Glossary of Project ManagementIndex[initiation | definition | organisation | planning | exceptions | tracking | assurance | completion]
© Imago Business Transformation Limited 1996.
Activities or tasks are the identifiable things to be done in order to complete a work product. A task is the smallest unit of work defined for planning purposes. It must be small enough to be able to identify and estimate the specific resources needed. Back to Index Change requests must be logged, assessed and agreed before a change to the project can be implemented. Failure to maintain this discipline has been the downfall of many projects. Change requests may arise through external changes in the business, or through issues in the project itself. Changes may be needed to the scope, design, methods or any planned aspect of the project. Back to Index Contingency is an allowance of time and cost which is built into plans to allow for uncertainties in estimates. By including contingency, the confidence in the overall plan is increased. Back to Index Cost may be divided into external and internal expenditure. External cost must be controlled through contracts and budgets for each stage of the project and for each deliverable or work product. Internal cost is usually the cost of resources, and while it is important to report work product costs and total project costs, sufficient control is often achieved through schedule tracking.
Large projects may need more advanced techniques to provide indicators of cost performance and budget risk. One such technique which has gained a reputation for effective monitoring of large projects and programmes is 'earned value'.
Dependencies are relationships between products or tasks or resources. e.g. one product may be made up of several other 'dependent' products; one activity or task may not be started until a 'dependent' task has been completed; one resource such as an office may not be used without a 'dependent' resource such as a receptionist. Back to Index Exceptions are things which cause deviation from plan. These include Back to Index
Back to Index Issues are unexpected and therefore unplanned events or problems which cannot be resolved within local plan tolerance or authority. Back to Index Milestones are a way of identifying or labelling significant events which can then be used to report progress. A milestone is often used to identify the completion of a series of tasks, or readiness to begin a new stage (i.e. when all the dependencies or prerequisites have been satisfied). Back to Index
Project Board is the body to which the Project Manager is accountable for achieving the project objectives. The Project Board must be seen to represent the stakeholders. On a small project, the sponsor may represent the interests of the 'Executive', the 'Senior User' and the 'Technical Authority', while on a very large project, the Project Board may need to be larger than the typical three or four members. Back to Index
Resources are the people and facilities needed to carry out the activities required to complete specific work products. The people may be individuals or teams. Back to Index
Risks are events which might happen, and if they do, will jeopardise the successful completion of the project. Risks must be identified and assessed for "probability" of occurring and "impact" on the project. Back to Index
Schedule is a term used for the time plan for a project. This shows how the project tasks, and milestones are planned over time. The schedule is usually represented as a Gantt chart. Back to Index
Scope is the list of changes which make the difference between the "A" point and the "B" point in the following diagram.
The "A" and "B" points represent the state at the start and end of the project. It is essential that all stakeholders contribute to the discussion or brainstorming to define the changes which differentiate the B state from the A state. It is from this list of changes that the work products to produce the required changes can be defined.
Stakeholders are the people who 'own' those areas of the business which need the changes to be brought about by the project, or which are impacted (beneficially or adversely) by the changes, or which have to support, operate, control or sustain the changed environment. Back to Index
Work Breakdown Structure(WBS) or Product Breakdown Structure is a way of representing the hierarchy of work products to show their dependencies and relationships, and sometimes their sources. A simple tree diagram may be sufficient for a straightforward project. WBS codes may be assigned to work products and their tasks to facilitate analysis. Back to Index
Work Products are the 'results' or 'deliverables' which must be produced in order to complete the project and deliver the required changes. The work products may be as diverse as 'a new building', 'a computer application', or 'completed training'. The relationships or dependencies are shown in the form of a work breakdown structure or product breakdown structure. Each product should have a number of items of current information, typically these will include:
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