Project: A temporary effort to create a unique product, service or result
Project manager: Person responsible for leading a project to its goals
Stakeholder: Anyone affected by or interested in the project
Sponsor: The person who funds and champions a project
Scope: The work that must be done to deliver the project
Scope creep: Uncontrolled growth of scope
Deliverable: A tangible output the project produces
Milestone: A significant point or event in a project
Work breakdown structure: Hierarchical division of the work into smaller parts
Task: A single piece of work
Dependency: A relationship where one task relies on another
Finish-to-start: A task cannot start until its predecessor finishes
Critical path: The longest sequence of tasks, determining the shortest project time
Float (slack): Time a task can slip without delaying the project
Gantt chart: Bar chart showing tasks over time
PERT: Technique estimating time with optimistic, likely and pessimistic values
Baseline: The approved plan against which progress is compared
Schedule: Plan of when work will happen
Budget: Approved cost plan
Cost variance: Earned value minus actual cost
Earned value: A measure of work completed in terms of budget
Schedule performance index: Earned value divided by planned value
Cost performance index: Earned value divided by actual cost
Triple constraint: Scope, time and cost, balanced against quality
Quality assurance: Preventing defects through good processes
Quality control: Inspecting results to find defects
Risk: An uncertain event that could affect objectives
Risk register: A log of identified risks and responses
Risk mitigation: Reducing the chance or impact of a risk
Risk avoidance: Changing plans to eliminate a risk
Risk transfer: Shifting a risk to a third party, like insurance
Risk acceptance: Choosing to tolerate a risk
Contingency plan: Backup response if a risk occurs
Issue: A problem that has already happened
Assumption: Something believed true for planning purposes
Constraint: A limitation on the project
Charter: A document formally authorizing a project
Kickoff meeting: The meeting that launches a project
Status report: A summary of progress
Change request: A formal proposal to alter the project
Change control: Process for reviewing and approving changes
Requirements: Needs the project must satisfy
Acceptance criteria: Conditions a deliverable must meet to be accepted
Stakeholder register: List of stakeholders and their interests
RACI matrix: Chart assigning Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed
Communication plan: Plan for who gets what information and when
Resource leveling: Adjusting the schedule to avoid overusing people
Fast tracking: Doing tasks in parallel to shorten time
Crashing: Adding resources to shorten the schedule
Waterfall: Sequential approach where each phase finishes before the next
Agile: Iterative approach delivering working increments
Scrum: Agile framework using short sprints
Sprint: A fixed short period of work in Scrum
Product owner: Scrum role that prioritizes the work
Scrum master: Scrum role that helps the team follow the process
Development team: People who build the product increment
Product backlog: Prioritized list of everything wanted in the product
Sprint backlog: Items chosen for the current sprint
User story: A short description of a need from a user's view
Story points: Relative units estimating effort
Daily stand-up: A brief daily team meeting
Sprint review: Meeting to show completed work
Retrospective: Meeting to reflect on how to improve
Velocity: Amount of work a team completes per sprint
Burndown chart: Graph of remaining work over time
Kanban: Method visualizing work on a board with limits on work in progress
Work in progress limit: A cap on tasks being worked on at once
Definition of done: Shared checklist for when work is complete
Minimum viable product: Simplest version that delivers value and tests assumptions
Iteration: One cycle of repeated work
Lean: Maximizing value and minimizing waste
Timebox: A fixed time limit for an activity
Prototype: An early sample used to test ideas
Lessons learned: Insights recorded for future projects
Project closure: Formally ending a project
Handoff: Transferring deliverables to the owner
Procurement: Acquiring goods or services from outside
Vendor: An outside seller of goods or services
Statement of work: Description of work a vendor will do
Service level agreement: Contract defining expected service performance
Program: A group of related projects managed together
Portfolio: A collection of projects and programs aligned to strategy
PMO: Project management office
PMBOK: A guide of project management knowledge published by PMI
Project lifecycle: Phases from start to finish
Feasibility study: Analysis of whether a project is practical
Cost-benefit analysis: Comparing expected costs to expected benefits
Return on investment: Benefit gained relative to cost
Bottleneck: A step that limits the speed of a process
Escalation: Raising an issue to a higher authority
Critical chain: Method focusing on resource constraints and buffers
Buffer: Extra time or money reserved for uncertainty
Gold plating: Adding unrequested extras beyond requirements
Fishbone diagram: Cause-and-effect diagram to find root causes

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