All Flashcards
(218 cards)
1
Q
Abusive Manner
A
Treating others with conduct that may result in harm, fear, humiliation, manipulation, or exploitation. For example, berating a project team member in front of the team because they have taken longer than expected to complete a project assignment may be considered humiliation.
2
Q
Acceptance Criteria
A
The conditions that must be met before a project can be considered complete and the project deliverables are accepted by the client. In business analysis, a set of conditions or criteria that a product or solution must meet to be accepted by the customer or stakeholders. They are used to define the requirements and expectations for the product or solution, and to ensure that it meets the needs of the business end users.
3
Q
Acceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD)
A
Testing approach that considers the perspective of the customers, developers, and testers. The test is written before the coding, and then the developers create code to pass the known test.
4
Q
Active Listening
A
The message receiver restates what’s been said to understand fully and confirm the message; this provides an opportunity for the sender to clarify the message if needed.
5
Q
Active Problem-Solving
A
The ability to understand the problem, identify a viable solution, and then implement a solution. Active problem-solving begins with problem definition. Problem definition is the ability to discern the cause and effect of the problem. Root-cause analysis looks beyond the immediate symptoms to the cause of the symptoms, which then affords opportunities for solutions.
6
Q
Actual Cost
A
For predictive, the actual monies the project has required to date. For agile, the cost of the work actually completed in the iteration.
7
Q
Adaptive Leadership
A
Leadership style of a leader who is able to adjust their approach to match the needs of their environment. Such leaders challenge people, pushing them out of their comfort zones, letting people feel external pressure and conflict in order to effect change.
8
Q
Adaptive Project Management
A
An iterative and flexible approach to managing projects that emphasizes the need for continuous adaptation and evolution in response to changing circumstances, customer feedback, and emerging requirements. It is a project management methodology that prioritizes collaboration, communication, and agility, enabling teams to quickly adapt to new challenges and opportunities as they arise.
9
Q
Affiliative Leadership
A
Leadership style of a leader who focuses on building strong relationships and leveraging those relationships to get things done. Affiliative leaders tend to have highly developed social skills and are very good at building networks across the organization.
10
Q
Agile Earned Value
A
An adaptation of the traditional project management practice of measuring actual value of cost, schedule, and scope against a baseline plan using earned value management (EVM) formulas. How many Agile iterations are planned? How many story points are there? What is the budget for your release?
11
Q
Agile Mindset
A
A thought process that involves understanding, collaborating, learning, and staying flexible to achieve high-performing results. Prioritizing work on the most important items first and understanding and accepting that change is likely to happen in the project.
12
Q
Agile Project Management
A
A flexible approach to project management that relies on iterations of project work to create value in product deliverables for the project customers. Agile is change-driven, and work is based on a prioritized product backlog. Agile projects are knowledge work projects, such as software development.
13
Q
AgilePM
A
Project management framework developed as a subset of the Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) and designed to provide a more focused approach to agile project management. AgilePM is based on the principles of DSDM, but it has been streamlined to provide a more accessible and practical approach to agile project management. It also provides more specific guidance on project management practices, such as risk management, planning, and governance.
14
Q
Assertive Leadership
A
Leadership style of a leader who is active, direct, specific, and honest. Assertive leaders respect themselves, require respect from others, and respect everyone they work with at all levels.
15
Q
Assumption
A
Something that is believed to be true or false but has not yet been proven to be true or false. Assumptions that prove wrong can become risks for the project.
16
Q
Authentic Leadership
A
Leadership style of a leader who knows who they are, what they believe in, what their values are, and what their priorities are. Authentic leaders ensure that their words align with their actions in order to build trust.
17
Q
Autocratic Leadership
A
Leadership style of a leader who retains most of the authority, gives orders to subordinates, and expects that subordinates should give complete obedience to the orders issued. In this type of leadership, the decisions are taken by the leader without consulting others. Autocratic leadership is characterized by the control of an individual over the decisions that impact a group with little to no input from group members.
18
Q
Backlog
A
See iteration backlog, product backlog, and sprint backlog
19
Q
Balanced Matrix Structure
A
An organizational structure in which organizational resources are pooled into one project team, but the functional managers and the project managers share the project power.
20
Q
Behavior-Driven Development (BDD)
A
Based on acceptance test-driven development but uses the Five Whys approach to really understand why a feature is to be included in the product. The Five Whys approach asks the question “why?” several times. Each question leads to another question, forming a chain of cause-and-effect that gradually gets closer to the root cause.
21
Q
Benefits Management Plan
A
A component of the project management plan that defines how the project will create, maximize, deliver, and sustain the benefits provided by a project or program.
22
Q
Budget at Completion (BAC)
A
Refers to the total estimated cost of a project. It is calculated by adding up the costs of all the individual tasks or activities that need to be completed in order to deliver the project. BAC is used to track the project’s budget over time. It can be compared to the actual cost of the project to see if the project is on budget. If the actual cost is more than the BAC, the project is over budget. If the actual cost is less than the BAC, the project is under budget.
23
Q
Burndown Chart
A
A downward-trending chart that shows the number of user story points in the product backlog in relation to how many user stories the team can create in each iteration. As more iterations happen and the team completes the user stories, a downward-trending line shows fewer and fewer user stories remaining in the backlog, and this reveals a trend for velocity and expectations about when the project can realistically complete all the user stories.
24
Q
Burnup Chart
A
An upward-trending chart that shows the number of user story points in the product backlog in relation to how many user stories the team is able to create in each iteration. As more iterations happen and the team completes the user stories, an upward-trending line shows the accumulation of user stories accomplished and the remaining story points in the backlog. This chart also reveals a trend for velocity and expectations about when the project can realistically complete all the user stories.
25
Business Analyst (BA)
An individual who works as a liaison among stakeholders to understand the structure, policies, and operations of an organization, and to recommend solutions that enable the organization to achieve its goals.
26
Business Case
A document that examines the objectives, cost, benefits, strategic goals, constraints, and assumptions of a project and provides justification for an organization to approve the project.
27
Business Requirements
The high-level objectives or goals that a business seeks to achieve through a proposed project or initiative. Business requirements are used to define the overall purpose and scope for the project, and to establish a clear and measurable set of outcomes for the business.
28
Business Rule
A statement that describes a specific aspect of the organization’s operations, such as a policy, regulation, or guideline. Business rules are used to guide and govern the behavior of the organization and its employees.
29
Cause-and-Effect Diagram
A graphical representation of a known and identified effect and the potential causes of the effect. Also called a fishbone or Ishikawa diagram. One of the seven basic quality tools.
30
Change Agent Leadership
Leadership style of a leader who is able to set a direction for change and lead change. This type of leader is aware of the psychology of people and how to engage stakeholders and staff in order to gain buy-in and overall momentum toward significant change.
31
Charismatic Leadership
Leadership style of a leader who is motivating, has high energy, and inspires the team through strong convictions about what’s possible and what the team can achieve. Positive thinking and a can-do mentality are characteristics of a charismatic leader.
32
Check Sheet
A standardized list of activities, processes, and steps that need to be completed during quality management activities. One of the seven basic quality tools.
33
Coercive (Punitive) Power
Coercive power is a form of positional power that gets you to comply with something you don’t want to do through the use of force or punishment. For example, your boss threatens to fire you if you don’t complete a project on time.
34
Communications Management Plan
A project management subsidiary plan that defines the stakeholders who need specific information, the person who will supply the information, the schedule for the information to be supplied, and the approved modality in which to provide the information.
35
Conflict of Interest
A situation in which a project manager may have two competing duties of loyalty. For example, purchasing software from a relative may benefit the relative, but it may do harm to the performing organization.
36
Conscientiousness
The quality of a project management professional who makes all reasonable efforts to be reliable, thoughtful, prepared, and informed.
37
Consensus Leadership
Leadership style of a leader who makes a decision only after consulting the group members. A decision is not made final until all the members agree to support the decision.
38
Constraint
A restriction or limitation that affects the project’s ability to meet its objectives and deliver the desired results. Constraints can be internal or external and can impact the project’s scope, schedule, budget, quality, or resources.
39
Continuous Flow Approach
A way of working that emphasizes the continuous and uninterrupted flow of work through the development process. It is a Lean approach that focuses on minimizing waste and maximizing efficiency by eliminating delays and bottlenecks in the workflow.
40
Continuous Integration (CI)
A software development practice in which team members frequently integrate their work with the main codebase, usually multiple times a day. The goal of CI is to reduce integration problems by detecting and resolving integration issues as soon as possible.
41
Contract
A formal agreement, usually in writing, between two or more parties that clearly defines their obligations, roles, and responsibilities.
42
Control Chart
Illustrates the stability of a process and enables the project management team to determine whether the process may have trends and predictability: Uses upper and lower control limits. One of the seven basic quality tools.
43
Cost Baseline
A “time-lapse exposure” of when the project monies are to be spent in relation to cumulative values of the work completed in the project. The cost baseline shows the aggregated costs of all the work packages within the work breakdown structure (WBS).
44
Cost of Conformance to Quality
The cost associated with the monies spent to attain the expected level of quality, such as the cost of training, complying with safety issues, and purchasing the appropriate equipment and materials, which all contribute to the expected levels of quality. Also known as prevention and appraisal costs.
45
Cost of Nonconformance to Quality
The cost associated with not satisfying the quality expectations. Also known as the cost of poor quality or the cost of failure.
46
Cost Performance Index (CPI)
Computes the percentage of how costs are over or under budget for work accomplished. The formula is CPI = EV / AC. A value of 1 means the project is exactly on budget. See also actual cost (AC) and earned value (EV).
47
Cost Variance (CV)
The computed variance of actual cost from the cost baseline. The formula is CV = EV – AC. See also actual cost (AC) and earned value (EV).
48
Cultural Norms
The culture and the styles of an organization, such as work ethics, hours, view of authority, and shared values. Cultural norms can affect how the project is managed.
49
Culture Shock
A feeling of uncertainty and disorientation when you are initially immersed in an unfamiliar way of life in a different culture than your own culture. Effective PMs learn to respect the values of their team’s cultures/countries.
50
Cumulative Flow Diagram
A stacked chart that shows the total number of items in each phase of the project, such as the backlog, development, testing, and release. This chart can be used to identify too many items in work in progress (WIP) and bottlenecks in the project.
51
Cycle Time
In agile, the time it takes to complete a single unit of work, such as a user story or a bug fix. Cycle time is measured from the time the work is started to the time it is completed and delivered. It is a key metric in agile because it can help teams to understand how efficient they are. A shorter cycle time means that the team is able to deliver work more quickly, which can lead to faster time to market and increased customer satisfaction.
52
Daily Scrum
A short and focused meeting held by the scrum team every day. The purpose of the daily scrum is to facilitate communication and coordination among team members, ensuring that everyone is aware of the progress made and the challenges faced in achieving the sprint goal.
53
Data Model
A visual representation of the data entities, relationships, and attributes that are used to represent a business domain or system. A data model is used to define the structure and format of the data that is stored and processed by an organization or system.
54
Decomposition
The technique of breaking down high-level descriptions into their component parts. When used in the creation of a WBS, decomposition is used down to the work package level.
55
DEEP
An acronym for detailed, estimable, emergent, and prioritized, a concept used in business analysis to describe the characteristics of a well-defined requirement.
56
Definition of Done (DoD)
The qualifications that are needed and defined for a product, user story, or increment of a product to be considered done. It’s important to define what constitutes “done” for each item in the product backlog, such as passing a specific test.
57
Definition of Ready (DoR)
A set of criteria that a user story or backlog item must meet before it can be considered ready to be worked on by the development team during the upcoming sprint or iteration. In the scrum framework, the DoR is a perspective in which a task can get directly taken up for a sprint without further clarifications or revisions.
58
Democratic Leadership
Leadership style of a leader who encourages each team member to participate in decision-making by sharing their opinions. A democratic leader encourages open conversation, helps their project team members to set goals and evaluate their own performance, and motivates them to grow. Also called shared leadership or participative leadership.
59
Development Team
The team that is responsible for sizing the requirements of the product backlog and getting work done in each sprint. The development team is self-organizing, self-led, and its members are called generalizing specialists because they can often do more than one function on the team. An ideal scrum team has no fewer than five people and no more than eleven people.
60
Dignity
The quality of being worthy of respect and esteem as human beings and right bearers in the world.
61
Diligence
The quality of being dedicated, careful, conscientious, and consistently committed to one’s best effort in being a professional project manager.
62
Directive Leadership
Leadership style of a leader who guides the team’s work goals and establishes the path by which they can achieve those goals. Directive leadership sets clearly defined objectives and rules for team members.
63
Disciplined Agile (DA)
An agile methodology that provides a flexible and pragmatic approach to software development, with a focus on customer value, simplicity, pragmatism, and continuous improvement. It emphasizes a process goal-driven approach, as well as scaling Agile to the enterprise level.
64
Dispersed Leadership
Leadership style of an organization in which leadership is embraced by everyone in the organization. Successful leadership in an organization cannot reside solely in the top of the organization. Today’s world is a complex, fluid, dynamic environment. Organizations need leaders at every level of the organization from the bottom to the top.
65
Duration
The amount of time required to complete a project task or activity. It is an estimate of the elapsed time between the start and end of an activity, excluding non-working time such as weekends, holidays, and planned downtime.
66
Duty of Loyalty
A project manager’s responsibility to be loyal to another person, organization, or vendor with whom the project manager is affiliated. For example, a project manager has a duty of loyalty to promote the best interests of their employer rather than the best interests of a vendor.
67
Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
One of the predecessors of today’s agile project management, relies on a business case to show value and a feasibility study to determine if the development team could create the architecture and requirements the customer identified. DSDM provides more structure than rapid application development (RAD), utilizes iterations, and is a great approach when working with vendors as part of your agile project. DSDM also offers a unique approach as it can be blended with Scrum, PRINCE2, and other project management approaches.
68
Earned Value (EV)
A technique for measuring project performance and progress. It is a way to measure how much work has been completed against the plan. Earned value is calculated by multiplying the budget for all completed work by the percentage of work that is complete.
69
Earned Value Analysis (EVA)
A technique used in project management to track and evaluate project progress based on the budget and schedule. EVA compares the actual cost and progress of the project against the planned cost and progress to determine whether the project is on track, behind schedule, or over budget.
70
Elicitation
The process of gathering and documenting requirements from stakeholders and subject matter experts. Elicitation involves using a variety of techniques and tools to identify, clarify, and document the needs and expectations of stakeholders.
71
Emotional Intelligence (EI)
The ability to recognize and manage your emotions, other people’s emotions, and the emotions of groups involved in the project. Emotional intelligence recognizes that emotions are real, can affect the project success, and can affect relationships with the project team, stakeholders, and the project manager.
72
Enterprise Environmental Factor (EEF)
A condition that affects how the project manager may manage the project. EEFs may be internal to the organization, such as a policy, or may be external to the organization, such as a law or regulation. See also external enterprise environmental factors and internal enterprise environmental factors.
73
Epic
In agile, a large body of work that can be broken down into smaller, more manageable tasks, or user stories. Epics are often used to represent a complex feature or functionality that spans multiple teams or sprints.
74
Estimate at Completion (EAC)
The expected total cost of completing the project. The formula is EAC = BAC / CPI. See also budget at completion (BAC) and cost performance index (CPI).
75
Expert Power
A type of personal power where the project manager has deep skills and experience in a discipline. For example, years of working in IT helps an IT project manager better manage IT projects.
76
External Enterprise Environment Influences
Influences external to the organization that can enhance, constrain, or have a neutral influence on project outcomes. Examples are state of the economy and changes in government policies.
77
Extreme Programming (XP)
Agile project management approach that uses iterations, pair programming, collective code ownership, and an XP coach to complete the user stories of the product backlog. XP also utilizes test-first programming, where tests are created and then the code is written to pass the recently created test.
78
Facilitated Workshop
A meeting in which a facilitator guides a group of people through a structured process to achieve a specific goal. The facilitator is responsible for keeping the group on track, ensuring that everyone participates, and helping the group to reach consensus.
79
Feasibility Study
An assessment of the practicality of a project or system to uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing business or proposed venture objectively and rationally. This is done by analyzing technical, economic, legal, operational and time feasibility factors.
80
Feature/Function
A distinct capability or behavior of a software system that provides value to the user or customer. A feature or function can be thought of as a specific requirement or piece of functionality that the software system is expected to provide.
81
Feature-Driven Development (FDD)
An iterative approach to software development that bases its progress on the clients’ values of features the software will provide. FDD is an agile approach that utilizes a product backlog to complete the project work but follows a more rigid approach to agile project management than other approaches.
82
Fishbowl Window
A facilitated discussion technique where a small group of people (typically 5–8) sit in a circle in the center of a room, while the rest of the participants (up to 50) sit around the outside of the circle and observe. The group in the center is referred to as the “fishbowl,” and the group on the outside is referred to as the “audience.”
83
Flowchart
A tool for showing in graphical form the steps in a process. One of the seven basic quality tools.
84
Functional Requirements (FR)
Describe what the system or product is expected to do or accomplish. Functional requirements specify the features, functions, and capabilities that are required to meet the needs of the end users and are typically described in terms of inputs, processes, and outputs. Examples are data inputs and outputs, user interface, and audit tracking.
85
Functional Structure
An organization that is divided into functions, where each employee has one clear functional manager. Each department acts independently of the other departments. A project manager in this structure has little to no power and may be called a project coordinator.
86
Governance Framework
Describes the rules, policies, and procedures that people within an organization abide by. This framework addresses the organization, but it also addresses portfolios, programs, and projects. Regarding portfolios, programs, and projects, the governance framework addresses alignment with organizational vision, risk management, performance factors, and communications.
87
Histogram
A tool for showing amount or frequency of a variable. Also called a bar chart. Histogram is one of the seven basic quality tools.
88
Hybrid Agile Approach
Choosing the best parts of several different agile approaches and melding them together into a new homegrown version of Agile that works for the organization. A hybrid agile approach enables an organization to build a customized approach to project management. Hybrid can include traditional methodologies, such as planning in detail up front, and can then implement Scrum, Kanban, Lean, or XP practices thereafter.
89
Hybrid Structure
An organization that creates a blend of the functional, matrix, and project-oriented structures. The most common types of hybrid structures are a combination of functional and divisional structures, or a matrix structure with elements of both functional and project-oriented organization structures.
90
Incremental Approach
A software development methodology that breaks down the project into smaller, more manageable increments. Each increment is developed and delivered to the customer as a working product. This allows the customer to get feedback early and often, and to make changes as needed.
91
Information Power
A type of personal power that is derived from the control of information. People with information power have access to information that is not readily available to others. This information can be used to influence others, make decisions, or gain an advantage. The project manager has power and control of the data gathering and distribution of information.
92
Interactional Leadership
Leadership style that is a hybrid of transactional, transformational, and charismatic leadership. The interactional leader wants the team to act, is excited and inspired about the project work, yet still holds the team accountable for their results.
93
Internal Enterprise Environment Influences
Influences internal to the organization that can arise from the organization itself, a portfolio, a program, another project, or a combination of these. They include artifacts, practices, and internal knowledge, such as lessons learned and completed artifacts from previous projects.
94
INVEST
A simple mnemonic to remember an accepted set of criteria to assess the quality of a user story, which should be independent, negotiable, valuable, estimable, small, and testable. These criteria help product owners to properly specify the product backlog requirements (e.g., epics, features, and user stories).
95
Iron Triangle of Project Management
A theoretical model based on the characteristics of scope, schedule, and cost, which each constitute one side of the triangle. If any side of the Iron Triangle is not in balance with the other sides, the project will suffer. Also known as the Triple Constraints of Project Management, as all projects are constrained by scope, schedule, and cost.
96
Issue
An event that has happened, that reoccurs, or that is going to happen that will likely disrupt the project; considered negative; recoverable or can be mitigated in some way.
97
Issue Log
See sprint/iteration.
98
Iteration
A document that records and tracks any challenges or problems that occur in a project. Helps PMs and teams to assign, report, communicate and resolve issues quickly and effectively. May include information such as the issue identifier, description, type, impact, status and resolution.
99
Iteration Backlog
A collection of work items that a team plans to complete during an iteration, which can be a timeboxed period of any length, such as a week, two weeks, or a month. Iteration backlog is a term commonly used in agile approaches such as Kanban, where sprints are not typically used and instead work is planned in iterations. The iteration backlog lists the prioritized work items, which can include features, user stories, bugs, and technical tasks that the team plans to complete during the iteration.
100
Iteration Planning
A core practice in agile methodologies that is used to plan and manage the work that will be done during an iteration or sprint. See also sprint/iteration.
101
Kaizen
An organizational approach for managing resources. Kaizen posits that small changes in processes are easier to accept and incorporate than large, sweeping changes for the organization or project.
102
Kanban
A framework to show the backlog of work items and the flow of the items through columns to the delivery point. Kanban aims to be transparent and to limit the work in progress (WIP), and it is known as a pull system because work is pulled from the left into the workflow on the right.
103
Kanban Board
The primary characteristic of Kanban is the Kanban board, which is where its name comes from; Kanban means visual signal. The Kanban board shows the flow of work through the system so that you can visualize where the team is in the process, how the team delivers work, what work exists, and any limits to the work in progress (WIP). Requirements are written on sticky notes or cards and are moved from the backlog to the different phases of the project to represent where the requirement currently is in the project life cycle.
104
Kanban Method
Visualizes project work on a Kanban board, which enables the team to see the progress of the work and pull the work through the flow. As new work items are needed, they are added to the “to-do” column in the board. Any team member who is available and competent can start a work task, and the task flows through the system and is documented on the Kanban board.
105
Laissez-Faire Leadership
Leadership style of a leader who takes a hands-off approach to the project. This means the project team makes decisions, takes initiative in the actions, and creates goals. While this approach can provide autonomy, it can make the leader appear absent when it comes to project decisions.
106
Lead time
Negative time that allows two or more activities to overlap where ordinarily these activities would be sequential. In a predictive, plan-based project, lead time is used when scheduling activities. In an agile project, lead time describes the total duration a feature took from the moment it was requested by the customer until the developers created the feature for the customer.
107
Leadership
Aligning, motivating, and inspiring the project team members to do the right thing, build trust, think creatively, and challenge the status quo.
108
Lean
A project management methodology originally used in manufacturing environments that has been adapted into agile software production environments. IT teams work in a three-phase cycle of building, measuring, and learning. This approach creates a partnership mentality between the development team and the customers to ensure that the work being done is in constant alignment with the business value goals of the customers. Lean aims to reduce waste and boost productivity.
109
Lean Product Development (LPD)
A methodology for product development that emphasizes waste reduction, continuous improvement, and customer satisfaction. The goal of LPD is to develop products that meet the needs of the customer while minimizing waste and unnecessary costs.
110
Legitimate Power
A form of positional power that is based on the perception that the person who has the power has a right to exercise it.
111
Management
Utilizing positional power to maintain, administrate, control, and focus on getting things done without challenging the status quo of the project and organization.
112
Media Selection
Choosing media based on the audience and the message being sent.
113
Meeting Management
A form of communication that involves how the meeting is led, managed, and controlled to influence the message being delivered. Agendas, minutes, and order are mandatory for effective communications within a meeting.
114
Milestone
A significant point or event in the project’s progress that represents an accomplishment in the project. Projects usually create milestones as the result of completing phases within the project.
115
Milestone List
A list that details the schedule milestones and their attributes. It is used for several areas of project planning but also helps determine how quickly the project may be achieving its objectives. The milestone list is in the WBS dictionary.
116
Minimum Business Increment (MBI)
The smallest possible deliverable unit that provides some value to the customer and can be independently deployed, tested, and validated. MBIs are often used in agile methodologies to break down larger features or projects into smaller, manageable pieces that can be completed and delivered more efficiently.
117
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
A product development strategy used in agile methodologies to deliver a functional product with the minimum set of features required to meet the needs of early adopters or early customers. It is a process that involves creating and releasing a product with basic functionalities to gather feedback and validate assumptions before investing significant resources in further development.
118
MoSCoW
An approach used in agile methodologies to help teams prioritize requirements and focus on delivering the most critical features first. The acronym MoSCoW stands for:
· Must have. These are requirements that are essential for the project’s success and must be included in the final product.
· Should have. These are important requirements that are not critical but should be included if possible.
· Could have. These are nice-to-have requirements that are not critical and can be considered if time and resources allow.
· Won’t have this time. These are requirements that will not be included in the final product, either because they are not important or because they are not feasible.
119
Nonfunctional Requirements (NFR)
Conditions that do not directly relate to the behavior or functionality of the solution, but rather describe the manner or technical characteristics in which the functional requirements are provided and operate when implemented as capabilities. Examples are speed, security, appearance, and taste
120
Operations
The processes and activities required to maintain and support the project’s products or services after the project has been completed. Ongoing operations are the means by which the benefits of the project are sustained over time.
121
Organizational Knowledge Repository
The databases, files, and historical information that project managers can use to help better plan and manage their projects. This organizational process asset is created internally by an organization through the ongoing work of operations and other projects.
122
Organizational Process Assets (OPAs)
Organizational processes, policies, procedures, and items from a corporate knowledge base. OPAs are grouped into two categories: processes, policies, and procedures; and organizational knowledge repositories. OPAs are always internal to the organization.
123
Organizational System
A system in which multiple components are used to create things that the individual components could not create if they worked alone. The structure of the organization and the governance framework create constraints that affect how the project manager makes decisions within the project. The organizational system directly affects how the project manager utilizes their power, influence, leadership, and even political capital, to get things done in the environment.
124
Outcome
An end result or consequence of a process or project. Outcomes can include outputs and artifacts but have a broader intent by focusing on the benefits and value that the project was undertaken to deliver.
125
Pair Programming
XP approach where developers work in pairs; one person codes while the other checks the code. The pair switches roles periodically. See also Extreme Programming (XP).
126
Pareto Diagram
A histogram that shows the categories of failure within a project. Ranks the failures from largest to smallest, which then enables the project management team to attack the largest problems within the project. Based on Pareto’s Law, which states that 80 percent of the problems are related to 20 percent of the causes. One of the seven basic quality control tools.
127
Peer Review
A review of a project performed periodically by peers (with similar experience to project personnel), who are independent from the project, to evaluate technical, managerial, cost and scope, and other aspects of the project, as appropriate.
128
Planned Value (PV)
The work scheduled and the budget authorized to accomplish that work. PV = percent complete of where the project should be.
129
PMI Member
Anyone, whether certified as a project manager or not, who has joined the Project Management Institute.
130
PMI Talent Triangle
Defines three areas of PDUs for PMI-certified professionals to maintain their certification: Ways of Working, Power Skills, and Business Acumen. See also professional development units (PDUs).
131
Portfolio
Projects, programs, subsidiary portfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives.
132
Practitioner
In the context of project management, a person who is serving in the capacity of a project manager or contributing to the management of a project, portfolio of projects, or program. For example, a program manager is considered to be a project practitioner under this definition.
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Predictive, Plan-Based Project Management
A traditional project management approach that plans and predicts everything that is to occur within the project. Predictive, plan-based project management is based on a clearly defined project scope and project plan and is resistant to change. Predictive, plan-based is sometimes called plan-driven or described as a traditional (waterfall) approach.
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Presentation
In formal presentations, the presenter’s oral and body language, visual aids, and handouts, all of which influence the message being delivered.
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Pressure-Based Power
The project manager can restrict choices to get the project team to perform the project work. Pressure-based power can be effective in the short term, but it is not sustainable in the long term. This is because people who are pressured into doing something are not likely to be motivated to do it well or to do it again in the future.
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Process Manager
The person who evaluates current business processes and designs, tests, and implements new processes to improve efficiency, profitability, and performance.
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Process Owner
Anything that can be offered to a market to solve a problem or to satisfy a want or need. Products can be physical, like furniture or clothing, or digital, like an app or a video feature on a website.
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Product
In Scrum, an agile document that comprises a comprehensive list of all items, features, and user stories the customer wants delivered in the project. The product owner is responsible for maintaining and prioritizing these requirements, ranking them from the most significant to the least significant. The development team then retrieves the prioritized items from the product backlog to incorporate them into their work iteration, known as a sprint. The product owner holds the responsibility of managing the product backlog.
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Product Backlog
The person who identifies the customer’s need and the larger business objectives that a product or feature will fulfill, articulates what success looks like for a product, and rallies a team to turn that vision into a reality.
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Product Manager
A role on a Scrum team that is responsible for the product’s success. The product owner seeks to maximize a product’s value by managing and optimizing the product backlog. They are responsible for ensuring that the product meets the needs of the customer, and that the development team is working on the right features.
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Product Roadmap
A high-level strategic plan that outlines the vision, direction, priorities, and progress of a product over time. It’s a plan of how the project will move from start to finish, with intermittent deliverables to the stakeholders. It answers what conditions must be met to allow the product owner to do a release, what the components of a release are, and the result of the project. It’s a plan of action that aligns the organization around short- and long-term goals for the product or project and how they will be achieved. The product roadmap is a big picture of the functionality of deliverables and the product vision. The product roadmap is a way of keeping your team and your stakeholders involved and keeps focus on the project result.
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Product Scope
The characteristics and functions of a product or service. It is a high-level description of what the product will do and how it will work. The product scope is typically defined by the product owner, who is responsible for ensuring that the product meets the needs of the customer.
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Professional Development Units (PDUs)
Credit for education and project management–based experiences that are earned after the CAPM to maintain the CAPM certification. CAPMs are required to earn 15 PDUs per three-year certification cycle. Of the 15 PDUs, a minimum of 9 hours must come from educational opportunities with a minimum of 2 PDUs in each skill area of the PMI Talent Triangle.
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Program
Related projects, subsidiary programs, and program activities that are managed in a coordinated manner to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually.
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Progressive Elaboration
A process of iteratively defining and planning work to be done on a project. The project manager and the project team start very broadly—typically with a project’s concepts—and then refine the concepts with details, studies, and discussion until a project scope statement is formed.
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Project
A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. The temporary nature of projects indicates a beginning and an end to the project work or a phase of the project work. Projects can stand alone or be part of a program or portfolio.
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Project Charter
The foundational document for the project; provides political and financial support for the project. The project charter is like the birth certificate for a project. You need it to prove the project exists and to provide basic but extremely important information about the project. The information it contains is generally quite high level; it is the first document developed in an iterative process, so it won’t contain enough information to complete a WBS.
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Project Initiation
The process of defining the purpose, scope, and objectives of a new project and getting it off the ground. It involves defining the problem or opportunity, conducting a feasibility study, identifying stakeholders, defining the project scope, developing a project charter, and obtaining approval to proceed.
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Project Life Cycle
The series of stages that a project passes through from its initiation to its closure. The project life cycle provides a framework for managing a project, including the definition of the project, the planning and execution of project activities, and the monitoring and control of project performance.
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Project Management
The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. Project management refers to guiding the project work to deliver the intended outcomes. Project teams can achieve the outcomes using a broad range of approaches (e.g., predictive, hybrid, and adaptive).
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Project Management Office (PMO)
A management structure that standardizes project-related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, tools, methodologies, and techniques. Its primary goal is to create a uniform approach to how projects operate within the organization. PMOs can be supportive, controlling, or directive.
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Project Manager
The person assigned by the performing organization to lead the project team that is responsible for achieving the project objectives. Project managers perform a variety of functions, such as facilitating the project team work to achieve the outcomes and managing the processes to deliver intended outcomes.
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Project Team
A set of individuals performing the work of the project to achieve its objectives. The team is typically led by a project manager, who is responsible for ensuring that the project is completed on schedule, within budget, delivers the functions/features, and to the required quality and value standards.
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Project-Oriented Structure
An organizational structure that assigns a project team to one project for the duration of the project life cycle. The project manager has high to almost complete project power.
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Prototyping
A technique of producing an example of the finished product, service, or result to seek feedback from stakeholders.
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RACI Chart
A type of responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) that identifies team members and activities to be completed, and defines whether the team members are responsible, accountable, consulted, or informed. There can be no more than one “A” in each row.
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Refactoring
The process of improving the design or structure of existing code without changing its external behavior. It is an important practice in agile software development because it helps to improve the quality, maintainability, and scalability of the codebase and to reduce technical debt.
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Referent Power
A type of personal power where the project manager is respected or admired because of the team’s past experiences with the project manager. This is about the project manager’s credibility/believability in the organization.
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Release
A version of the software product that is ready to be deployed to users or customers. A release can contain new features, bug fixes, and improvements that have been developed and tested by the development team.
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Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM)
A table that links the origins of individual product requirements to the expected deliverable that meets those requirements so that the project manager can track requirements throughout the project life cycle. An RTM can trace forward and backward traceability and can be used for scope management.
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Retrospective
See Sprint Retrospective.
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Reward Power
A form of positional power that is based on the ability to give rewards to others. This type of power can be based on tangible rewards, such as money or promotions, or on intangible rewards, such as praise or recognition.
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Risk Register
The central repository for all project risk information. It includes the identified risks, the potential responses, the root causes of risks, and any identified categories of risk. It’s updated throughout the project as risk management activities are conducted to reflect the status, progress, and nature of the project risks.
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Rolling Wave Planning
A project planning technique that breaks down the project into smaller, more manageable increments. Each increment is planned in detail, but the details of later increments are only planned to a high level. This allows the project team to adapt to changes as the project progresses. Rolling wave planning uses waves of planning, then executing, and is a characteristic of adaptive projects.
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Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
An agile methodology that provides a framework for implementing agile practices at scale in organizations. SAFe is designed to help organizations achieve better alignment, collaboration, and delivery of value across multiple teams, departments, and business units.
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Scatter Diagram
A tool for graphically representing the results of two variables. You can use a scatter diagram to help visualize the correlation between the dependent variables, such as the project’s budget, against the independent variables, such as errors in the project, changes to the project, and any delays stakeholders may have caused to the project. One of the seven basic quality tools.
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Schedule Baseline
An “approved” version of the project schedule that never changes, but new baselines can be set and created. The schedule baseline is the “plan.” A new schedule baseline is created only through the process of an approved change request.
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Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
Computes the percentage of how costs are over or under budget for work planned. The formula is SPI = EV / PV. A value of 1 means the project is exactly on schedule. See also earned value (EV) and planned value (PV).
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Schedule Variance (SV)
The computed variance of actual schedule completion against the schedule baseline. The formula is SV = EV – PV. See also earned value (EV) and planned value (PV).
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Scope Baseline
Includes the project scope statement, the work breakdown structure (WBS), and the WBS dictionary. It defines the scope of the project, the deliverables, and the project objectives. Any changes to the scope must be approved through the project’s change control process.
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Scrum
An agile approach to project management whereby the development team accomplishes prioritized work in defined iterations, called sprints, and then the work is reviewed and demonstrated before moving on to the next sprint. Its goal is to deliver value as quickly as possible to the project customers.
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Scrum Master
An individual who serves the team by removing roadblocks, protecting the development team from distractions, ensuring that all members are following the scrum rules, and coaching and educating stakeholders on scrum practices. The scrum master acts as a servant leader to the team by getting the team what they need to be successful. The scrum master facilitates scrum meetings, helps the product owner refine the backlog, and communicates the vision of the project to everyone that’s involved.
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Scrum of Scrums
A type of meeting in a large project involving several scrum teams in which a representative from each scrum team discusses the project’s progress, impediments, and if any work may affect other scrum teams. Rather than having a huge daily scrum, the teams meet separately and then a representative from each team meets in a scrum of scrums to report on each team’s progress. The team representatives answer the same questions as in the daily scrum, but for the team rather than individuals. In addition, a fourth question is often posed: “Will our team be putting something in another team’s way?”
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Scrum Team
A work team that includes the product owner, the scrum master, and the development team. The typical project management activities are divided among these three roles in a scrum project.
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Sender-Receiver Model
Model of communication in which multiple avenues exist to complete the flow of communication from sender to receiver, but barriers to effective communication may be present as well.
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Servant Leadership
Leadership style of a leader who puts others first and focuses on the needs of the people they serve. Servant leaders provide opportunity for growth, education, autonomy within the project, and the well-being of others. The primary focus of servant leadership is service to others.
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Simulation
Imitating the operation of real-world processes or systems with the use of models to represent the key behaviors and characteristics of the selected process or system.
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Situational Leadership
Leadership style that is based on the idea that there is no single leadership style that is effective in all situations and that the best leaders are able to adapt their style to suit the specific needs and development level of the people they are leading.
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Solution Requirements
Specific characteristics that a product must have to meet the needs of the stakeholders and the business itself. For example: The solution must be able to process 1000 transactions per second.
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Soul-Based Leadership
Leadership style based on the old concept that every living being on board a ship, or a plane is considered a soul rather than an inanimate object. Every soul is important and treated with value. As a leadership style, this requires the incorporation of concepts like inclusiveness, equality, and autonomy. Everyone that works for you is a unique individual with something of value to offer. In the current state of the smart machine age, this also differentiates people from machines.
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Spike
A timeboxed activity that is used to explore a particular technical or design issue. It is a small experiment or investigation that is conducted by the development team to help them better understand a problem or potential solution before committing to a larger, more complex implementation.
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Sponsor
In the predictive approach, the person who provides financial and political support for the project, appoints the project manager, and authorizes the project charter. In agile, the sponsor is the most senior and critical role. The sponsor provides expertise and knowledge to the project manager and the team when needed.
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Sprint Backlog
In Scrum, the specific set of user stories, bugs, or features that a development team commits to completing during a sprint. It is a plan for the work that needs to be done in the upcoming sprint and typically includes estimates for each item. The sprint backlog is created during the sprint planning meeting, and it guides the team’s daily work throughout the sprint.
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Sprint Planning Meeting
A scrum meeting attended by the product owner, development team, and the scrum master to determine the amount of work that can be accomplished in the sprint based on the prioritized items in the backlog, the duration of the sprint, the complexity of the work, and the size of prioritized requirements. This determination is based on estimates of the items in the product backlog and past sprints. The selected items from the product backlog become the sprint backlog and the goal of the sprint.
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Sprint Planning Meeting Duration
The sprint planning meeting, at the start of each sprint, should last up to eight hours for a four-week sprint. Shorter sprints will have shorter planning sessions
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Sprint Retrospective
A meeting held at the end of each sprint to reflect on what went well, what could be improved, and to make plans for the next sprint. It is a core part of the Scrum framework, and it is an opportunity for the team to learn from their experiences and to improve their process. The sprint retrospective is typically held after the sprint review, and before the sprint planning meeting for the next sprint. This allows the team to reflect on the work that was done in the sprint, and to make plans for the next sprint based on what they learned.
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Sprint Review
A scrum ceremony at the end of the sprint during which the development team demonstrates for the product owner, the scrum master, and other key stakeholders what has been completed in the sprint. This is a four-hour meeting for a four-week sprint. Shorter sprints will have shorter sprint review sessions. Only completed items are demonstrated in the sprint review. This review is an opportunity for the product owner to offer feedback on whether the work has reached the definition of done, specify what, if anything, is missing, and elaborate on corrections or modifications for the increment of work created.
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Sprint/Iteration
A predefined time period for the product owner, scrum master, and development team to complete a cycle of scrum activities, including planning, execution, reviewing, and improvement. The sprint duration is usually two to four weeks, though it can be as little as one week.
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Stakeholder Register
A register of all project stakeholders and information about their interest in the project, the power they have to influence the project, their expectations, and how their expectations will be managed. You can divide the stakeholder register information into four categories: Identification, Assessment, Classification, and Management Strategy.
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Stakeholder Requirements
A classification of requirements that defines decisions about business needs, goals, and objectives from the perspective of the stakeholders and their role in the business. In business analysis, requirements that describe the needs or problems of the stakeholders in achieving or supporting their goals—whether related to organizational or operational concerns.
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Story Map
A method of arranging user stories to create a more holistic view of how they fit into the overall user experience. It helps teams to understand how users interact with a product or service, from the beginning to the end. Story maps are often used in agile development, but they can be used in any type of project.
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Story Mapping
A technique used to visually organize and prioritize the user stories or features of a software product. It is a collaborative approach that helps teams to build a shared understanding of the product and its requirements, and to develop a roadmap for the development process.
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Story Points
In Agile project tracking, story points are used as a relative estimation tool rather than an absolute measurement of time or effort. This allows for greater flexibility and adaptability in the project management process. User story points are assigned to user stories in relation to the size of the user stories. Story points are a subjective measure that considers the complexity, effort, and uncertainty of a task. Story points are a way to estimate the complexity and effort required for individual stories.
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Story Point Sizing
A relative approach to sizing user stories based on the complexity of the user story in relation to other user stories in the product backlog. The team may use a variety of factors to estimate the story points, such as the complexity of the story, the amount of research required, and the risk associated with the story.
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Strong Matrix Structure
An organizational structure in which organizational resources are pooled into one project team and the functional managers have less project power than the project manager.
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Supportive Leadership
Leadership style of a project manager who does not simply delegate tasks and receive results but instead supports a team member until the task’s completion. A major upside to supportive leadership is that the manager will work with the employee until they are empowered and skilled enough to handle tasks with minimal supervision in the future.
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Technical Debt
Sloppy code, shortcuts, and redundancies that need to be cleaned up as the project moves forward. Technical debt can accumulate and cause the project code to become more complex.
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Test-Driven Development (TDD)
Development approach that writes acceptance tests before the code is written so the developers know what it takes to pass the acceptance test and can program accordingly.
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Timeboxed Approach
A method of working that limits the amount of time that is allocated to a specific task or activity. The goal of timeboxing is to create a sense of urgency and focus, and to ensure that work is completed within a defined period of time.
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Transactional Leadership
Leadership style of a leader who emphasizes the goals of the project and offers rewards and disincentives to the project team. This is sometimes called management by exception because it’s the exception that is rewarded or punished.
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Transformational Leadership
Leadership style of a leader who inspires and motivates the project team to achieve the project goals. Transformational leaders aim to empower the project team to act, be innovative in the project work, and accomplish through ambition.
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Transition Requirements
A classification of requirements that facilitate transition from the current state (as is) to the desired future state (to be), but that will not be needed once the transition is complete. For example, the previous year’s data must be migrated to the new system to generate a comparative report.
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Transparency
The practice of sharing information with all stakeholders throughout the project life cycle. This includes sharing information about the project’s goals, progress, risks, and challenges. Transparency helps to build trust and confidence among stakeholders, and it can help to identify and resolve problems early on.
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Transparency, Inspection, and Adaptation (TIA)
Three principles incorporated into all approaches to agile project management. Transparency requires trust, agreement, and open communication throughout the project. Inspection is the review of the artifacts, the progress, and the quality of the work. Adaptation is needed when issues arise. In other words, if the solution is not going to be acceptable, fix the problem.
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Triple Constraints of Project Management
See Iron Triangle of Project Management
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User Story
Used in Scrum, a story of a role utilizing some functionality to get value from the functionality. User stories follow a formula: “As a , I want , so I can realize .” User stories are written from the customer’s perspective and describe a feature of the product you’re creating. User stories are the items kept in the product backlog, are a small chunk of functionality, and generally take up to 40 hours to create. User stories are prioritized by the product owner.
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Value
The worth, importance, or usefulness of something. Different stakeholders perceive value in different ways. Customers can define value as the ability to use specific features or functions of a product. Organizations can focus on business value as determined with financial metrics, such as the benefits less the cost of achieving those benefits. Societal value can include the contribution to groups of people, communities, or the environment.
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Velocity
The number of user story points a development team can complete during a sprint. Velocity helps predict the duration of the project. Velocity may vary widely at first but normalizes after several sprints.
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Verbal Abuse
Language (including that used in online communication) that demeans, humiliates, or insults. Verbal abuse is a type of emotional abuse because it may cause the victim emotional, cultural, or spiritual harm. Given that project managers work with people of many cultures and beliefs, it is important to recognize that personal remarks about appearance, behavior, language, beliefs, religious practices, and so on may be distressing. Behaviors such as sarcasm, teasing, swearing, or threatening are examples of behaviors that may be considered verbal or emotional abuse.
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Virtual Structure
A structure that uses a network to communicate and interact with other groups and departments. A point of contact exists for each department, and that person receives and sends all messages for their respective department.
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Visionary Leadership
Leadership style of a leader who has a clear idea of what they want to do and how they plan to accomplish it, along with the strength to pursue it.
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Weak Matrix Structure
An organizational structure in which organizational resources are pooled into one project team and the functional managers have more project power than the project manager.
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Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
A hierarchical decomposition of the project broken down to work package level. This structure should be used to identify all the activities that need to be completed.
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Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Dictionary
A document providing additional information about each node in a WBS. The milestone list would be found in your WBS dictionary.
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Work in Progress (WIP)
The current focus of the project team, the tasks that are currently being undertaken. In Kanban environments, WIP is frequently employed to limit the number of work items that can be introduced into the workflow, preventing the team from being overwhelmed or creating impediments. This limit on work items entering the system aims to avoid bottlenecks and maintain a manageable workload for the team.
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Work Package
A unit of work within a project that can be assigned to a single person or team. It is the smallest unit of work that can be estimated, tracked, and controlled in a project. The lowest level of the WBS.
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XP
See Extreme Programming (XP).
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XP Coach
XP role that is similar to a project manager, a mentor, or a facilitator. The coach coaches people on the project team, helps get things done, and serves as the hub of communications for the project stakeholders.
