PMP GLOSSARY (from L to N )

Lag. The amount of time whereby a successor activity is required to be delayed with respect to a predecessor activity.

Late Finish Date (LF). In the critical path method, the latest possible point in time when the uncompleted portions of a schedule activity can finish based on the schedule network logic, the project completion date, and any schedule constraints.

Late Start Date (LS). In the critical path method, the latest possible point in time when the uncompleted portions of a schedule activity can start based on the schedule network logic, the project completion date, and any schedule constraints.

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

Lessons Learned. The knowledge gained during a project which shows how project events were addressed or should be addressed in the future with the purpose of improving future performance.

Lessons Learned Knowledge Base. A store of historical information and lessons learned about both the outcomes of previous project selection decisions and previous project performance.

Level of Effort (LOE). An activity that does not produce definitive end products and is measured by the passage of time. [Note: Level of effort is one of three earned valued management (EVM) types of activities used to measure work performance.]

Leveling. See resource leveling.

Life Cycle. See project life cycle.

Log. A document used to record and describe or denote selected items identified during execution of a process or activity. Usually used with a modifier, such as issue, quality control, action, or defect.

Logical Relationship. A dependency between two activities, or between an activity and a milestone.

Majority. Support from more than 50 percent of the members of the group.

Make-or-Buy Analysis. The process of gathering and organizing data about product requirements and analyzing them against available alternatives including the purchase or internal manufacture of the product.

Make-or-Buy Decisions. Decisions made regarding the external purchase or internal manufacture of a product.

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

Manage Project Team. The process of tracking team member performance, providing feedback, resolving issues, and managing team changes to optimize project performance.

Manage Stakeholder Engagement. 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.

Management Reserve. An amount of the project budget withheld for management control purposes. These are budgets reserved for unforeseen work that is within scope of the project. The management reserve is not included in the performance measurement baseline (PMB).

Management Skills. The ability to plan, organize, direct, and control individuals or groups of people to achieve specific goals.

Mandatory Dependency. A relationship that is contractually required or inherent in the nature of the work.

Market Research. The process of gathering information at conferences, online reviews, and a variety of sources to identify market capabilities.

Master Schedule. A summary-level project schedule that identifies the major deliverables and work breakdown structure components and key schedule milestones. See also milestone schedule.

Material. The aggregate of things used by an organization in any undertaking, such as equipment, apparatus, tools, machinery, gear, material, and supplies.

Matrix Diagrams. A quality management and control tool used to perform data analysis within the organizational structure created in the matrix. The matrix diagram seeks to show the strength of relationships between factors, causes, and objectives that exist between the rows and columns that form the matrix.

Matrix Organization. Any organizational structure in which the project manager shares responsibility with the functional managers for assigning priorities and for directing the work of persons assigned to the project.

Methodology. A system of practices, techniques, procedures, and rules used by those who work in a discipline.

Milestone. A significant point or event in a project, program, or portfolio.

Milestone List. A list identifying all project milestones and normally indicates whether the milestone is mandatory or optional.

Milestone Schedule. A summary-level schedule that identifies the major schedule milestones. See also master schedule.

Monitor. Collect project performance data with respect to a plan, produce performance measures, and report and disseminate performance information.

Monitor and Control Project Work. The process of tracking, reviewing, and reporting the progress to meet the performance objectives defined in the project management plan.

Monitoring and Controlling Process Group. 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.

Monte Carlo Simulation. A process which generates hundreds or thousands of probable performance outcomes based on probability distributions for cost and schedule on individual tasks. The outcomes are then used to generate a probability distribution for the project as a whole.

Most Likely Duration. An estimate of the most probable activity duration that takes into account all of the known variables that could affect performance.

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis. This technique 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.

Near-Critical Activity. A schedule activity that has low total float. The concept of near-critical is equally applicable to a schedule activity or schedule network path. The limit below which total float is considered near critical is subject to expert judgment and varies from project to project.

Negotiated Settlements. The process of reaching final equitable settlement of all outstanding issues, claims, and disputes through negotiation.

Negotiation. The process and activities to resolving disputes through consultations between involved parties.

Network. See project schedule network diagram.

Network Analysis. See schedule network analysis.

Network Logic. The collection of schedule activity dependencies that makes up a project schedule network diagram.

Network Path. Any continuous series of schedule activities connected with logical relationships in a project schedule network diagram.

Networking. Establishing connections and relationships with other people from the same or other organizations.

Node. One of the defining points of a schedule network; a junction point joined to some or all of the other dependency lines.

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

Nonconformance Work. In the cost of quality framework, nonconformance work is done to deal with the consequences of errors and failures in doing activities correctly on the first attempt. In efficient quality management systems, the amount of nonconformance work will approach zero.

 

PMP GLOSSARY (from G to I )

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

Grade. A category or rank used to distinguish items that have the same functional use (e.g., “hammer”) but do not share the same requirements for quality (e.g., different hammers may need to withstand different amounts of force).

Ground Rules. Expectations regarding acceptable behavior by project team members.

Group Creativity Techniques. Techniques that are used to generate ideas within a group of stakeholders.

Group Decision-Making Techniques. Techniques to assess multiple alternatives that will be used to generate, classify, and prioritize product requirements.

Guideline. An official recommendation or advice that indicates policies, standards, or procedures for how something should be accomplished.

Hammock Activity. See summary activity.

Hard Logic. See mandatory dependency.

Histogram. A special form of bar chart used to describe the central tendency, dispersion, and shape of a statistical distribution.

Historical Information. Documents and data on prior projects including project files, records, correspondence, closed contracts, and closed projects.

Human Resource Management Plan. A component of the project management plan that describes how the roles and responsibilities, reporting relationships, and staff management will be addressed and structured.

Idea/Mind Mapping. Technique used to consolidate ideas created through individual brainstorming sessions into a single map to reflect commonality and differences in understanding and to generate new ideas.

Identify Risks. The process of determining which risks may affect the project and documenting their characteristics.

Identify Stakeholders. The process of identifying the people, groups, or organizations that could impact or be impacted by a decision, activity, or outcome of the project; and analyzing and documenting relevant information regarding their interests, involvement, interdependencies, influence, and potential impact on project success.

Imposed Date. A fixed date imposed on a schedule activity or schedule milestone, usually in the form of a “start no earlier than” and “finish no later than” date.

Incentive Fee. A set of financial incentives related to cost, schedule, or technical performance of the seller.

Incremental Life Cycle. A project life cycle where 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 increases. Iterations develop the product through a series of repeated cycles, while increments successively add to the functionality of the product.

Independent Estimates. A process of using a third party to obtain and analyze information to support prediction of cost, schedule, or other items.

Influence Diagram. A graphical representation of situations showing causal influences, time ordering of events, and other relationships among variables and outcomes.

Information Gathering Techniques. Repeatable processes used to assemble and organize data across a spectrum of sources.

Information Management Systems. Facilities, processes, and procedures used to collect, store, and distribute information between producers and consumers of information in physical or electronic format.

Initiating Process Group. Those processes performed to define a new project or a new phase of an existing project by obtaining authorization to start the project or phase.

Input. Any item, whether internal or external to the project that is required by a process before that process proceeds. May be an output from a predecessor process.

Inspection. Examining or measuring to verify whether an activity, component, product, result, or service conforms to specified requirements.

Inspections and Audits. A process to observe performance of contracted work or a promised product against agreed-upon requirements.

Interpersonal Skills. Ability to establish and maintain relationships with other people.

Interrelationship Digraphs. A quality management planning tool, the interrelationship digraphs provide a process for creative problem-solving in moderately complex scenarios that possess intertwined logical relationships.

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

Invitation for Bid (IFB). Generally, this term is equivalent to request for proposal. However, in some application areas, it may have a narrower or more specific meaning.

Issue. A point or matter in question or in dispute, or a point or matter that is not settled and is under discussion or over which there are opposing views or disagreements.

Issue Log. A project document used to document and monitor elements under discussion or in dispute between project stakeholders.

Iterative Life Cycle. A project life cycle where 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 increases. Iterations develop the product through a series of repeated cycles, while increments successively add to the functionality of the product.