Project management

Terms related to project management, including definitions about project management methodologies and tools.

quality control (QC) - Quality control (QC) is a procedure or set of procedures intended to ensure that a manufactured product or performed service adheres to a defined set of quality criteria or meets the requirements of the client or customer.
rainmaker - A rainmaker is an individual who generates an unusually high amount of revenue for an organization by bringing new clients and new business to the company.
red teaming - Red teaming is the practice of rigorously challenging plans, policies, systems and assumptions by adopting an adversarial approach.
release - A release is the distribution of the final version or the newest version of a software application.
release plan - In agile software development, a release plan is an evolving flowchart that describes which features will be delivered in upcoming releases.
requirements analysis (requirements engineering) - Requirements analysis (requirements engineering) is the process of determining user expectations for a new or modified product.
resource allocation - Resource allocation is the process of assigning and managing assets in a manner that supports an organization's strategic planning goals.
resource contention - In computing, 'resource contention' refers to a conflict over a shared resource between several components.
Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) - A Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) is one in which the most important criteria for evaluating employee performance is the completion of satisfactory work on time.
RS Means - RS Means is a division of Reed Business Information that provides cost information to the construction industry so contractors in the industry can provide accurate estimates and projections for their project costs.
scope creep - Scope creep in project management is the gradual expansion of functions or adding features, functions or other deliverables beyond a project's original parameters.
segregation of duties (SoD) - Segregation of duties (SoD) is an internal control designed to prevent error and fraud by ensuring that at least two individuals are responsible for the separate parts of any task.
SIPOC (suppliers, inputs, process, outputs, customers) diagram - A SIPOC (suppliers, inputs, process, outputs, customers) diagram is a visual tool for documenting a business process from beginning to end prior to implementation.
Six Sigma - Six Sigma is a business methodology for quality improvement that measures how many defects there are in a current process and seeks to systematically eliminate them.
Software Process Improvement and Capability Determination (SPICE) - Software Process Improvement and Capability Determination (SPICE) is an international framework to assess software development processes.
software requirements specification (SRS) - A software requirements specification (SRS) is a comprehensive description of the intended purpose and environment for software under development.
stakeholder - A stakeholder is a person, group or organization with a vested interest, or stake, in the decision-making and activities of a business, organization or project.
stand-up - In agile software development, a stand-up is a daily progress meeting, traditionally held within a development area.
startup culture - A startup culture is a workplace environment that values creative problem-solving, open communication and a flat hierarchy.
state diagram (state machine diagram or statechart diagram) - A state diagram (also known as a state machine or statechart diagram) is an illustration of all the possible behavioral states a software system component may exhibit and the various state changes it's predicted to undergo over the course of its operations.
steering committee - A steering committee comprises a group of high-ranking IT professionals who provide guidance and strategic direction to an organization or organizational segment.
sunsetting - Sunsetting is the intentional phasing out or termination of something, and in business, the term is used often regarding brands, partnerships, agreements, policies, and hardware and software.
system of systems (SoS) - A system of systems (SoS) is the collection of multiple, independent systems in context as part of a larger, more complex system.
T-shaped employee - A T-shaped employee, in the context of human resources, is an individual who has a depth of knowledge as well as skills in a particular area of specialization.
team collaboration - Team collaboration is a communication and project management approach that emphasizes teamwork, innovative thinking and equal participation to achieve objectives.
team collaboration tools - Team collaboration tools -- also known as team collaboration software -- is a term used to define the different types of software and online services available to companies and individuals that enable them to feasibly work together on common projects, regardless of their physical location.
The Phoenix Project - The Phoenix Project is a best-selling novel about DevOps.
think tank - A think tank is an organization that gathers a group of interdisciplinary scholars to perform research around particular policies, issues or ideas.
third party - A third party is an entity that is involved in some way in an interaction that is primarily between two other entities.
time management - Time management is the coordination of tasks and activities to maximize the effectiveness of an individual's efforts.
timebox - In agile software development, a timebox is a defined period of time during which a task must be accomplished.
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Toyota Way - The Toyota Way is a comprehensive expression of the company's management philosophy, which is based on the two foundational pillars of Continuous Improvement, also known as kaizen, and Respect for People.
triage in IT - Triage is a term referring to the assignment of priority levels to tasks or individuals to determine the most effective order in which to deal with them.
triple constraint - The triple constraint is a model that describes the three most significant restrictions on any project: scope, schedule and cost.
two pizza rule - The two pizza rule is a guideline for limiting the number of attendees at a meeting.
Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze (Kurt Lewin Change Management Model) - Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze or Kurt Lewin's Change Management Model is a model to understand and manage organizational change.
unique selling point (USP) - A unique selling point (USP), also called a unique selling proposition, is a marketing statement that differentiates a product or brand from its competitors.
use case diagram (UML use case diagram) - A use case diagram is a way to summarize details of a system and the users within that system.
validated learning - Validated learning is an approach to demonstrating progress against business goals when traditional key performance indicators (KPIs) are not very useful.
vision statement - A vision statement is an organization's declaration of its mid-term and long-term goals, stating what they want to become in the future.
voice of the customer (VOC) - Voice of the customer (VOC) is the component of customer experience that focuses on customer needs, wants, expectations and preferences.
VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) - VUCA is an acronym that stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity -- qualities that make a situation or condition difficult to analyze, respond to or plan for.
What is a class diagram? - A class diagram is an illustration of the relationships and source code dependencies among classes in the Unified Modeling Language (UML).
What is a functional specification document? - A functional specification is a formal document used to describe a product's intended capabilities, appearance and interactions with users in detail for software developers.
What is a PERT chart? And how to use it, with examples - A PERT chart, sometimes called a PERT diagram, is a project management tool used to schedule, organize and coordinate tasks in a project.
What is a PMO (project management office)? - A project management office (PMO) is a group, agency or department that defines and maintains the standards of project management for a company.
What is a product owner? - A product owner is a role on a Scrum team that is responsible for the project's outcome.
What is a quality gate? - A quality gate is a milestone in an IT project that requires that predefined criteria be met before the project can proceed to the next phase.
What is a startup accelerator? - A startup accelerator, sometimes referred to as a seed accelerator, is a business program that supports early-stage, growth-driven companies through education, mentorship and financing.
What is a startup company? - A startup company is a newly formed business with particular momentum behind it based on perceived demand for its product or service.
What is an organizational goal? - Organizational goals are strategic objectives that a company's management establishes to outline expected outcomes and guide employees' efforts toward the achievement of those outcomes.
What is business process management? A guide to BPM - Business process management (BPM) is a structured approach to improving the processes organizations use to get work done, serve their customers and generate business value.
What is continuous integration (CI)? - Continuous integration (CI) is a software development practice in which frequent and incremental changes are routinely added (integrated) to the complete codebase immediately after the changes and additions are tested and validated.
What is contract lifecycle management? - Contract lifecycle management (CLM) is a systematic approach to managing a business contract at each stage.
What is corporate performance management (CPM)? - Corporate performance management (CPM) encompasses the processes and methodologies used to align an organization's strategies and goals to its plans and actions as a business.
What is DevOps? Meaning, methodology and guide - The word 'DevOps' is a combination of the terms 'development' and 'operations,' meant to represent a collaborative or shared approach to the tasks performed by a company's application development and IT operations teams.
What is PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act)? - PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act, sometimes seen as Plan, Do, Check, Adjust) is a repetitive four-stage model for continuous improvement in business process management.
What is ROI? How to calculate return on investment - Return on investment (ROI) is a crucial financial metric investors and businesses use to evaluate an investment's efficiency or compare the efficiencies of several different investments.
What is SAP Project System (SAP PS)? - SAP Project System is a module in the SAP ERP system that enables tightly controlled project management from planning to completion.
What is systems development life cycle? - The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a conceptual model used in project management that describes the stages involved in an information system development project -- from an initial feasibility study all the way through maintenance of the completed application.
What is the risk-reward ratio? - The risk-reward ratio, also known as a risk-return ratio, is a mathematical calculation investors use to measure the expected gains of a given investment against the risk of loss.
What is the triple bottom line (TBL)? - The triple bottom line (TBL) is a sustainability-based accounting framework that includes social, environmental and financial factors as bottom-line categories.
What is user acceptance testing (UAT)? - User acceptance testing (UAT), also called application testing or end-user testing, is a phase of software development in which the software is tested in the real world by its intended audience.
What is white box testing? - White box testing is a software testing methodology in which the code structure is known and understood by the tester.
workflow - Workflow is the series of activities that are necessary to complete a task.
workflow management - Workflow management is the discipline of creating, documenting, monitoring and improving upon the series of steps, or workflow, that is required to complete a specific task.