Project management is the process of leading a team to achieve a specific goal or deliver a product within a given timeframe and budget. Project management involves planning, organizing, executing, controlling, and closing the work of a project team. Project management also requires effective communication, documentation, and tracking of the project’s progress and performance.

If you are new to project management or want to refresh your knowledge, you may encounter some terms that are specific to this field. To help you understand these terms better, we have compiled a list of common project management terms and their definitions.

Welcome to our comprehensive glossary of project management terms.

As a project manager, it’s essential to have a solid understanding of the terminology used in the field. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting, this glossary will serve as a valuable resource to help you navigate the world of project management with confidence.

In this blog post, we have compiled an extensive list of common project management terms, along with concise definitions and explanations. Whether you’re encountering these terms for the first time or need a quick refresher, this glossary will provide you with the knowledge you need to effectively communicate, collaborate, and succeed in your projects.

Let’s begin our journey into the world of project management terminology!

A

Acceptance Criteria: The specific requirements that a project deliverable must meet to be accepted by the customer or stakeholder.

Acceptance Test: A test performed by the customer or stakeholder to verify that a project deliverable meets the acceptance criteria.

Activity: A unit of work that needs to be done to complete a project task or deliverable. An activity has duration, resources, and dependencies.

Activity Code: A unique identifier assigned to an activity for grouping or filtering purposes.

Activity List: A document that lists all the activities required to complete a project, along with their descriptions and identifiers.

Activity-on-arrow (AOA): A type of network diagram that uses arrows to represent activities and nodes to represent milestones or events. AOA diagrams can only show finish-to-start dependencies between activities.

Activity-on-node (AON): A type of network diagram that uses nodes to represent activities and arrows to show dependencies between them. AON diagrams can show four types of dependencies: finish-to-start, finish-to-finish, start-to-start, and start-to-finish.

Actual Cost Of Work Performed (ACWP): The total cost incurred for the work done in a given period. ACWP is also known as actual cost (AC).

Agile: A project management methodology that emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and customer feedback. Agile projects are divided into short iterations or sprints, where the team delivers working increments of the product and adapts to changing requirements.

B

Baseline: The original plan for a project’s scope, schedule, and cost. The baseline serves as a reference point for measuring the project’s performance and progress.

Benchmarking: The process of comparing a project’s practices, processes, or performance with those of other projects or organizations that are considered best in class.

Brainstorming: A technique for generating ideas or solutions by encouraging creative thinking and group discussion.

Budget: The estimated or allocated amount of money for a project or a project component.

C

Change Control: The process of managing changes to the project’s scope, schedule, cost, quality, or resources. Change control involves identifying, evaluating, approving, implementing, and communicating changes.

Change Request: A formal document that proposes a change to the project’s baseline or deliverables. A change request must be reviewed and approved by the change control board before it can be implemented.

Charter: A document that authorizes the initiation of a project and defines its purpose, objectives, scope, stakeholders, roles and responsibilities, assumptions, constraints, and high-level risks.

Client: The person or organization that commissions or sponsors a project and pays for its delivery. The client is also known as the customer or buyer.

Closure: The final phase of a project where the project team completes all the remaining work, delivers the final product, obtains formal acceptance from the client, conducts lessons learned, releases resources, and closes contracts.

Communication Plan: A document that describes how information will be exchanged among the project team and stakeholders. It includes details such as communication methods, frequency, content, format, roles, and responsibilities.

D

Deliverable: A tangible or intangible product or service that is produced by a project and delivered to the client or stakeholder. Deliverables can be internal or external, interim, or final.

Dependency: A logical relationship between two activities or tasks that indicates the order in which they must be performed. Dependency can be mandatory or discretionary, internal, or external.

Duration: The amount of time needed to complete an activity or task. Duration can be estimated or actual and can be expressed in hours, days, weeks, months, or years.

Dynamic systems development method (DSDM): An agile project management methodology that focuses on delivering business value and benefits within tight time and budget constraints. DSDM uses

Eight Principles: focus on business needs, deliver on time, collaborate, never compromise quality, build incrementally from firm foundations, develop iteratively, communicate continuously and clearly, and demonstrate control.

E

Earned Value (EV): The value of the work completed in a given period. EV is calculated by multiplying the percentage of work completed by the planned value (PV) of that work.

Earned Value Management (EVM): A technique for measuring and monitoring the project’s performance and progress. EVM compares the earned value (EV) with the planned value (PV) and the actual cost (AC) to determine the project’s schedule and cost variances and performance indices.

Effort: The amount of work or labor required to complete an activity or task. Effort can be estimated or actual and can be expressed in person-hours, person-days, person-weeks, person-months, or person-years.

Estimate: An approximation of the time, cost, resources, or quality required for an activity, task, deliverable, or project. Estimates can be rough order of magnitude (ROM), budgetary, definitive, or probabilistic.

F

Feasibility Study: An analysis that evaluates the viability of a project idea or proposal based on various criteria such as technical feasibility, economic feasibility, legal feasibility, operational feasibility, and schedule feasibility.

Feedback: The process of providing constructive information or opinions about a project’s performance, products, processes, or outcomes. Feedback can be positive or negative, formal or informal, solicited or unsolicited.

Finish Date: The date when an activity, task, deliverable, or project is expected to be completed. The finish date can be estimated or actual.

Float: The amount of time that an activity can be delayed without affecting the start or finish dates of other activities or the project. Float is also known as slack.

G

Gantt chart: A type of bar chart that illustrates the project schedule and shows the start and finish dates of activities and tasks. A Gantt chart can also show dependencies between activities and tasks, milestones, resources, and progress.

Goal: A specific and measurable outcome that a project aims to achieve within a defined scope and timeframe. A goal is also known as an objective.

H

Human Resource Management: The process of planning, acquiring, developing, and managing the project team. Human resource management involves defining roles and responsibilities, assigning tasks, providing feedback, resolving conflicts, and motivating team members.

Hybrid: A project management approach that combines elements of different methodologies, such as waterfall and agile. Hybrid projects aim to balance structure and flexibility and to adapt to changing requirements and constraints.

I

Implementation: The phase of a project where the project team executes the project plan and produces the project deliverables. Implementation involves coordinating resources, managing risks, monitoring progress, and communicating with stakeholders.

Initiation: The phase of a project where the project idea or proposal is evaluated and authorized. Initiation involves identifying the project’s purpose, objectives, scope, stakeholders, and high-level risks.

Issue: A problem or concern that arises during a project and requires resolution. Issues can affect the project’s scope, schedule, cost, quality, or resources.

Iteration: A cycle of work in an agile project where the team plans, designs, develops, tests, and delivers a working increment of the product. An iteration is also known as a sprint.

J

Just-in-time (JIT): A production strategy that aims to reduce waste and inventory by producing or delivering goods only when they are needed. JIT can improve efficiency and quality by minimizing delays and defects.

Journey Map: A visual representation of a user’s experience with a product or service over time. A journey map can show the user’s actions, emotions, pain points, and opportunities for improvement.

K

Key performance indicator (KPI): A metric that measures how well a project or a process is achieving its objectives. KPIs can be quantitative or qualitative and can be aligned with the project’s scope, schedule, cost, quality, or benefits.

Kickoff Meeting: A meeting that marks the official start of a project or a project phase. A kickoff meeting involves introducing the project team and stakeholders, reviewing the project charter and plan, setting expectations and ground rules, and addressing any questions or concerns.

L

Lag: The amount of time that must pass between the finish of one activity and the start of another activity that depends on it. Lag is also known as waiting time or lead time.

Lean: A project management methodology that focuses on eliminating waste and maximizing value for the customer. Lean projects aim to deliver products or services that meet the customer’s needs with minimal resources and time.

Lessons learned: The knowledge and insights gained from a project’s successes and failures. Lessons learned can help improve future projects and processes by identifying best practices, lessons, and recommendations.

Lifecycle: The sequence of phases or stages that a project goes through from initiation to closure. A lifecycle can be predictive, adaptive, or hybrid, depending on the project’s complexity and uncertainty.

M

Milestone: A significant event or achievement in a project that marks the completion of a major deliverable or a set of related activities. Milestones have zero duration and can be used to monitor progress and communicate status.

Monitoring and Controlling: The process of tracking, reviewing, and regulating the project’s performance and progress. Monitoring and controlling involve measuring the actual performance against the planned performance, identifying variances and issues, implementing corrective actions, and updating the project plan.

MoSCoW: A prioritization technique that categorizes project requirements into four groups:

• Must Have
• Should Have
• Could Have
• Won’t Have

MoSCoW can help the project team focus on the most important and valuable features for the customer.

Motivation: The process of stimulating and inspiring the project team to perform at their best. Motivation can involve providing recognition, rewards, feedback, autonomy, or growth opportunities.

N

Negotiation: The process of reaching an agreement or a compromise between two or more parties that have different interests or perspectives. Negotiation can involve resolving conflicts, managing expectations, allocating resources, or defining scope.

Network Diagram: A graphical representation of the logical relationships and dependencies between the activities or tasks in a project. A network diagram can help the project team plan and schedule the project, identify critical paths, and estimate duration and resources.

O

Objective: A specific and measurable outcome that a project aims to achieve within a defined scope and timeframe. An objective is also known as a goal.

Operations: The ongoing activities and processes that support the normal functioning of an organization or a system. Operations are different from projects, which are temporary and unique endeavors.

Opportunity: A positive risk or uncertainty that can have a beneficial impact on the project’s objectives or outcomes. Opportunities can be exploited or enhanced by the project team.

Outcome: The result or effect of a project’s deliverables on the customer or stakeholder. Outcomes can be tangible or intangible and can be measured by benefits or value.

P

Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB): The approved plan for a project’s scope, schedule, and cost. The PMB serves as a reference point for measuring and controlling the project’s performance and progress.

PERT Chart: A type of network diagram that uses three estimates for each activity’s duration: optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely. PERT stands for Program Evaluation and Review Technique.

Plan-do-check-act (PDCA): A four-step cycle for continuous improvement of processes and products. PDCA involves planning an action, implementing it, checking the results, and taking corrective actions if needed.

Planning: The process of defining and documenting the project’s objectives, scope, deliverables, activities, resources, schedule, cost, quality, risks, and stakeholder expectations. Planning involves creating various plans and documents that guide the project team throughout the project lifecycle.

Portfolio: A collection of projects, programs, sub-portfolios, and operations that are aligned with an organization’s strategic objectives and priorities. Portfolio management involves selecting, prioritizing, monitoring, and controlling the portfolio components to optimize their performance and value.

Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM): A technique for creating network diagrams that use rectangles to represent activities and arrows to show dependencies between them. PDM is also known as activity-on-node (AON).

Predecessor: An activity or task that must start or finish before another activity or task can start or finish. Predecessors determine the sequence and order of activities in a project schedule.

Probability: The likelihood or chance of a risk or an event occurring. Probability can be expressed as a percentage, a ratio, or a score.

Process: A set of interrelated actions or steps that transform inputs into outputs. Processes can be standardized or customized depending on the project’s needs and requirements.

Procurement: The process of acquiring goods or services from external sources to support the project’s objectives. Procurement involves planning, conducting, controlling, and closing contracts with suppliers or vendors.

Product: The tangible or intangible output of a project that meets the customer’s needs or expectations. A product can be a physical item, a service, a system, software, or a combination of these.

Product Backlog: A list of features or requirements that need to be developed for a product in an agile project. The product backlog is prioritized by the product owner based on the value and urgency of each item.

Product owner: The person who represents the customer’s voice and vision in an agile project. The product owner is responsible for defining and prioritizing the product backlog, accepting or rejecting the product increments, and maximizing the product value.

Program: A group of related projects, subprograms, and operations that are managed in a coordinated way to achieve a common goal or benefit. Program management involves aligning and integrating program components to optimize their performance and value.

Project: A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. A project has a defined beginning and end, a specific scope and objectives, and assigned resources and constraints.

Q

Quality: The degree to which a product or service meets the customer’s needs or expectations. Quality can be measured by various criteria such as functionality, reliability, usability, performance, aesthetics, or compliance.

Quality Assurance (QA): The process of ensuring that quality standards and requirements are met throughout the project lifecycle. QA involves applying quality policies, methods

R

RACI Matrix: A tool for clarifying and defining the roles and responsibilities of each person or group involved in a project or a process. RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed.

Resource: Anything that is needed to perform an activity or a task in a project. Resources can be human, material, equipment, financial, or information.

Resource Allocation: The process of assigning and distributing resources to the activities or tasks in a project. Resource allocation involves balancing the availability and demand of resources, and optimizing their utilization and efficiency.

Resource Leveling: A technique for resolving resource conflicts or overallocation by adjusting the project schedule. Resource leveling aims to minimize fluctuations in resource usage and maintain a steady workload for the resources.

Resource Management: The process of planning, acquiring, developing, and managing the resources needed for a project. Resource management involves estimating resource requirements, creating resource plans, allocating and scheduling resources, tracking resource utilization, and resolving resource issues.

Retrospective: A meeting held at the end of an iteration or a project where the team reflects on what went well, what went wrong, and what can be improved. Retrospectives are also known as lessons learned or post-mortems.

Risk: An uncertain event or condition that can have a positive or negative impact on the project’s objectives or outcomes. Risks can be identified, analyzed, prioritized, responded to, monitored, and controlled throughout the project lifecycle.

Risk Appetite: The degree of uncertainty or risk that an organization or a stakeholder is willing to accept or tolerate in pursuit of their goals or objectives. Risk appetite can be high, moderate, low, or zero.

Risk Assessment: The process of evaluating the probability and impact of identified risks on the project’s objectives or outcomes. Risk assessment involves assigning risk scores or ratings to each risk based on their likelihood and severity.

Risk Management: The process of identifying, analyzing, prioritizing, responding to, monitoring, and controlling the risks that may affect a project. Risk management involves creating a risk management plan, a risk register, and a risk response plan.

Risk Register: A document that records and tracks all the identified risks and their characteristics, such as causes, triggers, probability, impact, status, and response strategies. A risk register is also known as a risk log.

S

Schedule: A document that shows the planned start and finish dates of the activities or tasks in a project. A schedule can be presented in various formats, such as a table, a chart, a diagram, or a calendar.

Scope: The extent of work that needs to be done to deliver a product or service that meets the customer’s needs or expectations. The scope can be defined by various factors such as features, functions, requirements, specifications, or boundaries.

Scope Creep: The uncontrolled or unauthorized expansion of the project’s scope due to changes in requirements or expectations. Scope creep can affect the project’s schedule, cost, quality, or resources.

Scrum: An agile project management methodology that focuses on delivering products or services in short iterations or sprints.

Scrum Involves 3 Roles:

1. Product Owner
2. Scrum Master and
3. Development Team

5 Events:

1. Sprint Planning
2. Daily Scrum
3. Sprint Review
4. Sprint Retrospective and
5. Backlog Refinement

And 3 Artifacts:

1. Product Backlog
2. Sprint Backlog and
3. Product Increment

Scrum Master: The person who facilitates and coaches the scrum team and ensures that they follow the scrum principles and practices. The scrum master is responsible for removing impediments, protecting the team from distractions, and promoting collaboration and communication among the team and stakeholders.

Stakeholder: Any person or group that has an interest or influence in the project’s outcome or success. Stakeholders can be internal or external, positive, or negative, active or passive, or primary or secondary.

Stakeholder Analysis: The process of identifying and assessing the stakeholders involved in a project. Stakeholder analysis involves determining their needs, expectations, interests, power, influence, and impact on the project.

Stakeholder Management: The process of engaging and communicating with the stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle. Stakeholder management involves creating a stakeholder management plan, a stakeholder register, and a communication plan.

Stand-Up Meeting: A short and frequent meeting where the team members share their progress, challenges, and plans for the day. Stand-up meetings are also known as daily scrums or huddles.

Status Report: A document that summarizes the current status and performance of a project or a project component. A status report typically includes information such as accomplishments, issues, risks, action items, and metrics.

T

Task: A unit of work that needs to be done to complete an activity or a deliverable in a project. A task has a description, a duration, a start, and finish date, and assigned resources.

Team: A group of people who work together to achieve a common goal or objective in a project. A team can have different roles, skills, and responsibilities, and can be organized in various ways, such as functional, cross-functional, or self-managing.

Timebox: A fixed period allocated for a specific activity or task in an agile project. A timebox can be used to limit the scope and effort of the work and to encourage focus and efficiency.

Triple Constraint: A framework that describes the interrelationship between the three main factors that affect a project’s performance and success: scope, time, and cost. The triple constraint is also known as the iron triangle or the project management triangle.

U

User Acceptance Testing (UAT): A type of testing where the end users or customers verify that a product or service meets their needs and expectations before it is delivered or deployed. UAT is also known as beta testing or end-user testing.

User Story: A brief and simple description of a feature or requirement from the perspective of an end-user or customer in an agile project. A user story typically follows the format: As a (user role), I want to (action), so that (benefit).

Utilization: The ratio of the actual time or effort spent on an activity or task to the planned or available time or effort. Utilization can be used to measure the efficiency and productivity of resources.

V

Value: The benefit or worth of a product or service for the customer or stakeholder. Value can be measured by various criteria, such as quality, functionality, usability, performance, satisfaction, or return on investment.

Value Stream Mapping: A technique for identifying and analyzing the flow of value from the customer’s perspective. Value stream mapping involves mapping the current state and the desired future state of the processes and activities that deliver value to the customer.

Variance: The difference between the planned or expected value and the actual value of a project metric or parameter. Variance can be positive or negative and can indicate the project’s performance and progress in terms of scope, time, cost, quality, or risk.

Vendor: A person or organization that provides goods or services to a project or an organization. A vendor is also known as a supplier or a contractor.

W

Waterfall: A traditional project management methodology that follows a linear and sequential approach. Waterfall projects are divided into distinct phases, such as initiation, planning, design, development, testing, deployment, and closure. Each phase must be completed before moving on to the next one.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS): A hierarchical decomposition of the project’s scope into smaller and manageable components. A WBS consists of work packages that represent the deliverables or outcomes of the project.

Work Package: The lowest level of the work breakdown structure (WBS) that defines a specific unit of work that can be assigned and executed by a team member or a group. A work package has a description, duration, budget, assigned resources, and acceptance criteria.

Final Thoughts

This glossary is continuously updated to ensure it remains relevant and comprehensive. We encourage you to bookmark this page and refer back to it whenever you encounter unfamiliar project management terms or need a quick definition.

Remember, effective communication is the cornerstone of successful project management. Having a solid understanding of the terminology used in the field will not only enhance your communication skills but also help you build credibility and establish yourself as a knowledgeable project professional.