimates to individual project components.

Cost Centre
Location, person, activity or project in respect of which costs may be ascertained and related to cost units.

Cost Code
Unique identity for a specified element of work.

Cost Control System
Any system of keeping costs within the bounds of budgets or standards based upon work actually performed.

Cost Curve
A graph plotted against a horizontal time scale and cumulative cost vertical scale.

Cost Element
A unit of costs to perform a task or to acquire an item. The cost estimated may be a single value or a range of values.

Cost Estimating
The process of predicting the costs of a project.

Cost Incurred
Costs identified through the use of the accrued method of accounting or costs actually paid. Costs include direct labour, direct materials, and all allowable indirect costs.

Cost Management
The effective financial control of the project through evaluating, estimating, budgeting, monitoring, analysing, forecasting and reporting the cost information.

Cost Overrun
The amount by which a contractor exceeds or expects to exceed the estimated costs, and/or the final limitations (the ceiling) of a contract.

Cost Performance Index (CPI)
A measure, expressed as a percentage or other ratio of actual cost to budget plan.

Cost Performance Report
A regular cost report to reflect cost and schedule status information for management.

Cost Plan
A budget which shows the amounts and expected dates of incurring costs on the project or on a contract

Cost Plus Fixed Fee Contract
A type of contract where the buyer reimburses the seller for the seller�s allowable costs plus a fixed fee.

Cost Plus Incentive Fee Contract (CPIFC)
A type of Contract where the buyer reimburses the seller for the seller’s allowable costs and the seller earns a profit if defined criteria are met.

Cost Reimbursement Type Contracts
A category of contracts based on payments to a contractor for allowable estimated costs, normally requiring only a “best efforts” performance standard from the contractor. Risk for all growth over the estimated value rests with the project owner.

Cost Variance
The difference (positive or negative) between the actual expenditure and the planned/budgeted expenditure.

Cost/ Time Resource sheet (CTR)
A document that describes each major element in the WBS, including a Statement of Work (SOW) describing the work content, resources required, the time frame of the work element and a cost estimate.

Cost/Schedule Planning and Control Specification (C/SPCS)
The United States Air Force initiative in the mid-1960’s which later resulted in the C/SCSC.

Critical Activity
An activity is termed critical when it has zero or negative float.

Critical Path
Sequence of activities through a project network from start to finish, the sum of whose durations determines the overall project duration. Note: There may be more than one such path.

Critical Path Analysis
Procedure for calculating the critical path and floats in a network.

Critical Path Method (CPM)
A technique used to predict project duration by analysing which sequence of activities has the least amount of scheduling flexibility. The Critical Path Method is a modelling process that defines all the project’s critical activities that must be completed on time. The start and finish dates of activities in the project are calculated in two passes. The first pass calculates early start and finish dates from the earliest start date forward. The second pass calculates the late start and finish activities from the latest finish date backwards. The difference between the pairs of start and finish dates for each task is the float time for the task. Float is the amount of time a task can be delayed without delaying the project completion date. By experimenting with different logical sequences and /or durations the optimal project schedule can be determined.

Critical Success Factor
A factor considered to be most conducive to the achievement of a successful project.

Criticality Index
Used in risk analysis, the criticality index represents the percentage of simulation trails that resulted in the activity being placed on the critical path.

Customer
Any person who defines needs or wants, justifies or pays for part or the entire project, or evaluates or uses the results. Could be the project promoter, client, owner or employer.

Cut-off Date
The end date of a reporting period.

Dangle
An activity or network which has either no predecessors or no successors. If neither, it is referred to as an isolated activity.

Decision Event
State in the progress of a probabilistic project when a decision is required before the start of any succeeding activity. Note The decision determines which of a number of alternative paths is to be followed.

Deliverables
End products of a project or the measurable results of intermediate activities within the project organisation Note: Deliverables may be in the form of hardware, software, services, processes, documents or any combination thereof.

Dependency
Precedence relationship. Restriction that one activity has to precede, either in part or in total, another activity.

Dependency Arrow
A link arrow used in an activity on node network to represent the interrelationships of activities in a project.

Design Authority
The person or organisation with overall design responsibility for the products of the project.

Deterministic Network
Network containing paths, all of which have to be followed and whose durations are fixed. Note: Deterministic network is a term used to distinguish traditional networking from probabilistic networking.

Direct Costs
Costs that are specifically attributable to an activity or group of activities without apportionment.

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF)
Concept of relating future cash inflows and outflows over the life of a project or operation to a common base value thereby allowing more validity to comparison of projects with different durations and rates of cash flow.

Dummy activity in activity on arrow network
An activity representing no actual work to be done but generally required for logical reasons. Note: There are three uses for a dummy activity in ‘activity-on-arrow network’ a) logic, b) time delay and c) uniqueness.

Duration
Duration is the length of time needed to complete an activity.

Earliest Finish Time
Earliest possible time by which an activity can finish within the logical and imposed constraints of the network.

Early Dates
Calculated in the forward pass of time analysis, early dates are the earliest dates on which an activity can start and finish.

Early Start Time
Earliest possible time by which an activity can start within the logical and imposed constraints of the network.

Earned Hours
The time in standard hours credited as a result of the completion of a given task or a group of tasks.

Earned Value
The value of the useful work done at any given point in a project.

Earned Value Analysis
Analysis of project progress where the actual money, hours (or other measure) budgeted and spent is compared to the value of the work achieved.

Effort
The number of labour units necessary to complete the work. Effort is usually expressed in staff-hours, staff-days or staff-weeks and should not be confused with duration.

Effort-Driven Activity
An activity whose duration is governed by resource usage and availability. The resource requiring the greatest time to complete the specified amount of work on the activity will determine its duration.

Elapsed Time
Elapsed time is the total number of calendar days (excluding non-work days such as weekends or holidays) that is needed to complete an activity. It gives a realistic view of how long an activity is scheduled to take for completion.

Estimate
A quantified assessment of the resources required to complete part or all of a project. The prediction of the quantitative result. It is usually applied to project costs, resources and durations.

Estimate At Completion (EAC)
A value expressed in either money and /or hours, to represent the projected final costs of work when completed. The EAC is calculated as ETC + ACWP.

Estimate To Complete (ETC)
The value expressed in either money or hours developed to represent the cost of the work required to complete a task.

Estimating
The act of combining the results of post project reviews, metrics, consultation and informed assessment to arrive at time and resource requirements for an activity.

Event
State in the progress of a project after the completion of all preceding activities, but before the start of any succeeding activity.

Exception Report
Focused report drawing attention to instances where planned and actual results are expected to be, or are already, significantly different.

Exclusive or Relationship
Logical relationship indicating that only one of the possible activities can be undertaken.

Execution phase
The phase of a project in which work towards direct achievement of the project’s objectives and the production of the project’s deliverables occurs. Sometimes called the implementation phase.

Expenditure
A charge against available funds, evidenced by a voucher, claim, or other documents. Expenditures represent the actual payment of funds.

External Constraint
A constraint from outside the project network.

Fallback Plan
A plan for an alternative course of action that can be adopted to overcome the consequences of a risk, should it occur (including carrying out any advance activities that may be required to render the plan practical).

Fast-Tracking
Reducing the duration of a project usually by overlapping phases or activities that were originally planned be to done sequentially.

Feasibility Phase
The project phase that demonstrates that the client’s requirement can be achieved and identifies and evaluates the options to determine the one preferred solution.

Feasibility Study
Analysis to determine if a course of action is possible within the terms of reference of the project.

Finish Date
The actual or estimated time associated with an activity’s completion.

Finish-To-Finish Lag
The finish-to-finish lag is the minimum amount of time that must pass between the finish of one activity and the finish of its successor(s).

Finish-To-Start Lag
The finish-to-start lag is the minimum amount of time that must pass between the finish of one activity and the start of its successor(s). The default finish-to-start lag is zero.

Firm Fixed Price Contract
A contract where the buyer pays a set amount to the seller regardless of that seller�s cost to complete the contract.

Fixed Date
A calendar date (associated with a plan) that cannot be moved or changed during the schedule.

Fixed Finish
See Imposed Finish.

Fixed Price Contracts
A generic category of contracts based on the establishment of firm legal commitments to complete the required work. A performing contractor is legally obligated to finish the job, no matter how much it costs to complete. Risks of all cost growth rest on the performing contractor.

Fixed Start
See Imposed Start.

Fixed-Duration Scheduling
A scheduling method in which, regardless of the number of resources assigned to the task, the duration remains the same.

Float*
Time available for an activity or path in addition to its planned duration.

Forecast At Completion
Scheduled cost for a task.

Forecast Final Cost
See Estimate at Completion.

Forward Pass
A procedure whereby the earliest event times or the earliest start and finish times for the activities of a network are calculated.

Free Float
Time by which an activity may be delayed or extended without affecting the earliest start of any succeeding activity. Note: free float can never be negative.

Functional Specification
A document specifying in some detail the functions that are required of a system and the constraints that will apply.

Funding Profile
An estimate of funding requirements over time.

Gantt Chart
Particular type of bar chart showing planned activity against time.

Goal
A one-sentence definition of specifically what will be accomplished.

Hammock
Activity, joining two specified points, that span two or more activities. Note: Its duration is initially unspecified and is only determined by the durations of the specified activities.

Hand-over
The formal process of transferring responsibility for and ownership of the products of a project to the operator or owner.

Histogram
A graphic display of, for example, Planned or actual resource usage over a period of time. It is in the form of a vertical bar chart, the height of each bar representing the quantity of resource usage in a given time unit. Bars may be single, multiple or show stacked resources.

Holiday
An otherwise valid working day that has been designated as exempt from work.

Implementation Phase
The project phase that develops the chosen solution into a completed deliverable. (Note: Realisation is the internationally accepted and preferred term for implementation).

Imposed Date
Point in time determined by circumstances outside the network.

Imposed Finish
A finished date imposed on an activity by external constraints.

Imposed Start
A start date imposed on an activity by external constraints.

In Progress
An activity that has been started, but not yet completed.

Inclusive or relationship
Logical relationship indicating that at least one but not necessarily all of the activities have to be undertaken.

Incurred Costs
Sum of actual and committed costs, whether invoiced/paid or not, at a specified time.

Indirect Cost
Costs associated with a project that cannot be directly attributed to an activity or group of activities.

In-house Project
A project commissioned and carried out entirely within a single organisation.

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Key Events
Major events, the achievement of which, are deemed to be critical to the execution of the project.

Key Performance Indicators
Measurable indicators that will be used to report progress which are chosen to reflect the critical success factors of the project.

Labour Rate Variances
Difference between planned labour rates and actual labour rates.

Ladder
Device for representing a set of overlapping activities in a network diagram. Note: The start and finish of each succeeding activity are linked only to the start and finish of the preceding activity by lead and lag activities, which consume only time.

Lag
In a network diagram, the minimum necessary lapse of time between the finish of one activity and the finish of an overlapping activity or the delay incurred between two specified activities.

Late Dates
Calculated in the backward pass of time analysis, late dates are the latest dates by which an activity can be allowed to start or finish.

Latest Finish Time
The latest possible time by which an activity has to finish within the logical activity and imposed constraints of the network, without affecting the total project duration.

Latest Start Time
Latest possible time by which an activity has to start within the logical and imposed constraints of the network, without affecting the total project duration.

Lead
In a network diagram, the minimum necessary lapse of time between the start of one activity and the start of an overlapping activity.

Lead Contractor
The contractor who has responsibility for overall project management and quality assurance.

Letter of Intent
A letter indicating an intent to sign a contract, usually so that work can commence prior to signing that contract.

Levelling
See Resource Levelling.

Life Cycle
A sequence of defined stages over the full duration of a project.

Life-Cycle Costing
When evaluating alternatives, Life-Cycle Costing is the concept of including acquisition, operating and disposal costs.

Likelihood
Assessment of the probability that a risk will occur.

Linked Bar Chart
A bar chart that shows the dependency links between activities.

Logic
See Network Logic.

Logic Diagram
A diagram that displays the logical relationships between project activities.

Logical Relationship
A logical relationship is based on the dependency between two project activities or between a project activity and a milestone.

Loop
An error in a network which results in a later activity imposing a logical restraint on an earlier activity.

Management Reserve
A central contingency pool. Sum of money held as an overall contingency to cover the cost impact of some unexpected event occurring. Note: This is self-insurance.

Master Network
Network showing the complete project, from which more detailed networks are derived.

Master Schedule
A high level summary project schedule that identifies major activities and milestones.

Matrix Organisation
An organisational structure where the Project Manager and the Functional Managers share the responsibility of assigning priorities and for directing the work.

Methodology
A documented process for management of projects that contains procedures, definitions and roles and responsibilities.

Milestone
A key event. An event selected for its importance in the project. Note: Milestones are commonly used in relation to progress.

Milestone Plan
A plan containing only milestones which highlight key points of the project.

Milestone Schedule
A schedule that identifies the major milestones. See also Master Schedule.

Mission Statement
Brief summary, approximately one or two sentences, that sums up the background, purposes and benefits of the project.

Mitigation
Working to reduce risk by lowering its chances of occurring or by reducing its effect if it occurs.

Mobilisation
The bringing together of project personnel and securing equipment and facilities. Carried out during project start-up phases.

Monitoring
Monitoring is the recording, analysing and reporting of project performance as compared to the plan.

Monte Carlo Simulation
A technique used to estimate the likely range of outcomes from a complex process by simulating the process under randomly selected conditions a large number of times.

Near-Critical Activity
A low total float activity.

Negative Total Float
Time by which the duration of an activity or path has to be reduced in order to permit a limiting imposed date to be achieved.

Net Present Value
Aggregate of future net cash flows discounted back to a common base date, usually the present.

Network
A pictorial presentation of project data in which the project logic is the main determinant of the placements of the activities in the drawing. Frequently called a flowchart, PERT chart, logic drawing, or logic diagram.

Network Analysis
Method used for calculating a project’s critical path and activity times and floats. Note: See also Critical Path Analysis, Project Network Techniques.

Network Interface
Activity or event common to two or more network diagrams.

Network Logic
The collection of activity dependencies that make up a project network.

Network Path
A series of connected activities in a project network.

Non-recurring Costs
Expenditures against specific tasks that are expected to occur only once on a given project.

Non-splittable Activity
An activity that, once started, has to be completed to plan without interruption. Note: Resources should not be diverted from a non-splittable activity to another activity.

Not Earlier Than
A restriction on an activity that indicates that it may not start or end earlier than a specified date.

Not Later Than
A restriction on an activity that indicates that it may not start or end later than a specified date.

Objectives
Predetermined results toward which effort is directed.

Operation Phase
Period when the completed deliverable is used and maintained in service for its intended purpose.

Opportunity
The opposite of a risk. The chance to enhance the project benefits.

Organisational Breakdown Structure (OBS)
Hierarchical way in which the organisation may be divided into management levels and groups, for planning and control purposes.

Original Budget
The initial budget established at or near the time a contract was signed or a project authorised, based on the negotiated contract cost or management’s authorisation.

Original Duration
The duration of activities or groups of activities as recorded in the Baseline Schedule.

Out-of-Sequence Progress
Progress that has been reported even though activities that have been deemed predecessors in project logic have not been completed.

Outsourcing
Contracting-out, buying in facilities or work (as opposed to using in-house resources).

Overhead
Costs incurred in the operation of a business that cannot be directly related to the individual products or services being produced. See also Indirect Cost.

Overrun
Costs incurred in excess of the contract target costs on an incentive type contract or the estimated costs on a fixed fee contract. An overrun is that value of costs which are needed to complete a project, over that value originally authorised by management.

Parallel Activities
Parallel activities are two or more activities than can be done at the same time. This allows a project to be completed faster than if the activities were arranged serially.

Path
Activity or an unbroken sequence of activities in a project network

Percent Complete
A measure of the completion status of a partially completed activity. May be aggregated to sections of a project or the whole project.

Performance Measurement Techniques
Performance measurement techniques are the methods used to estimate earned value. Different methods are appropriate to different work packages, either due to the nature of the work or to the planned duration of the work package.

Phase (of a project)
That part of a project during which a set of related and interlinked activities are performed. Note: A project consists of a series of phases that together constitute the whole project life cycle.

Plan
A plan is an intended future course of action. It is owned by the project manager, it is the basis of the project controls and includes the what, the how, the when, and the who.

Planned Activity
An activity not yet started.

Planned Cost
Estimated cost of achieving a specified objective.

Planner
A member of a project team or project support office with the responsibility for planning ,scheduling and tracking of projects. They are often primarily concerned with schedule, progress and manpower resources.

Planning
The process of identifying the means, resources and actions necessary to accomplish an objective.

Planning Stage
The stage prior to the implementation stage when product activity, resource and quality plans are produced.

Positive Float
Positive float is defined as the amount of time that an activity’s start can be delayed without affecting the project completion date. An activity with positive float is not on the critical path and is called a non-critical activity. The difference between early and late dates (start or finish) determines the amount of float.

Pre- commissioning
That work which is carried out prior to commissioning in order to demonstrate that commissioning may be safely undertaken.

Precedence Diagram Method
One of the two methods of representing project as networks, in which the activities are represented by nodes and the relationships between them by arrows.

Precedence Network
A multiple dependency network. An activity-on-node network in which a sequence arrow represents one of four forms of precedence relationship, depending on the positioning of the head and the tail of the sequence arrow. The relationships are:

Preceding Event
In an activity-on-arrow network, an event at the beginning of an activity.

Predecessor
An activity that must be completed (or be partially completed) before a specified activity can begin.

Predecessor Activity
In the precedence diagramming method this is an activity which logically precedes the current activity.

Prime or Lead Contractor
A main supplier who has a contract for much or all of the work on a contract.

Probabilistic Network
Network containing alternative paths with which probabilities are associated.

Probability
Likelihood of a risk occurring.

Process
Set of interrelated resources and activities which transform inputs into outputs

Procurement
The securing of goods or services.

Procurement Planning
Determining what to procure and when.

Programme
A broad effort encompassing a number of projects and/or functional activities with a common purpose.

Programme Benefits Review
A review to assess if targets have been reached and to measure the performance levels in the resulting business operations.

Programme Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
PERT is a project management technique for determining how much time a project needs before it is completed. Each activity is assigned a best, worst, and most probable completion time estimate. These estimates are used to determine the average completion time. The average times are used to calculate the critical path and the standard deviation of completion times for the entire project.

Progress
The partial completion of a project, or a measure of the same.

Progress Payments
Payments made to a contractor during the life of a fixed-price type contract, on the basis of some agreed-to formula, for example, Budget Cost of Work Performed or simply costs incurred.

Progress Report
A regular report to senior personnel, sponsors or stakeholders summarising the progress of a project including key events, milestones, costs and other issues.

Project
Unique set of co-ordinated activities, with definite starting and finishing points, undertaken by an individual or organisation to meet specific objectives within defined time, cost and performance parameters (See also BS ISO 10006.)

Project Appraisal
The discipline of calculating the viability of a project.

Project Base Date
Reference date used as a basis for the start of a project calendar.

Project Board
A project board is the body to which the Project Manager is accountable for achieving the project objectives.

Project Brief
Statement that describes the purpose, cost, time and performance requirements/constraints for a project.

Project Calendar
A calendar that defines global project working and non-working periods.

Project Champion
Person within the parent organisation who promotes and defends a project

Project Closure
Formal termination of a project at any point during its life.

Project Cost Management
A subset of project management that includes resource planning, cost estimating, cost control and cost budgeting in an effort to complete the project within its approved budget.

Project Definition
A report that defines a project i.e. why it is required, what will be done, how when and where it will be delivered, the organisation and resources required, the standards and procedures to be followed.

Project Evaluation
A documented review of the projects performance, produced at project closure. It ensures that the experience of the project is recorded for the benefit of others.

Project Initiation
The beginning of a project at which point certain management activities are required to ensure that the project is established with clear reference terms and adequate management structure.

Project Initiation Document
A document approved by the project board at project initiation that defines the terms of reference for the project.

Project Life Cycle Cost
Cumulative cost of a project over its whole life cycle.

Project Life-Cycle
All phases or stages between a project’s conception and its termination. Note: The project life cycle may include the operation and disposal of project deliverables. This is usually known as an ‘extended life cycle’.

Project Logic Drawing
A representation of the logical relationships of a project.

Project Management
Planning, monitoring and control of all aspects of a project and the motivation of all those involved in it to achieve the project objectives on time and to the specified cost, quality and performance.

Project Management Body of Knowledge
This is an inclusive term that describes the sum of knowledge within the profession of project management. As with other professions, such as law and medicine, the body of knowledge rests with the practitioners and academics that apply and advance it.

Project Management Plan
A plan for carrying out a project, to meet specific objectives, that is prepared by or for the project manager.

Project Management Team
Members of the project team who are directly involved in its management.

Project Manager
Individual or body with authority, accountability and responsibility for managing a project to achieve specific objectives.

Project Matrix
An organisation matrix that is project based in which the functional structures are duplicated in each project.

Project Monitoring
Comparison of current project status with what was planned to be done to identify and report any deviations.

Project Network
Representation of activities and/or events with their inter- relationships and dependencies.

Project Network Techniques
Group of techniques that, for the description, analysis, planning and control of projects, considers the logical inter relationships of all project activities The group includes techniques concerned with time, resources, costs and other influencing factors, e.g. uncertainty. Note: The terms program evaluation and review technique ( PERT) ‘critical path analysis’ ( CPA), ‘critical path method’ (CPM) and ‘precedence method’ refer to particular techniques and should not be used as synonyms for project network.

Project Phase
A group of related project activities that come together with the completion of a deliverable.

Project Plan
A document for management purposes that gives the basics of a project in terms of its objectives, justification, and how the objectives are to be achieved. This document is used as a record of decisions and a means of communication among stakeholders. It gives the supporting detail to the project definition which details the schedule, resource and costs for the project.

Project Planning
Developing and maintaining a project plan.

Project Portfolio
The constituent projects within a programme.

Project Progress Report
Formal statement that compares the project progress, achievements and expectations with the project plan.

Project Risk Management
A subset of project management that includes risk identification, risk quantification, risk response development and risk response control in an effort to identify, analyse and respond to project risks.

Project Schedule

Project programme

Project Sponsor
(1) The individual or body for whom the project is undertaken, the primary risk taker.

Project Start-up
The creation of the project team.

Project Status Report
A report on the status of accomplishments and any variances to spending and schedule plans.

Project Strategy
A comprehensive definition of how a project will be developed and managed.

Project Success/Failure Criteria
The criteria by which the success or failure of a project may be judged.

Project Team
Set of individuals, groups and/or organisations that are responsible to the project manager for undertaking project tasks.

Project Technical Plan
A plan produced at the beginning of a project that addresses technical issues and strategic issues related to quality control and configuration management.

Qualitative Risk Analysis
A generic term for subjective methods of assessing risks.

Quality
A trait or characteristic used to measure the degree of excellence of a product or service. Meeting customers needs.

Quality Assurance (QA)
The process of evaluating overall project performance on a regular basis to provide confidence that the project will satisfy the relevant quality standards.

Quality Assurance Plan
A plan that guarantees a quality approach and conformance to all customer requirements for all activities in a project.

Quality Audit
An official examination to determine whether practices conform to specified standards or a critical analysis of whether a deliverable meets quality criteria.

Quality Control (QC)
The process of monitoring specific project results to determine if they comply with relevant standards and identifying ways to eliminate causes of unsatisfactory performance.

Quality Criteria
The characteristics of a product that determines whether it meets certain requirements.

Quality Guide
The quality guide describes quality and configuration management procedures and is aimed at people directly involved with quality reviews, configuration management and technical exceptions.

Quality Plan (for a project)
That part of the project plan that concerns quality management and quality assurance strategies (see also ISO 10006).

Quality Planning
Determining which quality standards are necessary and how to apply them.

Quality Review
A review of a product against an established set of quality criteria.

Recurring Costs
Expenditures against specific tasks that would occur on a repetitive basis. Examples are hire of computer equipment , tool maintenance, etc.

Relationship
A logical connection between two activities.

Remaining Duration
Time needed to complete the remainder of an activity or project.

Re-planning
Actions performed for any remaining effort within project scope. Often the cost and/or schedule variances are zeroed out at this time for history items.

Request for Change
A proposal by the project manager for a change to the project as a result of a project issue report.

Resource
Any variable capable of definition that is required for the completion of an activity and may constrain the project.

Resource Allocation
Scheduling of activities and the resources required by those activities, so that predetermined constraints of resource availability and/or project time are not exceeded.

Resource Analysis
The process of analysing and optimising the use of resources on a project. Often uses resource levelling and resource smoothing techniques.

Resource Assignment
The work on an activity related to a specific resource.

Resource Availability
The level of availability of a resource, which may vary over time.

Resource Breakdown Structure
A hierarchical structure of resources that enables scheduling at the detailed requirements level, and roll up of both requirements and availabilities to a higher level.

Resource Calendar
A calendar that defines the working and non-working patterns for specific resources.

Resource Constraint
Limitation due to the availability of a resource.

Resource Cumulation
Process of accumulating the requirements for each resource to give the total required to date at all times throughout the project.

Resource Driven Task Durations
Task durations that are driven by the need for scarce resources.

Resource Histogram
A view of project data in which resource requirements, usage, and availability are shown using vertical bars against a horizontal time scale.

Resource Level
A specified level of resource units required by an activity per time unit.

Resource Levelling
See resource limited scheduling.

Resource Limited Scheduling
Scheduling of activities, so that predetermined resource levels are never exceeded. Note: This may cause the minimum overall or specified project duration to be exceeded.

Resource Optimisation
A term for resource levelling and resource smoothing.

Resource Plan
Part of the definition statement stating how the programme will be resource loaded and what supporting services, infrastructure and third party services are required.

Resource Planning
Evaluating what resources are needed to complete a project and determining the quantity needed.

Resource Requirement
The requirement for a particular resource by a particular activity.

Resource Scheduling
The process of determining dates on which activities should be performed in order to smooth the demand for resources, or to avoid exceeding stated constraints on these restraints.

Resource Smoothing
Scheduling of activities, within the limits of their float, so that fluctuations in individual resource requirements are minimised.

Responsibility Matrix
A document correlating the work required by a Work Breakdown Structure element to the functional organisations responsible for accomplishing the assigned tasks.

Retention
A part of payment withheld until the project is completed in order to ensure satisfactory performance or completion of contract terms.

Revenue Cost
Expenditure charged to the profit and loss account as incurred or accrued due.

Risk
Combination of the probability or frequency of occurrence of a defined threat or opportunity and the magnitude of the consequences of the occurrence.

Risk Analysis
Systematic use of available information to determine how often specified events may occur and the magnitude of their likely consequences.

Risk Assessment
The process of identifying potential risks, quantifying their likelihood of occurrence and assessing their likely impact on the project.

Risk Avoidance
Planning activities to avoid risks that have been identified.

Risk Evaluation
Process used to determine risk management priorities.

Risk Event
A discrete occurrence that effects a project.

Risk Identification
Process of determining what could pose a risk.

Risk Management
Systematic application of policies, procedures, methods and practices to the tasks of identifying, analysing, evaluating, treating and monitoring risk.

Risk Management Plan
A document defining how Project Risk Analysis and Management is to be implemented in the context of a particular project.

Risk Matrix
A matrix with risks located in rows, and with impact and likelihood in columns.

Risk Prioritising
Ordering of risks according first to their risk value, and then by which risks need to be considered for risk reduction, risk avoidance, and risk transfer.

Risk Quantification
Process of applying values to the various aspects of a risk.

Risk Ranking
Allocating a classification to the impact and likelihood of a risk.

Risk Reduction
Action taken to reduce the likelihood and impact of a risk.

Risk Register
Formal record of identified risks.

Risk Response
Contingency plans to manage a risk should it materialise.

Risk Sharing
Diminution of a risk by sharing it with others, usually for some consideration.

Risk Transfer
A contractual arrangement between two parties for delivery and acceptance of a product where the liability for the costs of a risk is transferred from one party to the other.

Risk Treatment
Selection and implementation of appropriate options for dealing with risk.

Risk, Secondary
Risk that can occur as a result of treating a risk.

Safety Plan
The standards and methods which minimise to an acceptable level the likelihood of accident or damage to people or equipment.

Schedule
A Schedule is the timetable for a project. It shows how project tasks and milestones are planned out over a period of time.

Schedule Control
Controlling schedule changes.

Schedule Dates
Start and finish dates calculated with regard to resource or external constraints as well as project logic.

Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
Ratio of work accomplished versus work planned, for a specified time period. The SPI is an efficiency rating for work accomplishment, comparing work accomplished to what should have been accomplished.

Schedule Variance (cost)
The difference between the budgeted cost of work performed and the budgeted cost of work scheduled at any point in time.

Scheduled Finish
The earliest date on which an activity can finish, having regard to resource or external constraints as well as project logic.

Scheduled Start
The earliest date on which an activity can start, having regard to resource or external constraints as well as project logic.

Scheduling
Scheduling is the process of determining when project activities will take place depending on defined durations and precedent activities. Schedule constraints specify when an activity should start or end based on duration, predecessors, external predecessor relationships, resource availability, or target dates.

Scope
The scope is the sum of work content of a project.

Scope Change
Any change in a project scope that requires a change in the project�s cost or schedule.

Scope of Work
A description of the work to be accomplished or resources to be supplied.

S-Curve
A display of cumulative costs, labour hours or other quantities plotted against time.

Secondary Risk
The risk that may occur as a result of invoking a risk response or fallback plan.

Sequence
Sequence is the order in which activities will occur with respect to one another.

Slip Chart
A pictorial representation of the predicted completion dates of milestones (also referred to as Trend Chart).

Slippage
The amount of slack or float time used up by the current activity due to a delayed start or increased duration.

Soft Skills
Soft skills include team building, conflict management and negotiation.

Splittable Activity
Activity that can be interrupted in order to allow its resources to be transferred temporarily to another activity.

Sponsor
Individual or body for whom the project is undertaken and who is the primary risk taker.

Stage
A natural high level subsection of a project that has its own organisational structure, life span and manager.

Stage Payment
Payment part way through a project at some predetermined milestone.

Stakeholder
A person or group of people who have a vested interest in the success of an organisation and the environment in which the organisation operates.

Start-To-Start Lag
Start-to-start lag is the minimum amount of time that must pass between the start of one activity and the start of its successor(s). This may be expressed in terms of duration or percentage.

Statement of Work
A document stating the requirements for a given project task.

Status Reports
Written reports given to both the project team and to a responsible person on a regular basis stating the status of an activity, work package, or whole project. Status Reports should be used to control the project and to keep management informed of project status.

Steering Group
A body established to monitor the project and give guidance to the project sponsor or project manager.

Subcontract
A contractual document which legally transfers the responsibility and effort of providing goods, services, data, or other hardware, from one firm to another.

Subcontractor
An organisation that supplies goods or services to a customer.

Subnet or Subnetwork
A division of a project network diagram representing a subproject.

Subproject
A group activities represented as a single activity in a higher level of the same.

Success Criteria
Criteria to be used for judging if the project is successful.

Successor
A successor is an activity whose start or finish depends on the start or finish of a predecessor activity.

Sunk Costs
Unavoidable costs (even if the project were to be terminated)

Super-Critical Activity
An activity that is behind schedule is considered to be super-critical. if it has been delayed to a point where its float is calculated to be a negative value.

Supplier
Includes contractors, consultants and any organisation that supplies services or goods to the customer.

System
The complete technical output of the project including technical products.

Systems and Procedures
Systems and procedure detail the standard methods, practices and procedures of handling frequently occurring events within the project.

Systems Management
Management that includes the prime activities of systems analysis, systems design and engineering and systems development.

Target Completion Date
A date which contractors strive toward for completion of the activity.

Target Date
Date imposed on an activity or project by the user. There are two types of target dates; target start dates, and target finish dates.

Target Finish Date
The date planned to finish work on an activity.

Target Start Date
The date planned to start work on an activity.

Task
The smallest indivisible part of an activity when it is broken down to a level best understood and performed by a specific person or organisation.

Tender
A document proposing to meet a specification in a certain way and at a stated price (or on a particular financial basis), an offer of price and conditions under which the tenderer is willing to undertake work for the client.

Termination
Completion of the project, either upon formal acceptance of its deliverables by the client and/or the disposal of such deliverables at the end of their life.

Time Analysis
The process of calculating the early and late dates for each activity on a project, based on the duration of the activities and the logical relations between them.

Time Based Network
A linked bar chart, a bar chart that shows the logical and time relationships between activities.

Time Limited Scheduling
Scheduling of activities, so that the specified project duration, or any imposed dates are not exceeded. Note: This may cause the envisaged resource levels to be exceeded.

Time Now
Specified date from which the forward analysis is deemed to commence.

Time Sheet
A means of recording the actual effort expended against project and non-project activities.

Time-Limited Resource Scheduling
The production of scheduled dates in which resource constraints may be relaxed in order to avoid any delay in project completion.

Time-Scaled Logic Drawing
A drawing that displays the logical connection between activities in the context of a time scale in which each horizontal position represents a point in time.

Time-Scaled Network Diagram
A project network diagram drawn so that the positioning of the activity represents schedule.

Top Down Cost Estimating
The total project cost is estimated based on historical costs and other project variables and then subdivided down to individual activities.

Total Float
Time by which an activity may be delayed or extended without affecting the total project duration.

Total Quality Management (TQM)
A strategic, integrated management systems for customer satisfaction that guides all employees in every aspect of their work.

Turnaround Report
A report created especially for the various responsible managers to enter their progress status against a list of activities that are scheduled to be in progress during a particular time window.

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Value
A standard, principle or quality considered worthwhile or desirable.

Value Engineering
A technique for analysing qualitative and quantitative costs and benefits of component parts of a proposed system.

Value Management
A structured means of improving business effectiveness that includes the use of management techniques such as value engineering and value analysis.

Value Planning
A technique for assessing, before significant investment is made, the desirability of a proposal based on the value that will accrue to the organisation from that proposal.

Variance
A discrepancy between the actual and planned performance on a project, either in terms of schedule or cost.

Variance at Completion
The difference between Budget at Completion and Estimate at Completion.

Variation
A change in scope or timing of work which a supplier is obliged to do under a contract.

Variation Order
The document authorising an approved technical change or variation.

What-If Analysis
The process of evaluating alternative strategies.

What-if Simulation
Changing the value of the parameters of the project network to study its behaviour under various conditions of its operation.

Work
The total number of hours, people or effort required to complete a task.

Work Breakdown Structure
Way in which a project may be divided by level into discrete groups for programming, cost planning and control purposes.

Work Load
Work load is the amount of work units assigned to a resource over a period of time.

Work Package
A group of related tasks that are defined at the same level within a work breakdown structure.

Work Units
Work units provide the measurement units for resources. For example, people as a resource can be measured by the number of hours they work.

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Zero Float
Zero float is a condition where there is no excess time between activities. An activity with zero float is considered a critical activity.