Unit 1 - Project Management Vocabulary

Regional Department of Defense Resources Management Studies, Brasov
Masters Program: Organization Resources Management

Unit 1: PROJECT RELATED VOCABULARY
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TOPIC GOALS

To discuss and analyze scope statements components
To discuss and analyze criteria for analyzing project goals and objectives
To discuss and analyze the formulation of project activities
To introduce some basic vocabulary related to projects
To understand the components and vocabulary of a business plan
To understand vocabulary related to sequencing and timing (Gantt Chart)

Sources:
*** British Standard, BS 6079-2:2000, Project management Part 2: Vocabulary, March 2000
Sweeney Simon (2002) Test Your Professional English, Pearson Education Limited, pp. 54-58
Carter New, C., James Aaron Quick (2003) How to write a grant proposal, John Wiley and Sons,
pp. 69-127
Margoluis, R., Nick Salafsky (1998) Measures Of Success: Designing, Managing, And
Monitoring Conservation And Development Projects

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1. SCOPE STATEMENT COMPONENTS

Project goals and objectives - goals that need to be met
- objectives derived from goals
- all objectives need to be measurable
e.g. the deadline for project release is one year from the
starte date. The project must return at least a 5% revenue
increase over the previous project
Product/service requirements/
acceptance criteria
e.g the product must meet established quality standards to
be released
Product/service characteristics - Explains what the results will be like
e.g 34 levels, 2 parking lots a swimming pool
Project boundaries - Explains that certain activities are not part of the
project
Project deliverables - Specific products or services that will be produced
Project constraints - Known limitations
Project assumptions - Things that you think are true
Initial project organization - Initial idea of how the work will be organized and
assigned
e.g. the team will consist of a project manager, 5
statisticians, creative staff members
Schedule milestones - Any known dates the team must commit to
Approval requirements - Who will give the okay for the project and what they
will do to verify the results

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1.1 SCOPE STATEMENT COMPONENTS: ACTIVITY
Task: Match the two columns by consulting the scope statement components table

1. The games must have fewer than 15 defects per 10,000 lines of
code
a. Project objectives
2. There will be four graphic designers reporting to the art director,
and six programmers and four testers reporting to the development
manager.
b. Project deliverables
3. No more than 15 people can be allocated to work on the game at
any one time.
c. Project constraints
4. Scenery artwork d. Initial project
organization
5. The product shall reduce tech support calss by 15% e. Project
requirements
6. The game needs to run on a machine with 1 GB of memory or less.

f. Product acceptance
criteria

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2.2. SETTING GOOD GOALS: ACTIVITY 1
Task: Decide which of the following is a goal, an objective or both. Argue
1. A broad statement of program purpose.
a. Goal b. Objective c. Both
2. Describes results to be achieved and how they will be achieved.
3. Specifies target population.
4. Specifies problem or risk to be addressed.
5. Sets program priorities.
6. Sets targets for progress and accountability.
7. Describes expected long-term effects of a program.
8. Example: "Strengthen collaborative partnerships to provide coordinated support to schools,
communities, and local health departments implementing a CSH plan."
9. Example: "By the end of the fiscal year, the CSH Interagency Committee will have
developed partnerships with at least five school districts."
10. Are reflected in your program work plan.

5

2. SETTING GOALS
2.1. MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF WELL FORMULATED GOALS
Good goals are broad statements that directly relate to the general purpose of a program or
project, NOT what a program or project will do. Well-written goals help to establish the overall
direction for and focus of a program/project, define the scope of what the program/project should
achieve, and serve as the foundation for developing program/ project objectives.

Good goals are:

Declarative statement - provide a complete sentence that describes a
program/project outcome.
Jargon-free - use language that most people in the field outside your own
agency are likely to understand.
Short - use few words to make a statement
Concise - get the complete idea of your goal across as simply and
briefly as possible leaving out unnecessary detail.
Easily understood - provide a goal in which the language is clear and for which
there is a clear rationale.
Positive terms - frame the outcomes in positive terms or in terms of a
decrease in health risk behaviors. Avoid the use of double
negatives.
Framework for
objectives
- provide a framework so that the objectives are stepping
stones to make progress to achieve the goals.

Key steps to writing a good goal:
1. Specify a problem (or risk behavior).
2. Identify the target population that will be changed as a result of a successful project.

TASK: Taking into account the theoretical information above, discuss the examples of
goals below and, if case may be, refine them.
1. Increase the proportion of youth in grades 9 -12 who abstain from or reduce tobacco use.
2. Increase the number of schools and districts that integrate effective school-based programs,
strategies, and data to reduce priority health risks for students.
6

TASK: Decide whether the statements below are well formulated goals, SMART
objectives or neither a well formulated goal nor a smart objective (N/A)
1. By the end of the fiscal year, a CSHP resource guide will be developed.
a. Good goal b. SMART objective c. N/A
2. Increase the number of schools and districts that integrate effective school-based
programs, strategies, and data to reduce priority health risk behaviors for school-aged
youth.
3. Decrease the prevalence of schools not complying with anti-smoking policies.
4. Distribute model school health policies to schools.
5. By the end of the fiscal year, 90% of all health educators in the XYZ school district will
be trained to teach the MNO asthma curriculum.
6. Strengthen collaborative partnerships to provide coordinated support to schools,
communities, and local health departments in implementing a CSH plan.
a. Good goal b. Smart objective c. N/A
7. Two model CSHP policies identified.
8. Identify model CSHP policies and recommend to policy makers.
9. Decrease incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases, HIV, and STIs among students.
10. 75% of stakeholders utilize and reference accurate data in their reporting.

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TASK: From the following problem statements, select the appropriate related goal
1. Problem:
An estimated 15% of U.S. children and adolescents aged 6-19 are overweight.
Possible Goal Statements:
A : Decrease the number of children who are not underweight.
B : Provide health education to children aged 6-19.
C : Overweight youth aged 6-19 will increase the amount of time they exercise and will decrease
their caloric intake.
D : At the end of the fiscal year, 75% of overweight children in grades K-12 will have increased
the amount of time they exercise and decreased their caloric intake.
2. Problem:
Nationally, smoking results in more than 5.6 million years of potential lives lost each
year. Approximately 80% of adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18. Every
day, more than 2,000 young people under the age of 18 become daily smokers.
A: Decrease the number of youth in grades 9-12 who smoke cigarettes.
B: Provide smoking prevention programs.
C: Increase by 30% the number of children in grades 9-12 who do not smoke or use other
tobacco products.
D: Reduce the proportion of youth in grades 9-12 who do not abstain from smoking cigarettes or using
other tobacco products.
Problem:
In 1999, HIV was the fifth leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 25 and 44. Many of
these young adults were likely infected in their teens and twenties.

A : Reduce HIV infection in youth.
B : Promote sexuality education and HIV prevention education among youth.
C: 50% of all school districts will adopt HIV education curricula for students in grades 9-12.
D : Increase the proportion of youth in grades 9-12 who abstain from sexual intercourse or use condoms
if currently sexually active.

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Task. Listed below are some examples of goals. Related to this you are provided with some
guiding questions to help you formulate the objectives derived from these. Based on the
information provided in the tables, formulate the objectives.
Goal:
Research and create a natural habitat with hidden viewing locations during the project for a
family of four Koala bears with the result that the habitat is as close to the home territory of the
bears as possible

What will
happen
How will it be
accomplished
When
will it
happen
Who is
responsible
and who will
do the work.
how
many or
how
much
With what
result, outcome,
benefit
To research
the habitat of
Koala bears
Access National
geographic expert on
bears, consult with
wildlife agency head
and the bear expert
Project
coordinator and
animal
management
department
head
Habitat
for a
family
of four
bears
The flora,
geology, water
resources and
temperatures are
known for
habitat
Objective 1:

Example 2:
What will
happen
How will it be
accomplished
When
will it
happen
Who is
responsible
and who will
do the work.
For how
many or
how
much
With what
result, outcome,
benefit
to form a
committee of
curriculum
experts, etc.
gain commitment from 2
master teachers teachers,
2 librarians, 2 curriculum
coordinators, 2 education
professors
Project
coordinator
Set up
ten,
three
hour
sessions
The expert
committee is
established and
commitment is
gained from all
members for the
scheduled
meetings
Objective:

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3. SOME TIPS ON DESCRIBING ACTIVITIES:
Once you have developed your activities, it is helpful to write down details about them so that
you and other members of your project team will have a clear understanding of how and why
you are doing them. Specific bits of information that are helpful to write down for each activity
include:
Why do this activity? Explain how this activity links to the objective
How will the activity be carried out? List the tasks that need to be completed to achieve the
activity
Who is responsible for the activity? List who is responsible for undertaking the activity
When will the activity take place? Describe where the activity will take place
Underlying assumptions: list any assumptions underlying the activity
Prerequisites: List the tasks and events that need to occur before the activity can be
undertaken
Example: National Park Management Plan
Objective 1:
household demand
for cash
To provide 20% of gross revenue from Park entrance to the communities
that surround the National Park by the end of the third year of the
project (disbursement to community conservation and development
committees provided on capita basis)
Factor in
conceptual model
targeted by
objective
demand for cash
Project assumptions 1. During initial visits of the project team to the bordering communities
of the National Park, discussions with residents revealed that their
need for cash was a major factor causing them to keep large herds of
livestock, one of the major threats to the wildlife in the Park
2. The park is currently generating substantial revenues from foreign
and domestic tourists who come to see wildlife in the Park
3. community members are aware of of the large amounts of cash being
generated
4. the National Government is currently undertaking a series of
initiatives to resolve the control over local issues from the national to
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the local level
5. project staff have thus decided to affect the local demand for cash by
providing for revenue-sharing of funds from tourism in the National
Park with local people
Underlying
assumptions
1. 20% of gross revenue from the park will be sufficient to motivate
community members to protect the Park. Funds will be transferred
from WPS accounts to the community accounts on timely basis.
2. communities will find it acceptable to have the conservation and
development committees receive, manage and use the money
3. communities will spend the money equitably and wisely
Activity:
Produce revenue
sharing accord
Produce an official Government accord that provides for communities to
share the revenues generated by national parks and gives the National
Park the authority to manage such arrangements.
Why do this activity?
In order to allow communities to receive revenues generated from
National Parks National legislation must be enacted to permit this type
of revenue sharing management.
How will the activity be carried out?
IFS negotiates with ministries of tourism, natural resources
Who is responsible for the activity?
National Park Service Director
When will the activity take place?
Central offices of NSP in the capital
Underlying assumptions:
1. support for this type of legislation exist in the National
Government
2. passage of the legislation will be relatively easy
Prerequisites:
NSP director contacts key officials

TASK: based on the example above, describe a project activity.
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3. SOME BASIC VOCABULARY RELATED TO PROJECTS

TASK 1: Fill in the blanks using the words in the box:

up off out off out up off up

1. They've set .. a research project to investigate the harmful effects of air pollution.
2. For a project to formally begin in terms of initiation, it is necessary for the project sponsor, the
senior management and key stakeholders to sign the project charter ..
3. If you sign for an organization or if an organization signs you .., you sign a contract
officially agreeing to do a job or course of study.
4. If the initiation stage is put by stakeholders who do not reach consensus on a
projects final outcome, that means the project is delayed.
5. If you fill a form or other document requesting information, you write information in
the spaces on it.
6. If a company contracts .. work, they employ other companies to do it.
7. If you call .an event that has been planned, you cancel it.
8. Scope Management involves helping your organization decide on the criteria it wants to use to
select projects, then setting .. a process to select the projects an organization should
pursue.

TASK 2: Decide what is the best word collocating with the words in bold by taking into
account the context:
1. The ..date and a hard date can act as constraints on the project members and they
have to be mentioned in the Constraints section of the project charter.
2. Some deliverables can correspond to the project management process, whereas others are the
products or their components for which the project was conceived.

12

TASK 3: Fill in the blanks by finding out what the missing word is. Take into account that
you need to focus on derived words. (e.g. kickoff as a noun derived from to verb to kick off;
completion as a noun derived from the verb to complete)

13

TASK 4. Provide synonyms and antonyms for the words in bold.
When Barclays Bank contracted out its cleaning, the new company was cheaper. (1 syn, 1
ant.)
Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work. (1 syn)
He decided to postpone the expedition until the following day. (2 syn.)
There is normally no refund should a customer choose to cancel a project. (2 syn)
The project manager is identified and assigned during the initiation process. (1 syn)
Whenever a project begins, resources must be assigned. (2 syn)
Constructive criticism provided an input into the project decision-making process. (2 ant)
The Prime Minister has appointed a civilian as defence minister. (1 syn)
Fill out the application carefully, and keep copies of it. (1 syn)
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TASK 5. THE BUSINESS PLAN

15

TASK 6. TIME SEQUENCING (THE GANTT CHART)

Unit 1 - Project Management Vocabulary

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Regional Department of Defense Resources Management Studies, Brasov

Masters Program: Organization Resources Management

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