GLOSSARY

1. Common Acronyms

2. Definitions

Activity Attributes. Multiple attributes associated with each schedule activity that can be included within the activity list. Activity attributes include activity codes, predecessor activities, successor activities, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, imposed dates, constraints, and assumptions.

Activity Duration. The time in calendar units between the start and finish of a schedule activity. See also duration.

Activity Duration Estimate. A quantitative assessment of the likely amount or outcome for the duration of an activity.

Activity List. A documented tabulation of schedule activities that shows the activity description, activity identifier, and a sufficiently detailed scope of work description so project team members understand what work is to be performed.

Activity Resource Estimate. A quantitative assessment of the likely amount of resource for a specific activity.

Analogous Estimating. An estimating technique that uses the values of parameters, such as scope, cost, budget, and duration or measures of scale such as size, weight, and complexity from a previous, similar activity as the basis for estimating the same parameter or measure for a future activity.

Analogous Estimating Model. A simplified mathematical description of a system or process, used to assist calculations and predictions that evaluate similar items as a basis for estimating the same parameter for measure of a future activity.

Baseline. An approved plan for a project, plus or minus approved changes. It is compared to actual performance to determine if performance is within acceptable variance thresholds. Generally refers to the current baseline, but may refer to the original or some other baseline. Usually used with a modifier (e.g., cost performance baseline, schedule baseline, performance measurement baseline, technical baseline).

Baseline Estimate. A quantitative assessment of the likely amount or outcome for the approved plan for a project.

Bottom-up Estimating. A method of estimating a component of work. The work is decomposed into more detail. An estimate is prepared of what is needed to meet the requirements of each of the lower, more detailed pieces of work, and these estimates are then aggregated into a total quantity for the component of work. The accuracy of bottom-up estimating is driven by the size and complexity of the work identified at the lower levels.

Bottom-up Estimating Model. A simplified mathematical description of a system or process, used to assist calculations and predictions, that is prepared by starting at the lower, more detailed pieces of work; these estimates are then aggregated into a total quality for the component of work.

Change Control. Identifying, documenting, approving or rejecting, and controlling changes to the project baselines.

Change Control Board (CCB). A formally constituted group of stakeholders responsible for reviewing, evaluating, approving, delaying, or rejecting changes to a project, with all decisions and recommendations being recorded.

Change Request. Requests to expand or reduce the project scope, modify policies, processes, plans, or procedures, modify costs or budgets, or revise schedules.

Communication Management Plan. The document that describes: the communications needs and expectations for the project; how and in what format information will be communicated; when and where each communication will be made; and who is responsible for providing each type of communication. The communication management plan is contained in, or is a subsidiary plan of, the project management plan.

Confidence Level. A measure of how reliable a statistical result is, expressed as a percentage that indicates the probability of the result being correct.

Contingency Reserve. The amount of funds, budget, or time needed above the estimate to reduce the risk of overruns of project objectives to a level acceptable to the organization.

Contractor Bid and Analysis. The price that the contractor is proposing to charge the client for a particular project. Therefore, a bid will contain all of the elements of the real cost of a project plus an amount that would represent the profit or return on investment.

Cost Estimate. A quantitative assessment of the likely amount for project, work package, or activity cost.

Create Estimate. This is the stage of estimating activity resources, activity duration, and costs for a project. There are several models and techniques for determining the estimates.

Delphi Method. A systematic, interactive forecasting method that relies on a panel of experts. The experts answer questionnaires in two or more rounds. After each round, a facilitator provides an anonymous summary of the experts’ forecasts from the previous round as well as the reasons they provided for their judgments.

Determine Budget. The process of aggregating the estimated costs of individual activities or work packages to establish an authorized cost baseline.

Develop Schedule. The process of analyzing activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, and schedule constraints to create the project schedule.

Duration. The total number of work periods (not including holidays or other nonworking periods) required to complete a schedule activity or work breakdown structure component. Usually expressed as workdays or workweeks. Sometimes incorrectly equated with elapsed time.

Earned Value Management (EVM). A management methodology for integrating scope, schedule, and resources, and for objectively measuring project performance and progress. Performance is measured by determining the budgeted cost of work performed (i.e., earned value) and comparing it to the actual cost of work performed (i.e., actual cost).

Enterprise Environmental Factors. Any or all external environmental factors and internal organizational environmental factors that surround or influence the project's success. These factors are from any or all of the enterprises involved in the project, and include organizational culture and structure, infrastructure, existing resources, commercial databases, market conditions, and project management software.

Estimate. A quantitative assessment of the likely amount or outcome. Usually applied to project costs, resources, effort, and durations and is usually preceded by a modifier (i.e., preliminary, conceptual, feasibility, order-of-magnitude, definitive). It should always include some indication of accuracy (e.g., ± x percent).

Estimate Activity Durations. The process of approximating the number of work periods needed to complete individual activities with estimated resources.

Estimate Activity Resources. The process of estimating the type and quantities of material, people, equipment, or supplies required to perform each activity.

Estimate at Completion (EAC). The expected total cost of a schedule activity, a work breakdown structure component, or the project when the defined scope of work will be completed. The EAC may be calculated based on performance to date or estimated by the project team based on other factors, in which case it is often referred to as the latest revised estimate. See also estimate to complete.

Estimate Costs. The process of developing an approximation of the monetary resources needed to complete project activities.

Estimate to Complete (ETC). The expected cost needed to complete all the remaining work for a schedule activity, work breakdown structure component, or the project. See also estimate at completion.

Estimating Life Cycle. The duration of estimating in a project, which includes the stages of: Prepare Estimate, Create Estimate, Manage Estimate, and Improve Estimating Process.

Forecast. An estimate or prediction of conditions and events in the project's future, based on information and knowledge available at the time of the forecast. The information is based on the project's past performance and expected future performance, and includes information that could impact the project in the future, such as estimate at completion and estimate to complete.

Historical Information. Documents and data on prior projects including project files, records, correspondence, closed contracts, and closed projects.

Human Resource Plan. A document describing how roles and responsibilities, reporting relationships, and staffing management will be addressed and structured for the project. It is contained in or is a subsidiary plan of the project.

Identify Risks. The process of determining which risks may affect the project and documenting their characteristics.

Improve Estimating Process. This project estimating stage is used as the projects progress. Lessons learned are applied to the estimating process, which includes calibrating the models based on actual values and maintaining checklists of areas to include in the estimates.

Integrated Change Control. Identifying, documenting, approving or rejecting, and controlling changes to the project baselines in a coordinated manner across all involved disciplines and Knowledge Areas to ensure overall integrity of the final product, and includes an assessment of impact to project time, project cost, and project resources.

Lessons Learned. The learning gained from the process of performing the project. Lessons learned may be identified at any point. Also considered a project record, to be included in the lessons learned knowledge base.

Manage Estimate. This project estimating stage is used when the original estimate is completed and the project work has started. Many activities are used, including change controls, calibrating the forecast, and comparing actuals to the estimate.

Manage Stakeholder Expectations. The process of communicating and working with stakeholders to meet their needs and addressing issues as they occur.

Order of Magnitude (OOM) Estimate. The class of scale or magnitude of any amount, where each class contains values of a fixed ratio to the class preceding it. In its most common usage, the amount being scaled is 10 and the scale is the (base 10) exponent being applied to this amount.

Organizational Process Assets. Any or all process-related assets, from any or all of the organizations involved in the project that are or can be used to influence the project's success. These process assets include formal and informal plans, policies, procedures, and guidelines. The process assets also include the organizations’ knowledge bases such as lessons learned and historical information.

Parametric Estimating. An estimating technique that uses a statistical relationship between historical data and other variables (e.g., square footage in construction, lines of code in software development) to calculate an estimate for activity parameters, such as scope, cost, budget, and duration. An example for the cost parameter is multiplying the planned quantity of work to be performed by the historical cost per unit to obtain the estimated cost.

Parametric Estimating Model. A simplified mathematical description of a system or process, used to assist calculations and predictions. Generally speaking, parametric models calculate the dependent variables of cost and duration on the basis of one or more variables.

Power-Series Estimate. An enhancement of the ratio estimating model in that it presumes that the ratio of the cost of two projects is related to a value that is derived by raising the ratio of the capacities to a certain power.

Prepare Estimate. This is the estimating stage which includes the identification of activities, determining the techniques to be used for estimating, identifying the estimating team, preparing estimating inputs, and documenting any constraints to the estimate (e.g., cost, schedule, resources).

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). A technique for estimating that applies as weighted average of optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely estimates when there is uncertainty with the individual activity estimates.

Progressive Elaboration. Continuously improving and detailing a plan as more detailed and specific information and more accurate estimates become available as the project progresses, and thereby producing more accurate and complete plans that result from the successive iterations of the planning process.

Project Charter. A document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project, and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities.

Project Estimating. The act of creating a quantitative assessment of the likely amount or outcome. Usually applied to project costs, resources, effort, and durations.

Project Estimating Approach. A document, created in the Prepare Estimate stage, which outlines the overall approach, techniques used, project information assumptions, constraints and other important information needed to create the estimates.

Project Life Cycle. A collection of generally sequential project phases whose name and number are determined by the control needs of the organization or organizations involved in the project. A life cycle can be documented with a methodology.

Project Management Information System (PMIS). An information system consisting of the tools and techniques used to gather, integrate, and disseminate the outputs of project management processes. It is used to support all aspects of the project from initiating through closing, and can include both manual and automated systems.

Project Schedule. The planned dates for performing schedule activities and the planned dates for meeting schedule milestones.

Ratio Estimating. A model that presumes that there is a linear relationship between the cost of a project with one, or more of the basic features of its deliverable. The basic deliverable features that will need to be quantified and used with this model are either physical attributes or performance characteristics.

Resource Calendar. A calendar of working days and nonworking days that determines those dates on which each specific resource is idle or can be active. Typically defines resource specific holidays and resource availability periods.

Risk Register. The document containing the results of the qualitative risk analysis, quantitative risk analysis, and risk response planning. The risk register details all identified risks, including description, category, cause, probability of occurring, impact(s) on objectives, proposed responses, owners, and current status.

Rough Estimate. Also known as a “ballpark estimate,” this is an inexact representation of something that is still close enough to be useful.

Schedule Compression. Shortening the project schedule duration without reducing the project scope.

Staffing Management Plan. The document that describes when and how human resource requirements will be met. It is contained in, or is a subsidiary plan of, the human resource plan.

Stakeholder. Person or organization (e.g., customer, sponsor, performing organization, or the public) that is actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be positively or negatively affected by execution or completion of the project. A stakeholder may also exert influence over the project and its deliverables.

Standard. A document that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines, or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context.

Statement of Work (SOW). A narrative description of products, services, or results to be supplied.

Template. A partially complete document in a predefined format that provides a defined structure for collecting, organizing, and presenting information and data.

Three-Point Estimate. An analytical technique that uses three cost or duration estimates to represent the optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic scenarios. This technique is applied to improve the accuracy of the estimates of cost or duration when the underlying activity or cost component is uncertain.

Variance Analysis. A method for resolving the total variance in the set of scope, cost, and schedule variables into specific component variances that are associated with defined factors affecting the scope, cost, and schedule variables.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). A deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. It organizes and defines the total scope of the project.

Work Performance Information. Information and data, on the status of the project schedule activities being performed to accomplish the project work, collected as part of the direct and manage project execution processes. Information includes: status of deliverables; implementation status for change requests, corrective actions, preventive actions, and defect repairs; forecasted estimates to complete; reported percent of work physically completed; achieved value of technical performance measures; start and finish dates of schedule activities.