Project Management Glossary
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Capability Maturity Model (CMM): a five-level model laying out a generic path to process improvement for software development in organizations

Cash flow analysis: a method for deter mining the estimated annual costs and benefits for a project

Change control board (CCB): a formal group of people responsible for approving or rejecting changes on a project

Change control system: a formal, documented process that describes when and how official project documents may be changed

Closing processes: formalizing acceptance of the project or phase and bringing it to an orderly end

COCOMO II: a newer, computerized cost- estimating tool based on Boehm’s original model that allows one to estimate the cost, effort, and schedule when planning a new software development activity



Coercive power: using punishment, threats, or other negative approaches to get people to do things they do not want to do

Communications infrastructure: a set of tools, techniques, and principles that provide a foundation for the effective transfer of information among people

Communications management plan: a document that guides project communications

Communications planning: determining the information and communications needs of the stakeholders: who needs what information, when will they need it, and how will the information be given to them

Compromise mode: using a give-and-take approach to resolving conflicts. Bargaining and searching for solutions that bring some degree of satisfaction to all the parties in a dispute

Computerized tools: cost-estimating tools that use computer software, such as spread sheets and project management software

Configuration management: a process that ensures that the descriptions of the project’s products are correct and complete

Conformance: delivering products that meet requirements and fitness for use

Conformance to requirements: the project processes and products meet written specifications

Confrontation mode: directly facing a conflict using a problem-solving approach that allows affected parties to work through their disagreements

Constructive change orders: oral or written acts or omissions by someone with actual or apparent authority that can be construed to have the same effect as a written change order

Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO): a parametric model developed by Barry Boehm for estimating software development costs

Contingency plans: predefined actions that the project team will take if an identified risk event occurs

Contingency reserves: dollars included in a cost estimate to allow for future situations that may be partially planned for (some times called known unknowns) and are included in the project cost baseline

Contract: a mutually binding agreement that obligates the supplier to provide the specified products or services, and obligates the buyer to pay for them

Contract administration: managing the relationship with the supplier

Contract close-out: completion and settlement of the contract, including resolution of any open items

Control chart: a graphic display of data that illustrates the results of a process over time

Controlling processes: actions to ensure that project objectives are met

Cost budgeting: allocating the overall cost estimate to individual work items to establish a baseline for measuring performance

Cost control: controlling changes to the project budget

Cost estimating: developing an approximation or estimate of the costs of the resources needed to complete the project

Cost management plan: a document that describes how cost variances will be man aged on the project

Cost of nonconformance: taking responsibility for failures or not meeting quality expectations

Cost of quality: the cost of conformance plus the cost of nonconformance

Cost performance index (CPI): the ratio of earned value to actual cost; can be used to estimate the projected cost to complete the project

Cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) contract: a contract in which the buyer pays the supplier for allowable performance costs plus a fixed fee payment usually based on a percentage of estimated costs

Cost plus incentive fee (CPIF) contract: a contract in which the buyer pays the supplier for allowable performance costs along with a predetermined fee and an incentive bonus

Cost plus percentage of costs (CPPC) contract: a contract in which the buyer pays the supplier for allowable performance costs along with a predetermined percent age based on total costs

Cost reimbursable contracts: contracts involving payment to the supplier for direct and indirect actual costs

Cost variance (CV): the earned value minus the actual cost

Crashing: a technique for making cost and schedule tradeoffs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost

Critical chain: a method of scheduling that takes limited resources into account when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date.

Critical path: the series of activities in a project network diagram that determines the earliest completion of the project. It is the longest path through the network diagram and has the least amount of slack or float.

Critical path method (CPM) or critical path analysis: a project network analysis technique used to predict total project duration.

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Updated: Thursday, August 21, 2008 16:23