PMI definitions.doc

7/29/2019 PMI definitions.doc

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Coercive/Penalty PowerThe use of negative approaches including threatening and punishment to get people to do things they don't want to do

BenchmarkingThe comparison of a current product to industry standards or past standards to attain a measurement or baseline

Actual Cost (AC)Also known as Actual Cost Work Performed (ACWP); represents the total costs that have actually been accrued up to a

particular point in time

AcceptanceThe process of formally receiving the work of the project. The work should be complete and fulfill the needs for which itwas created

ActivityA piece of the project that must be completed (performed); sometimes called a task; can be divided into tasks; typicallyhas a resource assigned, cost amount, and expected duration

Administrative ClosureThe process of accumulating, finishing, and interpreting information to achieve completion of a phase or project

AuthorityThe agreement to be able to assign project resources, make project decisions and spend project funding

Communications InfrastructureTools and techniques used to create the foundation for information transfer on a project

BrainstormingA process by which a group of people attempt to find a solution to a problem or generate ideas toward a goalspontaneously without judging others in the group

Bill of Material (BOM)A formal document showing the hierarchy of components or pieces and their sub- components or sub-pieces that makeup the product


Closing ProcessesWhere formal acceptance and completion procedures are attained from either a phase or the project itself

Approved Change Request (Output/Input)A request for a change on a project that has been approved via formal or informal change request

Acceptance CriteriaRequirements that are defined to be completed before the work can be accepted

Activity DefinitionThe identification of appropriate activities (or tasks) to complete the project deliverable

Analogous Estimates (Technique)Process of using a previous project of similar characteristic (size, Cost, Scope) to estimate a new project

Brainstorming (Technique)A data-generating technique which includes team members or subject matter experts for the purpose of solving projectproblems, identifying project risk, and planning related activities

Activity-on-Arrow (AOA)A network diagramming method where activities are shown on arrows and connected at nodes to show the sequence ofactivities

BufferCompensation in the planning for unknown items that could occur. This is typically schedule or cost related


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Communications Management PlanA document created to track the project communication needs

Decomposition (Technique)The process of breaking down the work of the project into smaller more controllable pieces

Compromise ModeApplying a Conflict Resolution technique where a solution involves (typically) a little of what everyone is proposing for asolution

Change Control Board (CCB)A group of people formally recognized to approve or reject changes on a project

Expert PowerA capacity in which one uses personal knowledge and expert opinion to get others to do what is desired

Control ChartA graph of data that shows the measurement of a process over elapsed time

ConfidentialityThe act of not providing certain confidential information to those that should not know about it

Forecasts

Estimates related to future project performance that are based on historical information and current project knowledgeCo-location

A team-building technique in which the team is located together, or as close to each other as possible

AssumptionAn educated, logical guess about a variable where the details are unknown on a project

Contingency Reserves (Output/Input)Reserves that can help mitigate schedule or cost issues (risk), in the case of changes with the Scope or Quality on theproject

ConformanceCreation and delivery of a product that has met the specified requirements and conformance (or functionality) of use

Cost Plus Fixed Fee Contract (CPFF)

A contract in which the supplier receives payment for allowable costs plus a fixed fee payment typically based on apercentage of estimated costs

EthicsThe standards we use to determine what is right and wrong; varies for everyone

BaselineEstimate or plan that the project will try to achieve (Cost, Scope, time, etc.)

CustomerThe individual, group, or company that will own the work of the project when it is complete

Activity Duration EstimatingThe process of estimating the number of work periods (hours, days, weeks) to accomplish the activity or task

Communications PlanningRequirement gathering of the communication needs of the people on the project; what they will need and when, and inwhat format will they need it

Confrontation ModeDirectly dealing with a conflict via problem solving techniques so that the parties can work through any disagreements

Activity-on-Node (AON)A network diagramming method in which activities are shown on the boxes or circles of the network diagram andconnected via arrows

Budget At Completion (BAC)Total project budget; amount of money planned to be spent by the time the project is complete


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Contingency AllowanceCompensation in the planning for unknown items that could occur; is typically schedule or cost related; also commonlycalled Buffer

Contract AdministrationThe process of managing the relationship with the services provider

Control LimitsThe area of measurement three standard deviations (or sigma) from the mean on a control chart

Conflict of InterestA situation in which an individual or company engages in behavior that is inappropriate, but not necessarily illegal (it couldbe illegal)

Forcing ModeApplying an all or nothing (win/lose) to get the desired result

CriteriaStandards to which are compared project variables for acceptability

Information DistributionDelivering needed project information to Stakeholders in an appropriate timeframe

Bottom-up ApproachAn approach in which the team or at least the Project Manager is involved in deciding on and estimating the individualpieces of the project to create the summary estimate

Bottom-up EstimateDetailed estimate that usually involves team input As the team builds the pieces of the estimate, they build the totalestimate from the bottom up

Activity List (Output/Input)A detailed list of tasks that the team members on a project use to know what work on the project they are responsible tocomplete

Change ControlThe formal or informal process of reviewing changes associated with a project; will result in approval or rejection ofchanges

Decision Tree Analysis (Technique)The product of multiplying the monetary value and probability of the risk event; helps an organization make decisionsbased on potential outcome and impact

Cost Plus Incentive Fee Contract (CPIF)A contract in which the supplier receives payment for allowable costs, as well as a pre-negotiated fee and an incentive fee(if incentives are met)

GovernmentAn organization that represents and manages an area The area can be a city, state or country. In the United States, thefederal government runs the country. Each state is responsible for operating the state. There can be city, state, or federallaws.Deliverable

A finished work product that results from completion of a series of tasks (sometimes called a milestone)


ConformanceCreation and delivery of a product that has met the specified requirements and conformance (or functionality) of use

Documents

PMI definitions.doc