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Project Scheduling Glossary


  1. Activity: A task or work item that needs to be completed as part of a project.

  2. Actual Finish Date: The date on which an activity was actually completed.

  3. Actual Start Date: The date on which an activity was actually started.

  4. Activity Duration: The time required to complete an activity, including all necessary resources.

  5. Agile: An iterative approach to project management that emphasizes flexibility and responsiveness to change.

  6. Backward Pass: The process of calculating late start and late finish times for activities in a project schedule.

  7. Baseline: A set of original project plans, schedules, and budgets used as a reference for future comparison.

  8. Budget: The total amount of money allocated for a project.

  9. Calendar: A schedule of working days and holidays used for planning and scheduling activities.

  10. Cost Variance (CV): The difference between the earned value and the actual cost of a project.

  11. Critical Path: The sequence of activities that must be completed on time for a project to finish on schedule.

  12. Critical Chain Method: A project management technique that focuses on managing the availability of resources to minimize the duration of the project. 38

  13. Deliverable: A tangible or intangible item that is produced as a result of completing an activity or a project.

  14. Dependency: A relationship between two activities, where the completion of one activity depends on the completion of another.

  15. Duration: The length of time required to complete an activity.

  16. Earned Value: A method for measuring progress by comparing the actual cost and schedule performance against the planned values.

  17. Effort: The amount of work required to complete an activity, typically measured in person-hours or person-days.

  18. Early Start: The earliest possible start date for an activity, based on its dependencies and duration.

  19. Estimate: An approximation of the time or cost required to complete an activity or a project.

  20. Estimate to Complete (ETC): An estimate of the remaining cost to complete an activity or a project.

  21. Estimate at Completion (EAC): An estimate of the total cost of completing a project based on actual performance to date.

  22. Finish-to-Start (FS): A dependency relationship where the finish of one activity triggers the start of another.

  23. Float: The amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the project deadline.

  24. Forward Pass: The process of calculating early start and early finish times for activities in a project schedule.

  25. Forecast: A prediction of future project performance based on current trends and historical data.

  26. Gantt Chart: A visual representation of a project schedule that shows tasks, dependencies, durations, and milestones.

  27. Hammock Activity: A summary activity that represents a group of related activities.

  28. Lag Time: A period of delay between the completion of one activity and the start of another.

  29. Late Start: The latest possible start date for an activity, based on its dependencies and duration.

  30. Lead Time: The amount of time by which a successor activity can be advanced in relation to its predecessor activity.

  31. Milestone: A significant event or achievement in a project that marks progress towards the project's goals.

  32. Network Diagram: A graphical representation of a project schedule that shows activities as nodes and dependencies as arrows.

  33. PERT Chart: A type of network diagram that uses three time estimates (optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely) to calculate the expected duration of an activity.

  34. Predecessor: An activity that must be completed before another activity can begin.

  35. Project Management: The process of planning, organizing, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals and objectives.

  36. Project Plan: A document that outlines the scope, objectives, deliverables, resources, and schedule of a project.

  37. Performance Index (PI): A measure of project efficiency that compares the value of work completed to the cost of work performed.

  38. Planned Value (PV): The estimated value of the work that should have been completed to date, based on the project schedule.

  39. Resource: A person, material, or equipment required to complete an activity.

  40. Resource Allocation: The process of assigning resources to activities in a project.

  41. Resource Leveling: The process of adjusting a project schedule to resolve resource conflicts and ensure optimal resource utilization.

  42. Risk: A potential event or circumstance that could have a negative impact on a project.

  43. Rolling Wave Planning: A technique used to plan project activities in detail for the near term while leaving activities further in the future at a higher level of detail.

  44. Schedule: A plan that defines the start and finish dates of activities in a project.

  45. Schedule Variance: The difference between the planned schedule and the actual schedule for a project.

  46. Slack: The amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the overall project schedule.

  47. Start-to-Start (SS): A dependency relationship where the start of one activity triggers the start of another.

  48. Schedule Compression: A technique used to shorten the project schedule by reducing the duration of activities.

  49. Schedule Variance (SV): The difference between the planned value and the earned value of a project.

  50. Successor: An activity that cannot begin until another activity is completed.

  51. Task: A specific work item or activity that needs to be completed as part of a project.

  52. Timeline: A graphical representation of a project schedule that shows the start and finish dates of activities.

  53. Total Float: The amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the start date of its successor.

  54. Timebox: A fixed period of time allocated for completing a set of activities.

  55. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS): A hierarchical decomposition of a project into smaller, manageable work packages.

  56. Lead Time: A period of overlap between the completion of one activity and the start of another.

  57. Level of Effort (LOE): A type of activity that does not have a specific output or deliverable, but is required to support other activities in a project.

  58. Schedule Compression: The process of shortening the duration of a project schedule without compromising its quality or scope.

  59. Schedule Management Plan: A document that outlines the processes and procedures for managing a project schedule.

  60. Schedule Performance Index (SPI): A measure of schedule efficiency in a project, calculated as the ratio of earned value to planned value.


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1 Comment


Doberman
Dec 23, 2023

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