{"id":12302,"date":"2019-05-28T10:37:16","date_gmt":"2019-05-27T22:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.psoda.com\/global\/?p=12302"},"modified":"2021-03-31T20:44:29","modified_gmt":"2021-03-31T20:44:29","slug":"12-more-key-project-management-terms-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.psoda.com\/global\/2019\/05\/28\/12-more-key-project-management-terms-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"12 more key project management terms you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"<br \/>\n<style>#blog_feature_image {display:none;}<\/style>\n<p>When you\u2019re starting out in project management, it\u2019s really easy to become lost and confused by the lingo. To help you through the early days, we\u2019ve created Fundamentals of Project Management. It\u2019s a series of videos which talk you through the basics of project management.<br \/>\nOur latest episode is \u201c12 more key project management terms you should know\u201d. This is a follow-up from an earlier video sharing 12 key project management terms. \u00a0Watch the video below or read on.<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XiTQSWyODLg\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nYou\u2019ll find the original <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qTQsdJFG4SQ\">12 key project management terms video here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Acceptance criteria<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In simplest terms, this is a list of things that the product must do to be acceptable to the customer. They\u2019re defined during the business case and must be formally agreed yo between the supplier and customer. It\u2019s normal to get them signed off by both parties. A really basic example is \u201cthe cake must be edible\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Baseline<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A baseline is a line in the sand showing where a project, schedule, budget, etc. was at a specific point in time. Things can, and do, change after baselining but you have the baselined version to measure change against. I think that everything should be baselined only once, regardless of change, but others think that you can baseline multiple times, as long as all baselines are kept for reference.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Benefits<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Benefits are the advantage or positive change that will happen if the project succeeds. Projected project benefits are outlined in the business case and are used to justify the investment in the project.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Change control<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Change control is not to be confused with change management, although you\u2019ll often find that\u2019s the case. Change control is exactly what it says \u2013 how you control changes on your project. As a process it covers everything from project scope to time and everything in between.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Critical path<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Critical path or golden thread is the line that connects the start of the project through all the tasks, that if delayed or cancelled, would delay the entire project.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Interdependencies<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Interdependencies are pieces of work, either inside or outside of the project, that will impact on the delivery of your project or someone else\u2019s. It sounds really complicated but here\u2019s an example. You and your friend are making cakes but there\u2019s only one oven. Your friend\u2019s cake is due to finish baking 10 minutes before yours needs to go in the oven. You have a dependency on your friend, as you can\u2019t use the oven until he\u2019s finished. If he\u2019s late getting his cake in, yours will also be late.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Project sponsor<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The project sponsor, or, as they\u2019re also known as \u2013 the project executive, is the person who is ultimately accountable for the project\u2019s success, or failure. They\u2019re usually someone very senior and their job is to make sure the project does what it says it will do.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Project scope<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This is something you\u2019ll hear a lot about. Especially in the initial stages \u2013 and when people want to change things! An easy way to remember it is that in scope is a list of things the project WILL do. Out of scope is a list of things the project WON\u2019T do. Scope creep is when things get sneaked onto the WILL do list.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Quality assurance<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This is the process used on the project to make sure the product it delivers meets the required standard. It\u2019s documented in the business case and it will be checked throughout the project. It\u2019s sometimes called quality control \u2013 but that\u2019s a slightly different thing. Quality assurance is the process of ensuring quality, while quality control is checking that the product meets the quality standard. So testing is quality control, not quality assurance.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Stage gate <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A stage gate, or phase gate, is a boundary in the project. It\u2019s where a project transitions from one stage, or phase, to another. Gate, or phase, reviews normally happen at each gate and it\u2019s where the steering committee decides the fate of the project. Usually the decision\u2019s one of: can it move on, should it stay where it is, or should it be cancelled. The number of gates depends on your organisation\u2019s lifecycle.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Tolerances <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Tolerances are agreed limits that the project manager can operate within. What it means is that you don\u2019t have to continually go back to your sponsor or steering committee to approve every little thing, as long as it remains within the limit. Some example tolerances are budget: +\/- 10%, schedule: either a percentage or a fixed period of time. So +\/- 15% or 30 days, depending what is smaller. Risks: no more than 10 risks above medium.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Work package<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A work package is a formal document that the project manager gives the owner of a piece of work. It outlines exactly what is in and out of scope, how long the work should take, the expected outputs and the acceptance criteria.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nThese are just some more key terms that I think you should know if you\u2019re involved with projects.<br \/>\nThere are obviously loads more so let us know in the comments below what other terms you think are key.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Psoda plug<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re looking for a tool to help you manage your portfolios, programmes and projects, sign up for Psoda by clicking on the big red free trial button.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you\u2019re starting out in project management, it\u2019s really easy to become lost and confused by the lingo. To help you through the early days, we\u2019ve created Fundamentals of Project Management. It\u2019s a series of videos which talk you through the basics of project management. Our latest episode is \u201c12 more key project management terms <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psoda.com\/global\/2019\/05\/28\/12-more-key-project-management-terms-you-need-to-know\/\" class=\"more-link\">&#8230;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  12 more key project management terms you need to know<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":17028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-project-management"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Project management fundamentals: More key terms you need to know | Psoda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are you confused by the language of projects? 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