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You can find the project management terminology you need here, whether you are trying to understand key terms or need a comprehensive glossary.
Project management, like many other disciplines, has developed its own lexicon and terms over time. Some terms and concepts in project management have taken on a technical meaning, just as some words are used every day.
Terms of Project Management:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W
A
Activity
An activity is a work package or component of work that is performed during a project. An activity is often described to be the smallest unit in project work. It is often associated with a task and forms part of a project’s foundation. It is helpful to break down work into smaller tasks in order to identify the components for accurate estimation, timeline development, and statements of work.
Activity Sequencing
Activity sequencing refers to theprocessof identifying and documentingdependenciesamongschedule activities within a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
Agile Project Management
Agile project management principles promote development iterations, teamwork and stakeholder involvement. They also encourage objective metrics, effective controls, and support the use of agile principles. Read our post on Project Management Methodologies or check out our listof agile project management tools to enable agile project management.
Analogous Estimating
Expert judgment is a form of expert judgement that relies on the comparison of historical similar projects to predict future costs. Check out our top 10 tips for creating cost estimates.
Assumptions
Assumptions are any factors listed in a Statement of Work (SoW), or estimate that you assume will be held in place by the client or yourself to ensure the ongoing validity of your document and the outcome of the project. This topic is covered in our series on creating Statements of Work.
Analysis of Assumptions
Assumptions analysis is a technique that examines the accuracyof assumptionsand identifies risksto the projectfrom their inaccuracy or inconsistency.
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B
Backlog
In its simplest form, a backlog is a list of all the tasks that must be completed in order to complete a project. The backlog, especially in software like Scrum and Kanban, is often called a product backlog and is visible to the project team via a task board or list. It can contain both technical and user-centric items. Sometimes, a backlog can be used to replace traditional requirements specification documents.
Backward Pass
Backward Pass is the calculationoflate finish datesandlate begin datesfor uncompleted activities. This is done by going backwards using the schedulenetwork logic starting at the project’s end.
Balanced Scorecard
The Balanced Scorecard is a performance measurement tool that was originally created to assess whether smaller-scale operations are in line with larger-scale vision and strategy objectives.
Baseline
A baseline is the original cost, schedule, or scope. It is a reference point against which all future progress and changes can be compared. A new revision of the baseline can be created for any changes to the project.