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Assumption
Theremaybeexternalcircumstancesoreventsthatmustoccurfortheprojecttobesuccessful
(orthatshouldhappentoincreaseyourchancesofsuccess).Ifyoubelievethattheprobability
oftheeventoccurringisacceptable,youcouldlistitasanassumption.Anassumptionhasa
probabilitybetween0and100%.Thatis,itisnotimpossiblethattheeventwilloccur(0%)andit
isnotafact(100%).Itissomewhereinbetween.Assumptionsareimportantbecausetheyset
thecontextinwhichtheentireremainderoftheprojectisdefined.Ifanassumptiondoesn't
comethrough,theestimateandtherestoftheprojectdefinitionmaynolongerbevalid.

Client/Customers
Thepersonorgroupthatisthedirectbeneficiaryofaprojectorserviceistheclient/customer.
Thesearethepeopleforwhomtheprojectisbeingundertaken(indirectbeneficiariesare
stakeholders).Inmanyorganizations,internalbeneficiariesarecalled"clients"andexternal
beneficiariesarecalled"customers,"butthisisnotahardandfastrule.

Constraints
Constraintsarelimitationsthatareoutsidethecontroloftheprojectteamandneedtobe
managedaround.Theyarenotnecessarilyproblems.However,theprojectmanagershouldbe
awareofconstraintsbecausetheyrepresentlimitationsthattheprojectmustexecutewithin.
Dateconstraints,forinstance,implythatcertainevents(perhapstheendoftheproject)must
occurbycertaindates.Resourcesarealmostalwaysaconstraint,sincetheyarenotavailable
inanunlimitedsupply.

Criticalpath
Thecriticalpathisthesequenceofactivitiesthatmustbecompletedonschedulefortheentire
projecttobecompletedonschedule.Itisthelongestdurationpaththroughtheworkplan.Ifan
activityonthecriticalpathisdelayedbyoneday,theentireprojectwillbedelayedbyoneday
(unlessanotheractivityonthecriticalpathcanbeacceleratedbyoneday).

Deliverable
Adeliverableisanytangibleoutcomethatisproducedbytheproject.Allprojectscreate
deliverables.Thesecanbedocuments,plans,computersystems,buildings,aircraft,etc.
Internaldeliverablesareproducedasaconsequenceofexecutingtheprojectandareusually
neededonlybytheprojectteam.Externaldeliverablesarethosethatarecreatedforclientsand
stakeholders.Yourprojectmaycreateoneormanydeliverables.

Functionalmanager
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Thefunctionalmanageristhepersonyoureporttowithinyourfunctionalorganization.Typically,
thisisthepersonwhodoesyourperformancereview.Theprojectmanagermayalsobea
functionalmanager,butheorshedoesnothavetobe.Ifyourprojectmanagerisdifferentfrom
yourfunctionalmanager,yourorganizationisprobablyutilizingmatrixmanagement.

Ganttchart
AGanttchartisabarchartthatdepictsactivitiesasblocksovertime.Thebeginningandendof
theblockcorrespondtothebeginningandenddateoftheactivity.

Issue
Anissueisamajorproblemthatwillimpedetheprogressoftheprojectandthatcan'tbe
resolvedbytheprojectmanagerandprojectteamwithoutoutsidehelp.Projectmanagers
shouldproactivelydealwithissuesthroughadefinedissuesmanagementprocess.

Lifecycle
Lifecyclereferstotheprocessusedtobuildthedeliverablesproducedbytheproject.Thereare
manymodelsforaprojectlifecycle.Forsoftwaredevelopment,theentirelifecyclemightconsist
ofplanning,analysis,design,construct/test,implementation,andsupport.Thisisanexampleof
a"waterfall"lifecycle.Otherlifecyclesincludeiterativedevelopment,packageimplementation,
andresearchanddevelopment.Eachoftheselifecyclemodelsrepresentsanapproachto
buildingthedeliverablesonyourproject.

Milestone
Amilestoneisaschedulingeventthatsignifiesthecompletionofamajordeliverableorasetof
relateddeliverables.Amilestone,bydefinition,hasdurationofzeroandnoeffort.Thereisno
workassociatedwithamilestone.Itisaflagintheworkplantosignifythatsomeotherworkhas
completed.Usually,amilestoneisusedasaprojectcheckpointtovalidatehowtheprojectis
progressing.Inmanycasesthereisadecision,suchasvalidatingthattheprojectisreadyto
proceedfurther,thatneedstobemadeatamilestone.

Objective
Anobjectiveisaconcretestatementthatdescribeswhattheprojectistryingtoachieve.The
objectiveshouldbewrittenatalowlevel,sothatitcanbeevaluatedattheconclusionofa
projecttoseewhetheritwasachieved.Projectsuccessisdeterminedbasedonwhetherthe
projectobjectiveswereachieved.Atechniqueforwritinganobjectiveistomakesureit
isSpecific,Measurable,Attainable/Achievable,Realistic,andTimebound(SMART).

Program
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Aprogramistheumbrellastructureestablishedtomanageaseriesofrelatedprojects.The
programdoesnotproduceanyprojectdeliverables.Theprojectteamsproducethemall.The
purposeoftheprogramistoprovideoveralldirectionandguidance,tomakesuretherelated
projectsarecommunicatingeffectively,toprovideacentralpointofcontactandfocusforthe
clientandtheprojectteams,andtodeterminehowindividualprojectsshouldbedefinedto
ensurethatalltheworkgetscompletedsuccessfully.

Programmanager
Aprogrammanageristhepersonwiththeauthoritytomanageaprogram.(Notethatthisisa
role.Theprogrammanagermayalsoberesponsibleforoneormoreoftheprojectswithinthe
program.)Theprogrammanagerleadstheoverallplanningandmanagementoftheprogram.
Allprojectmanagerswithintheprogramreporttotheprogrammanager.

Project
Aprojectisatemporarystructuretoorganizeandmanageworkandultimatelytobuilda
specificdefineddeliverableorsetofdeliverables.Bydefinition,allprojectsareunique,whichis
onereasonitisdifficulttocomparedifferentprojectstooneanother.

Projectdefinition(charter)
Beforeyoustartaproject,itisimportanttoknowtheoverallobjectivesoftheproject,aswellas
thescope,deliverables,risks,assumptions,projectorganizationchart,etc.Theprojectdefinition
(orcharter)isthedocumentthatholdsthisrelevantinformation.Theprojectmanageris
responsibleforcreatingtheprojectdefinition.Thedocumentshouldbeapprovedbythesponsor
tosignifythattheprojectmanagerandthesponsorareinagreementontheseimportant
aspectsoftheproject.

Projectmanager
Theprojectmanageristhepersonwiththeauthoritytomanageaproject.Theprojectmanager
is100percentresponsiblefortheprocessesusedtomanagetheproject.Heorshealsohas
peoplemanagementresponsibilitiesforteammembers,althoughthisissharedwiththeteam
member'sfunctionalmanager.Theprocessesusedtomanagetheprojectincludedefiningthe
work,buildingtheworkplanandbudget,managingtheworkplanandbudget,scope
management,issuesmanagement,riskmanagement,etc.

Projectphase
Aphaseisamajorlogicalgroupingofworkonaproject.Italsorepresentsthecompletionofa
majordeliverableorsetofrelateddeliverables.OnanITdevelopmentproject,logicalphases
mightbeplanning,analysis,design,construct(includingtesting),andimplementation.

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Projectteam
Theprojectteamconsistsofthefulltimeandparttimeresourcesassignedtoworkonthe
deliverablesoftheproject.Theyareresponsibleforunderstandingtheworktobecompleted
completingassignedworkwithinthebudget,timeline,andqualityexpectationsinformingthe
projectmanagerofissues,scopechanges,andriskandqualityconcernsandproactively
communicatingstatusandmanagingexpectations.

Requirements
Requirementsaredescriptionsofhowaproductorserviceshouldact,appear,orperform.
Requirementsgenerallyrefertothefeaturesandfunctionsofthedeliverablesyouarebuilding
onyourproject.Requirementsareconsideredtobeapartofprojectscope.Highlevelscopeis
definedinyourprojectdefinition(charter).Therequirementsformthedetailedscope.Afteryour
requirementsareapproved,theycanbechangedthroughthescopechangemanagement
process.

Risk
Theremaybepotentialexternaleventsthatwillhaveanegativeimpactonyourprojectifthey
occur.Riskreferstothecombinationoftheprobabilitytheeventwilloccurandtheimpactonthe
projectiftheeventoccurs.Ifthecombinationoftheprobabilityoftheoccurrenceandtheimpact
totheprojectistoohigh,youshouldidentifythepotentialeventasariskandputaproactive
planinplacetomanagetherisk.

Scope
Scopeisthewayyoudescribetheboundariesoftheproject.Itdefineswhattheprojectwill
deliverandwhatitwillnotdeliver.Highlevelscopeissetinyourprojectdefinition(charter)and
includesallofyourdeliverablesandtheboundariesofyourproject.Thedetailedscopeis
identifiedthroughyourbusinessrequirements.Anychangestoyourprojectdeliverables,
boundaries,orrequirementswouldrequireapprovalthroughscopechangemanagement.

Scopechangemanagement
Thepurposeofscopechangemanagementistomanagechangethatoccurstopreviously
approvedscopestatementsandrequirements.Scopeisdefinedandapprovedinthescope
sectionoftheprojectdefinition(charter)andthemoredetailedbusinessrequirements.Ifthe
scopeorthebusinessrequirementschangeduringtheproject(andusuallythismeansthatthe
clientwantsadditionalitems),theestimatesforcost,effort,anddurationmaynolongerbevalid.
Ifthesponsoragreestoincludethenewworkintheprojectscope,theprojectmanagerhasthe
righttoexpectthatthecurrentbudgetanddeadlinewillbemodified(usuallyincreased)toreflect
thisadditionalwork.Thisnewestimatedcost,effort,anddurationnowbecometheapproved
target.
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Sometimestheprojectmanagerthinksthatscopemanagementmeanshavingtotelltheclient
"no."Thatmakestheprojectmanagernervousanduncomfortable.However,thegoodnewsis
thatmanagingscopeisallaboutgettingthesponsortomakethedecisionsthatwillresultin
changestoprojectscope.

Sponsor(executivesponsorandprojectsponsor)
Thesponsoristhepersonwhohasultimateauthorityovertheproject.Theexecutivesponsor
providesprojectfunding,resolvesissuesandscopechanges,approvesmajordeliverables,and
provideshighleveldirection.Heorshealsochampionstheprojectwithintheorganization.
Dependingontheprojectandtheorganizationalleveloftheexecutivesponsor,heorshemay
delegatedaytodaytacticalmanagementtoaprojectsponsor.Ifassigned,theprojectsponsor
representstheexecutivesponsoronadaytodaybasisandmakesmostofthedecisions
requiringsponsorapproval.Ifthedecisionislargeenough,theprojectsponsorwilltakeittothe
executivesponsor.

Stakeholder
Specificpeopleorgroupswhohaveastakeintheoutcomeoftheprojectarestakeholders.
Normallystakeholdersarefromwithinthecompanyandmayincludeinternalclients,
management,employees,administrators,etc.Aprojectcanalsohaveexternalstakeholders,
includingsuppliers,investors,communitygroups,andgovernmentorganizations.

Steeringcommittee
Asteeringcommitteeisusuallyagroupofhighlevelstakeholderswhoareresponsiblefor
providingguidanceonoverallstrategicdirection.Theydon'ttaketheplaceofasponsorbuthelp
spreadthestrategicinputandbuyintoalargerportionoftheorganization.Thesteering
committeeisespeciallyvaluableifyourprojecthasanimpactinmultipleorganizationsbecause
itallowsinputfromthoseorganizationsintodecisionsthataffectthem.

Workplan(schedule)
Theprojectworkplantellsyouhowyouwillcompletetheproject.Itdescribestheactivities
required,thesequenceofthework,whoisassignedtothework,anestimateofhowmucheffort
isrequired,whentheworkisdue,andotherinformationofinteresttotheprojectmanager.The
workplanallowstheprojectmanagertoidentifytheworkrequiredtocompletetheprojectand
alsoallowstheprojectmanagertomonitortheworktodeterminewhethertheprojectison
schedule.

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