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A process in which a team determines the number of iterations, or sprints, that are needed to complete each release, the features that each iteration will contain, and the target dates of each release.

Any documents or communications that define the initial intentions of a project. Examples include contracts, memorandums of understanding (MOUs), service-level agreements (SLAs), letters of agreement, letters of intent, verbal agreements, emails, or other written agreements.

A state of being unclear, having difficulty in identifying the cause of events, or having multiple options from which to choose.

A technique for estimating the duration or cost of an activity on a project using historical data from a similar activity or project. Also known as top-down estimating.

Change requests that have been reviewed and approved by the change control board (CCB) and are ready to be scheduled for implementation.

Any project management processes, inputs, tools, techniques, outputs, EEFs, and OPAs that the project management team uses on their specific project. They are subject to configuration management and are maintained and archived by the team.

A factor in the planning process that’s considered true, real, or certain without proof or demonstration. Anything considered true during planning should be validated. Assumptions are closely linked to constraints.

An examination of a project’s goals and achievements, including adequacy, accuracy, efficiency, effectiveness, and the project’s compliance with applicable methodologies and regulations. It tends to be a formal, one-sided process that can be extremely demoralizing to team members.

A group decision-making method in which one member of the group makes the decision. In most cases, this person will consider the larger group’s ideas and decisions and will then make a decision based on that input.

A strategy for managing negative risks or threats that involves changing the project management plan to remove the risk entirely by extending the schedule, changing the strategy, increasing the funding, or reducing the scope.

The prioritized list of all the work, presented in story form, for a project team. See also Iteration Backlog.

The progressive elaboration of project requirements and/or the ongoing activity in which the team collaboratively reviews, updates, and writes requirements to satisfy the need of the customer request.

A graphic display of schedule-related information. In a typical bar chart, schedule activities or WBS components are listed down the left side of the chart, dates are shown across the top, and activity durations are shown as date-placed horizontal bars. See also Gantt Chart.

Original objectives plus approved change requests for scope, schedule, cost, and resources required to finish the project. Baselines represent the approved plan, and they’re useful for measuring how actual results deviate from the plan.

The comparison of actual or planned products, processes, and practices to those of comparable organizations to identify best practices, generate ideas for improvement, and provide a basis for measuring performance.

A method of estimating project duration or cost by aggregating the estimates of the lower-level components of the WBS.

A simple technique used to generate a list of ideas. It should be led by a facilitator with a group consisting of stakeholders, team members, and subject matter experts. After quickly generating a list of alternatives, the group then performs analysis of the alternatives and generally chooses a particular option for action.

A time-phased plan for when funds will be disbursed on a project. It helps the organization anticipate when money will be coming in and/or going out for the duration of the project. Budget accuracy is dependent upon a well-defined project scope and schedule. The total project budget is the cost baseline plus management reserves. See also Cost Baseline.

The sum of all budgets established to provide financial support for the work to be performed.

A planning term related to contingency. See also Reserve.

A tool used to track the progress of a project by plotting the number of days of sprint against the number of hours of work remaining. The burn chart is used to communicate progress during and at the end of an iteration/sprint/increment, showing the number of stores that have been completed and the ones that remain. The concept is that as the project progresses over time, the backlog of work will “burn down,” or lessen.

A graphical representation of the work remaining versus the time left in a timebox. A type of burn chart.

A graphical representation of the work completed toward the release of a product. A type of burn chart.

A value proposition for a proposed project that may include financial and nonfinancial benefits.

A requirement that describes a higher-level need of the organization, such as a business issue or opportunity, the rationale for why an initiative is being undertaken, and a measurable representation of a goal the business is seeking to achieve.

The net quantifiable benefit derived from a business endeavor. The benefit may be tangible, intangible, or both.

A rhythm of project work execution. See also timebox and continuous flow.

This diagram shows the relationship between causes and effects. Primarily used in root cause analysis (risk and quality) to uncover the causes of risks, problems, or issues. Also called a fishbone diagram or Ishikawa diagram.

Purposeful management of changes to the project (scope, schedule, cost, or quality). In change control, a change request goes through a formal process before an approval or denial is made.

A formally chartered group responsible for reviewing, evaluating, approving, delaying, or rejecting changes to the project and for recording and communicating such decisions.

A document used to request a project change, including recommendations for corrective or preventive actions. See also Change Request.

A living list of all project change requests (CR). This log is used to track and provide accurate status of each CR (requester, owner, details, impact analysis, decision, and so on).

A comprehensive, cyclic, and structured approach for transitioning individuals, groups, and organizations from a current state to a future state, where they realize desired benefits. Change management is different than project change control, which is a process whereby modifications to documents, deliverables, or baselines associated with the project are identified, documented, and then approved or rejected.

A request for change sent to upper management or the change control board (CCB) for its evaluation and approval. See also Change Control Form.

A shortened name for the project charter, a formal document that starts the project. Typically used by the project sponsor and the project manager, this document provides the reason for the project (based on business case) and may include high-level requirements, assumptions, constraints, milestone(s), and a preliminary budget. See also Project Charter.

A set of procedural instructions used to ensure that a product or component quality is achieved.

The process of finalizing all activities for the project, phase, or contract.

Sessions held at the end of a project or phase during which teams discuss work and capture lessons learned.

One of the five project management Process Groups. It consists of those processes performed to formally complete or close the project, phase, or contract.

An agile servant leader role that exists to help the team and identify and remove any impediments (obstacles).

The act of giving guidance and direction to another person to facilitate personal and/or professional growth and development.

A numbering system used to uniquely identify each component of the WBS.

A PMI -published body of knowledge that describes the ethical, professional behavior and expectations of an individual working as a project practitioner or with PMI in a given capacity.

The act of working together and sharing information to create deliverables, work products, or results.

The process in which requirements documentation is developed. Precedes the Define Scope process.

An organizational placement strategy in which project team members are physically located close to one another to improve communication, working relationships, and productivity.

The act of accurately encoding, sending, receiving, decoding, and verifying messages. Communication between sender and receiver may be oral or written, formal or informal.

The number of possible communication paths on a project. The formula for calculating communication channels is [n(n – 1)] ÷ 2; n = number of people on the project.

A systematic procedure, technique, or process used to transfer information among project stakeholders.

A description, analogy, or schematic used to represent how the communication process will be performed for the project.

An analytical technique used to determine the information needs of project stakeholders through interviews, workshops, or a study of lessons learned from previous projects.

Specific tools, automated systems, computer programs, and so on used to transfer information among project stakeholders.

A component of the project, program, or portfolio management plan that describes how, when, and by whom information about the project will be administered and disseminated.

A characteristic of a program, project, or its environment that’s difficult to manage due to human behavior, system behavior, or ambiguity.

The state of meeting—or being in accord with—organizational, legal, certification, or other relevant regulations.

A difference in opinion or agenda among team members, stakeholders, or customers on a project.

The application of one or more strategies for dealing with disagreements that may be detrimental to team performance.

The process of working to reach an agreement after a conflict arises.

A group-decision technique in which the group agrees to support an outcome even if some individuals don’t agree with the decision.

An external factor that limits the ability to plan. Constraints and assumptions are closely linked.

A visual depiction of the product scope showing a business system (process, equipment, computer system, and so on) and how people and other systems (actors) interact with it.

A risk-response strategy developed before risks occur; it’s meant to be used if and when identified risks become reality.

Time or money allocated in the schedule or cost baseline for known risks with active response strategies.

Refers to the continuous movement of work through a process. It is based on the principles of Lean and is designed to help teams reduce waste and improve efficiency. In a continuous flow system, work is broken down into small, manageable pieces and continuously moved through the process. This helps to reduce the amount of time that work spends waiting in queues and helps to ensure that work is always moving forward.

One example of a continuous flow system is the Kanban Method. Similar to Flow-Based Agile.

The ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes.

A mutually binding agreement that obligates the seller to provide the specified project, service, or result and obligates the buyer to pay for it.

A management control point at which scope, budget, actual cost, and schedule are integrated and compared to earned value for performance measurement.

A graphic display of process data over time and against established control limits; the display has a centerline that assists in detecting a trend of plotted values toward either control limit. Control charts are often associated with control limits, specification limits, means, and standard deviation. They’re used to analyze and communicate the variability of a process or project activity over time. See also Variability Control Charts.

Part of the Monitoring and Controlling Process Group, this process focuses on the quality of deliverables.

Part of the Monitoring and Controlling Process Group, this process ensures that the flow and usage of physical resources line up with the plan

Part of the Monitoring and Controlling Process Group, this process ensures that changes to scope are properly controlled.

Summing the lower-level cost estimates associated with the various work packages for a given level within the project’s WBS or for a given cost control account.

The approved version of the time-phased project budget—excluding any management reserves—which can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison to actual results. See also Budget.

A financial analysis method used to determine the benefits of a project against its costs.

Cost estimates adjusted according to performance—for example, estimate at complete, budget at completion, estimate to complete, and so on.

A component of a project or program management plan that describes how costs will be planned, structured, and controlled.

Cost of conformance refers to the costs associated with preventing poor quality in products, deliverables, or services of a specific project. This includes the following:

• Appraisal costs: Costs related to evaluating, measuring, auditing, and testing products, deliverables, or services of a specific project.
• Prevention costs: Costs related to building a quality product, including training, documenting processes, equipment, and time to do it right.
• Failure costs (internal/external): Costs related to nonconformance of products, deliverables, or services based on the needs or expectations of the stakeholders. This includes rework and scrap.

Cost of nonconformance refers to the costs associated with failures found during and after the project due to poor quality in products, deliverables, or services. This includes the following:

• Internal failure costs: Costs related to failures found by the project team, such as rework and scrap.
• External failure costs: Costs related to failures found by the customer, such as liabilities, warranty work, and lost business.
• The cost of nonconformance is a part of the cost of quality, which also includes the cost of conformance.The cost of conformance includes prevention and appraisal costs, while the cost of nonconformance includes waste and rework. Measuring the cost of quality is important for minimizing quality losses and achieving optimal quality costs for projects.

All costs incurred over the life of the product by investment in preventing nonconformance to requirements, appraisal of the product or service for conformance to requirements, and failure to meet requirements.

A measure of the cost efficiency of budgeted resources, expressed as the ratio of earned value to actual cost.

The amount of budget deficit or surplus at a given point in time, expressed as the difference between the earned value and the actual cost.

An analysis that allows project managers to determine if the benefits of an action outweigh the costs, or conversely, if the costs outweigh the benefits. This can be an important criterion in decision-making.

A planning process that produces the schedule baseline, which consists of the work breakdown structure (WBS), the WBS dictionary, and the scope statement. (The scope statement is produced from the Define Scope process.)

The sequence of activities that represents the longest path through a project, which determines the shortest possible duration.

Any activity on the critical path in a project schedule.

A technique of schedule analysis in which schedule activities are evaluated to determine the float or slack for each activity and the overall schedule. To calculate critical path, use the forward and backward pass along with float analysis to identify all network paths, including critical.

Critical thinking includes disciplined, rational, logical, evidence-based thinking and requires an open mind and the ability to analyze objectively. Critical thinking, especially when applied to discovery, can include conceptual imagination, insight, and intuition. It can also include reflective thinking and metacognition (thinking about thinking and being aware of one’s awareness).

Project professionals need to recognize bias, identify the root cause of problems, and consider challenging issues, such as ambiguity, complexity, and so forth. Critical thinking helps to accomplish these activities.

Project team members apply critical thinking to:

• Research and gather unbiased, well-balanced information;
• Recognize, analyze, and resolve problems;
• Identify bias, unstated assumptions, and values;
• Discern the use of language and the influence on oneself and others;
• Analyze data and evidence to evaluate arguments and perspectives;
• Observe events to identify patterns and relationships;
• Apply inductive, deductive, and abductive reasoning appropriately; and
• Identify and articulate false premises, false analogy, emotional appeals, and other faulty logic.

A collection of lightweight, agile software-development methods focused on adaptability to a particular circumstance.

Understanding the cultural differences of the individuals, groups, and organizations in the project stakeholder community to adapt communication strategies that avoid or reduce miscommunication and misunderstandings.

The individual or organization that will accept the deliverable(s) or product. Customers can be internal organizational groups or external to an organization.

Refers to the period from the time a team starts a task to the time it’s completed. See also Lead Time.

See Daily Standup

A brief—typically 15-minute—collaboration meeting during which the project team reviews its progress from the previous day, declares intentions for the current day, and highlights any obstacles encountered or anticipated. This meeting may also be referred to as a daily scrum or standup. See also Daily Coordination Meeting.

Refers to gathered empirical information, especially facts and numbers.

The act of scrutinizing facts and numbers for typical purposes of decision-making, verifying, validating, or assessing.

Techniques used to solicit and document ideas—for example, brainstorming, interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, surveys, and so on.

A way of depicting data visually to aid in its communication and comprehension.

The process of selecting a course of action from among multiple options.

A diagramming and calculating technique for evaluating the implications of a chain of multiple options in the presence of uncertainty.

A technique used for dividing and subdividing the project scope and project deliverables into smaller, more manageable parts.

Part of the Planning Process Group, this process defines the activities (tasks) necessary to complete work packages/stories.

Part of the Planning Process Group, this process produces the scope statement, which depicts a detailed and complete understanding of the project’s vision.

A team’s checklist of all the criteria required to be met so that a deliverable can be considered ready for customer use.

A team’s checklist for a user-centric requirement that has all the information the team needs to begin working on it.

Any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability that’s used to perform a service and is required to be produced to complete a process, phase, or projects.

A review at the end of each iteration with the product owner and other customer stakeholders to review the progress of the product, get early feedback, and review an acceptance from the product owner of the stories delivered in the iteration. See also Iteration Review or Sprint Review.

A relationship between one or more tasks/activities. A dependency may be mandatory or discretionary, internal or external. See also Start-to-Start, Start- to-Finish, Finish-to-Start, and Finish-to-Finish.

Part of the Planning Process Group, this process produces the cost baseline/project budget.

Part of the Initiating Process Group, this process produces the project charter, which officially starts the project.

A planning process made up of 19 components that guides to how a project will be managed.

Part of the Planning Process Group, this process arranges activities to create the schedule baseline.

Part of the Executing Process Group, this process enhances and empowers the team to improve teamwork and individual skills.

Various means of depicting a system or virtual concept, such as a business or process flow, that indicate entities, relationships, and interactions.

An Executing process that reviews the entire project and analyzes planned versus actual (with schedule forecast and cost forecast as an input) to determine the overall project status.

A technique used to gain project requirements from current document valuation.

The amount of time needed to complete an activity/task or work package.

A measure of work performed expressed in terms of the budget authorized for that work.

An analysis method that uses a set of measures associated with scope, schedule, and cost to determine the cost and schedule performance of a project.

A methodology that combines scope, schedule, and resource measurements to assess project performance and progress.

Any or all environmental factors, either internal or external to the project, that can influence the project’s success. Enterprise environmental factors (EEFs) include culture, weather conditions, government regulations, political situations, market conditions, and so on.

The number of labor units required to complete a scheduled activity or WBS component, often expressed in hours, days, or weeks.

The ability to identify, assess, and manage the personal emotions of oneself and other people, as well as the collective emotions of groups of people. EQ (emotional quotient) is also a commonly used abbreviation.

Part of emotional intelligence (EQ or EI), this is the ability to understand others’ viewpoints and be a team player. It enables us to connect with others and understand what moves them.

An essential attribute of agile teams to enable localized decision-making capabilities. Empowerment is the quality of granting, nurturing, or motivating a team member or team to exercise their own knowledge, skill, and ability.

A strategy for managing positive risks or opportunities that involves increasing the probability that the opportunity—or the impact it will have—will happen by identifying and maximizing enablers of these opportunities.

A block of work with one common objective, such as a feature, customer request, or business requirement. A helpful way to organize work and create a hierarchy, epic helps teams break their work down while continuing to work toward a larger goal.

The act of seeking helpful intervention in response to a threat outside the scope of the project or beyond the project manager’s authority.

A number, figure, or representation that denotes cost or time.

A planning process that determines the estimate time needed to complete a work package and/or activity.

Part of the Planning Process Group, this process estimates the materials and human resources needed to perform the project activities.

The expected total cost of completing all work, expressed as the sum of the actual cost to date and the estimate to complete.

Part of the Planning Process Group, this process determines the financial estimate for each work package and/or activity.

The expected cost of finishing all the remaining project work.

One of the five Project Management Process Groups. It consists of those processes performed to complete the work defined in the project management plan to satisfy the project requirements.

Logical point at the end of a project phase at which an independent party and/or relevant stakeholder reviews that phase’s deliverables to determine whether they were completed successfully and whether the subsequent project phase should be initiated. Used in predictive or traditional projects. See also Kill Point.

A quantitative method of calculating the average outcome when the future is uncertain. The calculation of EMV is a component of decision tree analysis. Opportunities will have positive values, and threats will have negative values.

Judgment based upon expertise in a given application area, knowledge area, discipline, or industry. Such expertise may be provided by any group or person with specialized education, knowledge, skill, experience, or training.

Knowledge that can be codified using symbols such as words, numbers, and pictures. This type of knowledge is easily documented and may be shared with others.

A strategy for managing positive risks or opportunities that involves attempting to make sure that the opportunity happens.

Agile methodology used for software development in which iterations last for one week and programmers work in pairs.

Organized working sessions held by project managers to determine a project’s requirements and to get all stakeholders together to agree on the project’s outcomes.

A skill used to lead or guide an assembled group toward a successful conclusion, such as making a decision or finding a solution.

A group of stories that delivers value to the customer.

A mathematical sequence in which the value of each number is derived from the sum of the two preceding numbers (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 … ). Used in agile estimating or relative estimating techniques, such as planning poker. Simplified sequence: 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20, 40, 100.

A summary of the project’s information regarding performance, scope, schedule, quality, cost, and risks.

A logical relationship in which a successor activity can’t finish until a predecessor activity has finished.

A logical relationship in which a successor activity can’t start until a predecessor activity has finished.

See Cause and Effect Diagram.

Also called slack. See Total Float and Free Float.

An agile methodology that focuses on optimizing the flow of work through the development process. It is based on the principles of Lean and Kanban and is designed to help teams improve their efficiency and productivity.

Similar to Continuous Flow.

An elicitation technique that brings together prequalified stakeholders and subject matter experts to learn about their expectations and attitudes about a proposed product, service, or result.

Technique for calculating the early start and early finish dates of the schedule activities. This is part of the critical path method and is paired with backward pass to determine activity and schedule float along with the critical path. See also “Backward Pass”.

A supervisory, organizational role in a specialized area or department.

An organizational structure in which staff are grouped by specialization areas and the project manager has limited authority to assign work and apply resources.

In an agile context, an action that the system performs that adds value to the customer/user.

A bar chart of schedule information on which activities are listed on the vertical axis, dates are shown on the horizontal axis, and the activity durations are shown as horizontal bars placed according to start and finish dates.

Teamworking techniques to move a group toward consensus or decision. Examples are unanimity, majority, plurality, and dictatorship.

As conceived by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck and her colleagues, this is the belief that a person’s capacities and talents can be improved over time.

Expectations regarding acceptable behavior by project team members.

In 1959, behavioral scientist Frederick Herzberg proposed that “hygiene,” or environmental factors, can cause workers to feel satisfied or unsatisfied with their jobs, and these factors affect their performance. The theory also proposes that a worker’s independent drive associated with motivation also affects performance, and that workers respond to feelings of connection with their work. Therefore, leaders should encourage workers to accept more authority as well as promote feedback. Also known as Two-Factor Theory, Herzberg’s Motivation Theory, and Dual Structure Theory.

A bar or column chart that graphically represents numerical data—for example, the number of defects per deliverable, a ranking of the cause of defects, the number of times each process is noncompliant, or other representations of project or product defects.

Archived information from previous projects that can be used for various reasons, including estimating cost, schedule, resources, and lessons learned.

Performed throughout the project, this is the process of identifying individual project risks as well as sources of overall project risk and documenting their characteristics. The key benefit of this process is the documentation of existing individual project risks and the sources of overall project risk. The process also brings together information so the project team can respond appropriately to identified risks.

Performed periodically throughout the project as needed, this is the process of identifying project stakeholders regularly and analyzing and documenting relevant information regarding their interests, involvement, interdependencies, influence, and potential impact on project success. The key benefit of this process is that it enables the project team to identify the appropriate focus for engagement of each stakeholder or group of stakeholders.

An obstacle that prevents the team from achieving its objectives.

art of the Executing Process Group, this is the process of implementing agreed- upon risk-response plans. The key benefit of this process is that it ensures that agreed-upon risk responses are executed as planned to address overall project risk exposure, minimize individual project threats, and maximize individual project opportunities. This process is performed throughout the project.

A functional, tested, and accepted deliverable that’s a subset of the overall project outcome.

An agile concept that functionality should be delivered in small pieces or stages rather than as a complete solution.

An adaptive project life cycle in which the deliverable is produced through a series of iterations that successively add functionality within a predetermined timeframe. After the final iteration, the deliverable contains the necessary and sufficient capability to be considered complete.

Used in stakeholder management. A classification model that groups stakeholders on the basis of their involvement in and impact on the project. See also Power/Influence Grid.

Data that has been analyzed, organized, and processed to make it more meaningful.

A system that allows the team to collaborate, share, and capture project work.

The generic term for visual displays placed in a visible location so everyone can quickly see the latest information. Also known as Big Visible Chart in agile.

One of the five Project Management Process Groups. It includes the process(es) performed to define a new project or a new phase of an existing project by obtaining authorization to start the project or phase.

Something needed or used by a process to create the process output.

Reviewing the functionality or suitability of a product, service, or result against the plan (requirements/story).

In an agile context, this generally refers to face-to-face conversations between members, customers, and stakeholders.

An exchange of information between two or more individuals that ensures common understanding for everyone participating in that exchange.

The interest rate that makes the net present value of all cash flow equal to zero. This rate is a function of the cost of capital for project implementation.

Skills used to establish and maintain relationships with other people or stakeholders.

A formal or informal approach to elicit information from stakeholders by talking with them directly.

Acronym describing the desirable attributes of a good story. Stands for: Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, and Testable.

See Cause and Effect Diagram.

A current condition or situation that may have an impact on the project objectives.

Used to record and monitor information on active issues. Issues are assigned to a responsible party for follow-up and resolution.

A timeboxed cycle of development on a product or deliverable in which all the work needed to deliver value is performed.

The work committed to during a given iteration and that’s expected to burn down the duration. This work doesn’t carry over to the next iteration.

A project life cycle in which the project scope is generally determined early in the project life cycle, but time and cost estimates are routinely modified as the project team’s understanding of the product/service increases. Iterations progressively develop the product/service through a series of repeated cycles, while increments successively add to the functionality of the product/service.

An iteration planning meeting is used to clarify the details of backlog items, acceptance criteria, and the work effort required to meet an upcoming iteration commitment. This meeting may also be referred to as a sprint planning meeting.

An iteration review is held at the end of an iteration to demonstrate the work that was accomplished during the iteration. This meeting may also be referred to as a sprint review.

A management concept adapted by the project management community that refers to project activities that continuously improve all project processes. Kaizen usually involves all stakeholders; the concept originated in Japan and generally involves “change for the better” or “continuous improvement.”

Japanese management philosophy that means “signal.” This philosophy focuses on promoting visibility of the work in process (WIP) and limiting the amount of WIP that the team allows.

A visualization tool that enables improvements to the flow of work by making bottlenecks and work quantities visible. It’s a popular framework, used to implement agile and DevOps software development. Also referred to as a signboard.

A mechanism, derived from the customer marketing industry, to understand and classify all potential customer requirements or features into four categories.

A set metric used to evaluate a project, an organizational unit, or a project team’s performance against the project vision and objectives. KPI can be time-bound.

A kickoff meeting is a gathering of project team members and other key stakeholders at the outset of a project to formally set expectations, gain a common understanding, and commence work. It establishes the start of a project, phase, or iteration.

The stage gate or phase review point. At this point, the progress of the project is evaluated, and a decision is made to continue or cancel the project. A set of criteria may be developed to assist with the decision. See also Exit Gate.

A business area dedicated to connecting individuals to shared knowledge and general collaboration on project work. The modality used for connection can be face-to-face and/or virtual.

Refers to the amount of time whereby a successor activity will be delayed with respect to a preceding activity on the critical path.

The latest date an activity can finish without delaying the finish of the project.

The latest that a project activity can start without having to reschedule the calculated early finish of the project.

The amount of time whereby a successor activity can be advanced with respect to a predecessor activity.

The ability to guide others to achieve results. Leadership abilities are gained through experience, building relationships, and taking on initiatives.

The act of establishing direction, aligning the team to a vision, and inspiring/motivating them to achieve a project’s objectives.

Refers to the period from the time the team places a task on the board until delivery. Because the order of items in the Ready column can be changed, this can be unpredictable. See also Cycle Time.

An agile method used primarily in manufacturing that focuses on achieving outcomes with little or no waste.

The knowledge gained during a project that shows how project events were addressed or should be addressed in the future for the purpose of improving performance.

A project document used to record knowledge gained during a project. The knowledge attained can be used in the current project and entered into the lessons learned repository for subsequent use.

A central store of historical lessons learned information from various projects across jurisdictions.

Those relations between the elements of discourse or thought that constitute its rationality, in the sense either of reasonableness or intelligibility.

A group decision-making method in which a course of action is agreed upon by a predefined quorum.

The process of creating, collecting, distributing, storing, retrieving, and the ultimate disposition of project information in accordance with the communications management plan defined within the project.

The process of using existing knowledge and creating new knowledge to achieve project objectives and contribute to organizational learning. The process must include tools that allow the conversion of data into information and information into knowledge.

The process of continually measuring the quality of all activities and taking corrective action until the desired quality is achieved. Quality management lowers the risk of product/service failure or unsatisfied clients.

The process of tracking team member performance, providing feedback, resolving issues, and managing team changes to optimize project performance. The key benefits of this process are that it influences team behavior, manages conflict, resolves issues, and appraises team member performance.

The process of communicating and working with stakeholders to meet their needs/expectations, address issues as they occur, and foster appropriate stakeholder engagement in project activities throughout the project life cycle.

An amount of the project budget held outside of the performance measurement baseline (PMB) for management control purposes, reserved for unforeseen work that’s within the scope of the project. The management reserve, usually 5 to 10% of the project budget, shouldn’t be confused with the contingency reserve.

The exercise of executive control or authority.

A theory of psychology explaining human motivation based on the pursuit of different levels of needs. The theory states that humans are motivated to fulfill their needs in a hierarchical order. This order begins with the most basic needs before moving on to more advanced needs. The goal, according to this theory, is to reach the fifth level of the hierarchy: self-actualization.

An organizational structure in which the project manager shares responsibility with the functional managers for assigning priorities and for directing the work of individuals assigned to the project.

A description of a project or product attribute and how to measure it.

A specific point within a project life cycle used as a measure in progress toward the ultimate goal. A milestone marks a specific point along a project timeline. The point may signal anchors such as a project start and end date, a need for external review, or input and budget check. It’s represented as a task of zero duration and is displayed as an important achievement in a project.

A graphical representation of milestones. This is a type of project schedule bar chart that only includes milestones or major deliverables and their corresponding points in time.

Refers to an input or an output of various processes. A document that contains the milestones of a project.

A graphic technique used to consolidate ideas from individual brainstorming sessions into a single map. The map display is used to reflect similarities and differences and helps to understand new ideas.

The smallest amount of value that can be added to a product or service that benefits the business.

The smallest collection of features that can be included in a product for customers to consider it functional. In lean methodologies, MVP can be referred to as “bare bones” or “no frills” functionality.

A strategy for managing negative risks or threats that involves taking action to reduce the probability of the occurrence or impact of a risk.

Performed throughout the project, this is the process of tracking, reviewing, and reporting overall progress to meet the performance objectives defined in the project management plan. The key benefits of this process are that it allows stakeholders to understand the current state of the project, recognize the actions taken to address any performance issues, and foresee future project status with cost and schedule forecasts.

This process determines if the planned communications artifacts and activities have had the desired effect of increasing or maintaining stakeholders’ support for the project’s deliverables and expected outcomes.

The process of monitoring the implementation of agreed-upon risk response plans, tracking identified risks, identifying and analyzing new risks, and evaluating risk process effectiveness throughout the project. The key benefit of this process is that it enables project decisions to be based on current information about overall project risk exposure and individual project risks.

Performed throughout a project, this is the process of monitoring project stakeholder relationships and tailoring strategies for engaging stakeholders through modification of engagement strategies and plans. The key benefit of this process is that it maintains or increases the efficiency and effectiveness of stakeholder engagement activities as the project evolves and its environment changes.

One of the five Project Management Process Groups. It consists of those processes required to track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project; identify any areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiate the corresponding changes.

A prioritization technique used in management, business analysis, project management, and software development to reach a common understanding with stakeholders on the importance they place on the delivery of each requirement; it’s also known as “MoSCoW prioritization” or “MoSCoW analysis.”

The inner drive or external encouragement that keeps people involved and wanting to complete work of high quality in a timely fashion.

A technique that utilizes a decision matrix to provide a systematic, analytical approach for establishing criteria—such as risk levels, uncertainty, and valuation— to evaluate and rank many ideas.

An investigation that involves understanding business goals and objectives, issues, and opportunities and recommending proposals to address them. A needs assessment often precedes the business case, and the results of the needs assessment may be summarized in the business case document.

An approach used by more than one individual or group to come to an agreement or resolution that’s mutually agreed by all parties.

The difference between the present value of cash inflows and the present value of cash outflows over a period of time. NPV is used in capital budgeting and investment planning to analyze the financial viability of a projected investment or project.

A graph that shows the activities, duration, and interdependencies of tasks within a project.

Represents the start or end of an activity in a sequence.

A technique that enhances brainstorming with a voting process, used to rank the most useful ideas for further brainstorming or for prioritization.

A term from agile software development. NFRs define system attributes such as security, reliability, performance, maintainability, scalability, and usability. They serve as constraints or restrictions on the design of the system across backlogs.

The use of body language and other means besides speaking—posture, gestures, dress and appearance, facial expressions, and the like—to communicate.

Techniques used to gain knowledge of a specific job role, task, or function to understand and determine project requirements. See Job Shadowing.

A risk that, if developed, could create a positive effect on one or more project objectives.

A concept applied to quantify the missed opportunity when deciding to use a resource (such as investment dollars) for one purpose rather than another. Alternately, opportunity cost is the loss of potential future return from the second-best unselected project. In other words, it’s the opportunity (potential return) that won’t be realized when one project is selected over another.

A diagram that shows the structure of an organization and the relationships and relative ranks of its parts and positions/jobs. Typically, this diagram visually conveys a company’s internal structure by detailing the roles, responsibilities, and relationships between individuals within an entity.

The underlying beliefs, assumptions, values, and behaviors that contribute to and define the unique social and psychological environment of an organization.

Refers to all the implicit input or assets on processes used by an organization in operating a business. This may include business plans, processes, policies, protocols, and knowledge.

The study of how people, teams, and organizations behave. It’s part of the search for common themes to maximize efficiency and productivity, problem solving, and meeting the stakeholder requirements of a project.

A product, result, or service generated by a process. May be an input to a successor process.

Moving beyond the organization to secure services and expertise from an outside source on a contract or short-term basis.

A technique used to compare a number of different elements in pairs to assess their relative importance to each other. This technique is often used to prioritize a small number of elements when there is no objective data available. The process involves comparing each element with every other element and assigning a score to each comparison. The scores from the paired comparisons are then summed up, and the resulting score permits the classification of the elements in order of importance.

An estimating technique in which an algorithm is used to calculate cost or duration based on historical data and project parameters. This technique is scalable and linear.

A bar graph that visually represents the most significant or prevalent causes of problems. See also 80/20 Rule.

The sequence of project network activities.

The interval required to amass via profit or value the initial investment made for a project.

The process of reviewing all change requests, approving changes, and managing changes to deliverables, project documents, and the project management plan. These decisions are communicated to stakeholders.

A process used to identify individual risks by looking at how likely they are to happen (probability of occurrence) and how bad they would be for the project if they did happen (impact).

The process of numerically analyzing the effect of identified risks on overall project objectives.

An imaginary person or identity created by the team to model interactions with the system to gather requirements.

Refers to a collection of activities within a project. Each project phase is goal- oriented and ends at a milestone.

A review at the end of a phase in which a decision is made to continue to the next phase, continue with modification, or end the project or program.

Performed periodically as needed, throughout a project, this is the process of developing an appropriate approach and plan for project communications activities based on the information needs of each stakeholder or group, available organizational assets, and the needs of the project. The key benefit of this process is a documented approach to engage stakeholders effectively and efficiently by presenting relevant information promptly.

Performed once or at predefined points in the project, this is the process of defining how the project costs will be estimated, budgeted, managed, monitored, and controlled. The key benefit of this process is that it provides guidance and direction on how project costs will be managed throughout the project.

Performed once or at predefined points in the project, this is the process of identifying quality requirements and/or standards for the project and its deliverables and documenting how the project will demonstrate compliance with quality requirements and/or standards. The key benefit of this process is that it provides guidance and direction on how quality will be managed and verified throughout the project.

Performed once or at predefined points in the project, this is the process of defining how to estimate, acquire, manage, and use team and physical resources. The key benefit of this process is that it establishes the approach and level of management effort needed for managing project resources based on the type and complexity of the project.

Performed once or at predefined points in the project, this is the process of defining how to conduct risk management activities for a project. The key benefit of this process is that it ensures that the degree, type, and visibility of risk management are proportionate to both risks and the importance of the project to the organization and other stakeholders.

Performed once or at predefined points in the project, this is the process of establishing the policies, procedures, and documentation for planning, developing, managing, executing, and controlling the project schedule. The key benefit of this process is that it provides guidance and direction on how the project schedule will be managed throughout the project.

Performed once or at predefined points in the project, this is the process of creating a scope management plan that documents how the project and product scope will be defined, validated, and controlled. The key benefit of this process is that it provides guidance and direction on how scope will be managed throughout the project.

Performed periodically throughout the project as needed, this is the process of developing approaches to involve project stakeholders based on their needs, expectations, interests, and potential impact on the project. The key benefit is that it provides an actionable plan for interacting effectively with stakeholders.

The approved value of the work to be completed for a specific time period.

Agile exercise to help the team estimate work.

One of the five Project Management Process Groups. It consists of those processes required to establish the scope of the project, refine the objectives, and define the course of action required to attain the objectives that the project was undertaken to achieve.

PMBOK® stands for Project Management Body of Knowledge. It includes the entire collection of processes, best practices, terminologies, and guidelines that are accepted as standard within the project management industry.

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) is the Project Management Institute’s flagship publication, representing standards in the business area of project management. It’s currently in its Seventh Edition.

The ability to recognize the power structure internal to the organization, and the ability to navigate relationships within it.

Projects, programs, subsidiary portfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives.

The centralized management of one or more portfolios to achieve strategic objectives.

A classification model that groups stakeholders on the basis of their levels of authority and interest in the project.

A technique used to create the network diagram. It constructs a schedule model in which activities are represented by nodes and are graphically linked by one or more logical relationships to show the sequence in which the activities are to be performed.

A logical dependency used in a precedence diagramming method (PDM).

Project management approach in which activities are completed in a distinct or linear fashion, and a new phase begins only when the previous phase is completed. Value is delivered at the project’s completion in the form of deliverables. See Waterfall.

Action taken to proactively prevent or avoid anticipated problems. This is closely tied to risk management.

A concept in quality management indicating that quality can’t be inspected into a product but should be planned for from the start to avoid problems.

A grid for mapping the probability of each risk occurrence and its potential impact on project objectives.

A visual representation of the steps involved in a process or workflow. It is used to identify the sequence of events and the relationships between different steps in a process. The diagram typically includes the following elements:

• Process steps: The individual steps involved in the process, usually represented as boxes or rectangles.
• Decision points: Points in the process where a decision must be made, usually represented as diamonds.
• Inputs and outputs: The data or materials that are required for each step in the process, and the results or outputs of each step.
• Flow lines: The arrows that connect the process steps and decision points, indicating the sequence of events.
• Process flow diagrams are commonly used in business analysis and process improvement projects to identify inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement. They can also be used to communicate complex processes to stakeholders in a clear and concise manner.

A business role that oversees and optimizes business processes to improve efficiency and productivity for an organization. The role seems to have originated within the IT industry but is applicable elsewhere.

A business role responsible for a specific process within an organization. In Lean Six Sigma applications, a process owner is an individual who assumes responsibility for the end-to-end management of a specific process.

A buyer’s approach in determining the project delivery method and the type of legally binding agreement(s) for delivering the desired results.

An artifact that’s produced, quantifiable, and can be either an end item in itself or a component item. See also Deliverable.

A Scrum term, this is a prioritized list of customer requirements that will improve a product/service. The backlog represents the single source for work.

An individual or organization responsible for gathering inputs about a product from the customer and translating the requirements into the product vision for the team and stakeholders.

A series of phases that represent the evolution of a product, from concept through delivery, growth, maturity, and to retirement.

The integration of people, data, processes, and business systems to create, maintain, and evolve a product or service throughout its life cycle.

A professional role responsible for developing products for an organization, known as the practice of product management. Product managers own the strategy behind a product (physical or digital), specify its functional requirements, and manage feature releases. Product managers also coordinate work done by many other functions—for example, software engineers, data scientists, and product designers—and are ultimately responsible for product outcomes. This term also refers to technology professionals who focus on the vision for a product or service.

A high-level visual summary of the product or products of the project that includes goals, milestones, and potential deliverables.

The functions and features that characterize a product or a service.

Related projects, subsidiary programs, and program activities that are managed in a coordinated manner to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually. A project may or may not be part of a program, but a program will always have projects.

The application of knowledge, skills, and principles to a program to achieve program objectives and obtain benefits and control not available from managing program components individually.

The iterative process of increasing the level of detail in a project management plan as greater amounts of information and more accurate estimates become available.

A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

Any document related to the management of a project.

Specifies the working and nonworking days and times for project activities.

A document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities.

A project coordinator handles administrative tasks for the project manager and team members to manage a project effectively and efficiently. Tasks may include procuring project resources such as equipment and supplies, managing deadlines, workflow, and scheduling project meetings and other appointments on the project team’s behalf.

Any documents that are prepared in support of a project—for example, requirements, specifications, contracts with vendors, design documents, test plans, and publications that will be delivered to the client along with the final product.

Role or position on a project team that works as an assistant and coordinates communications on the team’s behalf. Individuals performing this role can’t make or enforce decisions but can communicate with contractors or suppliers of project resources to ensure the timely delivery of materials.

The means by which the money required to undertake a project, program, or portfolio is secured and then made available.

Budgetary requirements that specify when funds will be needed for the project.

The framework, functions, and processes that guide project management activities to create a unique product, service, or result to meet organizational, strategic, and operational goals.

The series of phases that a project passes through from its start to its completion.

The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to fulfill a project plan.

A professional membership association for project managers.

A management structure that standardizes project-related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies, tools, and techniques. PMOs are more common in larger organizations because of the larger number of projects that can be in process at once.

The document that describes how a project will be executed, monitored and controlled, and closed.

A systematic series of activities directed toward causing a result such that one or more inputs will be acted upon to create one or more outputs.

PMI lists 49 processes related to predictive project development approaches. They’re mapped to process groups and project management knowledge areas, as shown below.

Refers specifically to five logic-oriented groupings of project management processes.

1. Initiation
2. Planning
3. Executing
4. Monitoring and Controlling
5. Closing

The person assigned by the performing organization to lead the team responsible for achieving project goals and objectives.

In-person or virtual communication events held with stakeholders that are intended to generate group decisions; participants discuss issues, create proposals, and approve or reject offers. This process contributes to achieving quicker project deliverables, planned goals, and expected results. Project meetings are an effective method of distributing information and communicating with the team and stakeholders.

A system of principles, practices, techniques, procedures, and rules used by those who manage projects.

Groups of related activities that are critical to the effective delivery of project outcomes. Project performance domains are interactive, interrelated, and interdependent areas of focus that work in unison to achieve desired outcomes. There are eight project performance domains:

1.Stakeholders

2.Team

A collection of logically related project activities that culminates in the completion of one or more deliverables. A phase has a set of goals and objectives, and attainment of these goals/objectives triggers a milestone.

Defines project goals and objectives, specifying tasks and methodology. A plan identifies the required resources, associated budgets, and timelines for completion. A project plan is expected to define all works in a project—human resources as well as other resources required to execute the plan.

The agreed-upon conditions or capabilities of a product, service, or outcome that a project is designed to satisfy. See also Requirements.

An output of a schedule model that presents linked activities with planned dates, durations, milestones, and resources.

A graphic representation of the logical relationships among project schedule activities. This is an output of a schedule model that presents linked activities with planned dates, durations, milestones, and resources. See also Network Diagram.

The features, functions, and works that characterize the delivery of a product, service, and/or result.

The description of the project scope, major deliverables, assumptions, and constraints.

A person or group who provides resources and support for the project, program, or portfolio and is accountable for enabling success. See also Sponsor.

A set of individuals performing the work of the project to achieve its objectives.

A structure in which a project manager and a core project team operate as a separate organizational unit within the parent organization.

A method of obtaining early feedback on user requirements by building a working model of the expected product. Prototypes can be used to solicit aesthetics, functionalities, and so on. Several iterations may be displayed.

Being able to show and employ oneself without fear of negative consequences toward status, career, or self-worth—in other words, we should be comfortable being ourselves in our working setting

Messages that require interested people to access the information through their own initiative.

Messages that are sent out to people who need to receive the information.

A technique used to determine the probability of occurrence and the impact of identified risk.

The degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements.

A structured, independent process to determine if project activities comply with organizational and project policies, processes, and procedures.

A component of the project or program management plan that describes how applicable policies, procedures, and guidelines will be implemented to achieve the quality objectives.

A description of a project or product attribute and how to measure it.

The basic principles that should govern an organization’s actions as it implements its system for quality management.

A project document that includes quality management issues, recommendations for corrective actions, and a summary of findings from quality control activities and may include recommendations for process, project, and product improvements.

Written sets of questions designed to quickly gather information from many respondents.

Stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. A common type of responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) that uses responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed statuses to define the involvement of stakeholders in project activities.

A personalized, intangible, and experiential event that focuses on behavior rather than outcome.

Requirements imposed by a governmental body. Regulations can establish product, process, or service characteristics, including applicable administrative provisions with government-mandated compliance.

Also called sizing. The process of estimating stories or backlog tasks in relation to each other instead of in units of time.

A plan that sets expectations for the dates, features, and/or outcomes a project expects to deliver over the course of several iterations.

The process of identifying a high-level plan for releasing or transitioning a product, deliverable, or increment of value to the customer.

A formal record or summary of information.

A measurable condition or capability that must be present in a product, service, or result to satisfy a business need.

A description of how individual requirements meet the business need of a project.

A component of the project or program management plan that describes how requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed.

A grid that links product requirements from their origin to the deliverables that satisfy them.

A provision in the project management plan to mitigate cost and/or schedule risk, often used with a modifier (for example, management reserve or contingency reserve) to provide further detail on what types of risks should be mitigated. See also Buffer.

A method used to evaluate the amount of risk on a project as well as the amount of schedule and budget reserve to determine whether the reserve is sufficient for the remaining risk.

The risk that remains after risk responses have been implemented.

A skilled individual, team, or the equipment, services, supplies, commodities, materials, budgets, or funds required to accomplish the defined work.

A hierarchical representation of resources by category and type.

A calendar that identifies the working days and shifts for which each specific resource is available.

A component of the project management plan that describes how project resources are acquired, allocated, monitored, and controlled.

The types and quantities of resources required for each activity in a work package.

A grid that shows the project resources assigned to each work package.

Agile meeting held after the iteration/sprint/increment for the team to review the process and results to identify what went well and what can be done differently. Closely tied to continuous improvement. This process is the same as lessons learned.

A financial metric of profitability that measures the gain or loss from an investment relative to the amount of money invested.

A tangible, consumable item that’s given to a person based on a specific outcome or achievement.

A formalized way to reinforce performance or behavior.

Action taken to bring a defective or nonconforming component into compliance with requirements or specifications.

An event or condition of uncertainty that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on one or more project objectives.

A risk response strategy whereby the project team decides to acknowledge the risk and not take any action unless the risk occurs.

The degree of uncertainty an organization or individual is willing to accept in anticipation of a reward.

A hierarchical representation of potential sources of risk.

Organization by sources of risk (for example, using the RBS), the area of the project affected (again, using the WBS), or other useful category, such as project phase, to determine the project areas most exposed to the effects of uncertainty.

A group of potential causes of risk.

A risk response strategy whereby the project team acts to increase the probability of occurrence or impact of an opportunity.

A risk response strategy whereby the project team acts to ensure that an opportunity occurs.

An aggregate measure of the potential impact of all risks at any given time in a project, program, or portfolio.

The likely effect on project objectives if a risk event occurs.

A component of the project, program, or portfolio management plan that describes how risk management activities will be structured and performed.

A risk response strategy in which the project team acts to decrease the probability of occurrence or impact of a threat.

The person responsible for monitoring the risk and for selecting and implementing an appropriate risk response strategy.

The likelihood that a risk event will occur or prove true during the project.

A repository in which outputs of risk management processes are recorded. As the central planning document for project risk analysis and control, the risk register contains a list of the most important risks to the project’s completion. For each risk, it identifies the likelihood of occurrence, the impact to the project, the priority, and the applicable response plans.

This plan involves reducing and eliminating risks and their potential impacts through appropriate mitigation techniques.

A risk response strategy in which the project team allocates ownership of an opportunity to a third party who is best able to capture the benefit for the project.

The level of risk exposure above which risks are addressed and below which risks may be accepted.

A risk response strategy in which the project team shifts the impact of a threat to a third party together with ownership of the response.

A special meeting for the purpose of identifying project risks. In addition to project team members, this workshop might include the project sponsor, SMEs, customer representatives, and other stakeholders depending on the size of the project.

Refers to a human-driven function in a work setting.

An iterative planning technique in which work to be accomplished in the near term is planned in detail, while work farther in the future is planned at a higher level.

An analytical technique used to determine the basic underlying reason for a variance, defect, risk, or more than one of any of these.

A classification model that groups stakeholders according to level of authority, immediate needs, and how appropriate their involvement is in terms of the project.

The approved version of a schedule model that can be modified using formal change control procedures and used as the basis of comparison to actual results. The schedule baseline is one of the main project documents to be created before the project starts.

Estimates or predictions of conditions and events in the project’s future based on information and knowledge available at the time the schedule is calculated.

A component of the project or program management plan that establishes the criteria and activities for developing, monitoring, and controlling the schedule.

A measure of schedule efficiency expressed as the ratio of earned value to planned value.

The amount by which the project is ahead or behind the planned delivery date, at a given point in time, expressed as the difference between the earned value and the planned value.

The sum of the products, services, and results to be delivered as a project. See also Project Scope and Product Scope.

The approved version of a scope statement, work breakdown structure (WBS), and its associated WBS dictionary that can be changed using formal change control procedures and used as a basis for comparison to actual results.

The uncontrolled expansion of project scope without adjustments to time, cost, and resources.

A component of the project or program management plan that describes how the scope will be defined, developed, monitored, controlled, and validated.

Details about project deliverables and the major objectives of a project, including measurable outcomes.

An agile framework for developing and sustaining complex products, with specific roles, events, and artifacts.

The coach of the development team and process owner in the Scrum framework. Removes obstacles, facilitates productive events, and protects the team from disruptions.

Dedicated, self-managing, cross-functional, fully empowered individuals who deliver the finished work required by the customer.

A risk that arises as a direct result of implementing a risk response.

A cross-functional team in which people fluidly assume leadership as needed to achieve the team’s objectives. See also Cross-Functional Teams.

Refers to a consecutive relationship between phases; phases occur in procession and without overlap.

The practice of leading the team by focusing on understanding and addressing the needs and development of team members to enable the highest possible team performance.

A contract between a service provider (either internal or external) and the end user that defines the level of service expected from the service provider.

A strategy for managing positive risks or opportunities that involves allocating some or all the ownership of the opportunity to a third party.

Provides details of all the skills the team possesses. This includes interpersonal skills needed to establish and maintain relationships with other people. Some of the skills may be irrelevant to the project team, while some are highly relevant to project goals.

Used in the critical path method. This is the amount of time a task can be delayed without affecting the deadlines of subsequent tasks.

Used in Scrum. A short time interval during which a usable and potentially releasable increment of the product is created. See also Iteration.

A list of work items identified by the Scrum team to be completed during the Scrum sprint.

A collaborative event in Scrum in which the Scrum team plans the work for the current sprint.

This critical part of the Scrum process is attended by the product owner, the scrum master, and the Scrum team to analyze from a process perspective what’s working well and what isn’t and to agree upon changes to implement.

A review at the end of each iteration with the product owner and other customer stakeholders to review the progress of the product, get early feedback, and review the product owner’s acceptance of the stories delivered in the iteration. See also Demo.

A descriptive metric used by agile and hybrid teams, describing the rate and volume of work the team performs during an average sprint.

An individual, group, or organization that may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project, program, or portfolio.

A technique of systematically gathering and analyzing quantitative and qualitative information to determine whose interests should be considered throughout the project.

A matrix that compares current and desired stakeholder engagement levels

A component of the project management plan that identifies the strategies and actions required to promote productive involvement of stakeholders in project or program decision-making and execution. Used to understand stakeholder communication requirements and the level of stakeholder engagement to assess and adapt to the level of stakeholder participation in requirements activities.

An artifact a business analyst can use to visually analyze stakeholders and their relationships to each other and to the opportunity under analysis.

A project document that includes the identification, assessment, and classification of project stakeholders.

A prioritization method used to determine the relative importance of different items in a backlog. It involves ranking items in order of importance, with the most important items at the top of the list and the least important items at the bottom. This method is often used in agile development methodologies to help teams focus on the most important tasks and ensure that they are completed first.

A document established by an authority, through custom, or by general consent as a model or example.

A logical relationship in which a predecessor activity can’t finish until a successor activity has begun.

A logical relationship in which a successor activity can’t start until a predecessor activity has begun.

A document used to describe project work. The SoW identifies requirements, deliverables, scope, project details, and timelines for delivery.

Describes the smallest unit of work in an agile framework. A story is an informal, general explanation of a product, service, or software feature written from the end user’s perspective. Its purpose is to articulate how the feature will provide value to the customer. See also User Story.

One unit of delivery for an agile team.

A visual model of all the features and functionalities desired for a given product, created to give the team a holistic view of what they’re building and why.

Used in agile practice to estimate the amount of time it will take to complete a story item from the project backlog.

A prototyping method that uses visuals or images to illustrate a process or represent a project outcome. Storyboards are useful to illustrate how a product, service, or application will function or operate when complete.

A grid used to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of an organization, project, or option.

The rules, processes, procedures, people, and other elements that support an outcome or process. A project can have one or many systems—for example, a work authorization system, a change control system, an information system, and so on.

The mindful selection and adjustment of multiple factors. Tailoring determines the appropriate combination of processes, inputs, tools, techniques, outputs, and life cycle phases to manage a project.

An activity with a specific purpose that should be accomplished within a defined period of time. See also Activity

Used to visualize a team’s work, enabling team members and stakeholders to track their progress as work is performed during an iteration. Examples of task boards include kanban boards, to-do lists, procedure checklists, and Scrum boards.

Group of people responsible for executing project tasks and producing deliverables outlined in the project plan and schedule.

The process of continually supporting and working collaboratively with team members to enable them to solve problems, defuse interpersonal issues, share information, and tackle project objectives as a unified force.

Specific functions or actions taken to help a team mature and become or remain productive. The activities can be formal or informal, brief, or extended, and facilitated by the project manager or a group facilitator.

The applied function, action, procedure, or routine defined for a process to produce the desired output. See “Tool”.

A partially complete document in a predefined format that provides a structure for collecting, organizing, and presenting information and data.

An agile term referring to groupings of epics or stories.

A theory by Douglas McGregor proposing that managers who micromanage their employees or team members do so because they assume the workers are unmotivated and dislike work. See also Theory Y.

A theory by Douglas McGregor proposing that managers with optimistic and positive opinions of their employees or team members encourage more collaborative, trust-based relationships among them. See also Theory X.

A risk that would have a negative effect on one or more project objectives.

A technique used to estimate cost or duration by applying an average or weighted average of optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely estimates when uncertainty exists with individual activity estimates. Also called triangular estimating.

A predetermined value of a measurable project variable that represents a limit that requires action if it’s reached.

A key agile metric used to determine how many finished work items a process produces in a given time.

A fixed period of time to provide duration limits for an activity, a piece of work, or a meeting—for example, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or 1 month.

The quantified description of acceptable variation for a quality, risk, budget, or other project requirement.

The applied function, action, procedure, or routine defined for a process to produce the desired output. See also Technique.

The amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed or extended from its early start date without delaying the project finish date or violating a schedule constraint.

An activity in which team members acquire new or enhanced skills, knowledge, or attitudes.

A strategy for managing negative risks or threats that involves shifting the impact and ownership of the risk to a third party and paying a risk premium to that party for taking on the risk liability.

One of the three pillars of empirical process (transparency, inspection, and adaptability) that promotes real-time, accurate progress on every aspect of a project. See also Visibility.

An event or situation that indicates a risk is about to become an issue.

Refers to the factors of time, cost, and scope, which can be adjusted when managing projects. Often called the project management triangle.

Refers to a person whose skill set includes one area of specialization and broad ability in other skills required by the team.

Agreement by everyone in the group on a single course of action.

An informal, general explanation of a product, service, or software feature written from the perspective of the end user. Its purpose is to articulate how the feature will provide value to the customer. See also Story.

The process of checking that requirements meet business goals and objectives. Performed by a business analyst.

The process of formalizing acceptance of completed project deliverables.

The assurance that a product, service, or result meets the needs of the customer and other identified stakeholders. See also Verification.

The worth that a project delivers to the business.

The combined and systematic effort by leadership, portfolio, and program and project management to create value in and for an organization.

An organizational construct that focuses on the flow of value to customers through the delivery of specific products or services.

A Lean enterprise technique used to document, analyze, and improve the flow of information or materials required to produce a product or service for a customer.

A quantifiable deviation, departure, or divergence away from a known baseline or expected value.

A technique for determining the cause and degree of difference between the baseline and the actual performance.

A measure of a team’s productivity rate—that is, the rate at which deliverables are produced, validated, and accepted within a predefined interval.

The evaluation of whether a product, service, or result complies with a regulation, requirement, specification, or imposed condition. See also Validation.

A deliverable that has been compared to the scope/requirements and specifications to ensure that it’s correct.

A group of people with a shared goal who fulfill their roles with little or no time spent meeting in the same physical space.

A summarized, high-level description of the expectations for a product, such as target market, users, major benefits, and what differentiates the product from others.

The possibility for rapid and unpredictable change.

An informal name for the predictive project management approach. PMI no longer uses this term. See Predictive Life Cycle.

A document that provides detailed deliverable, activity, and scheduling information about each component in the work breakdown structure (WBS).

A nonfunctional interface design—in other words, not written in code—that shows key elements and how they interact to give the user an idea of how the system will function.

A hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work the project team will perform to accomplish project objectives and create the required deliverables.

Work that has been started but not yet completed.

Work defined at the lowest level of the work breakdown structure (WBS) for which cost and duration are estimated and managed.

An on-the-job technique that enables someone to learn about and perform a job while observing and working with a more experienced person.

A suitable, unplanned alternative action used to complete work.

The carefully planned sequence of tasks and activities that need to be done to complete a project.

A common Extreme Programming (XP) technique that describes a common vision of how a program works.