WGU C783 - Project Management - Terms
Application areas
The areas of expertise, industry, or function where a project is centered. Examples of application areas include architecture, IT, health care, and manufacturing.
Business value
A quantifiable return on investment. The return can be tangible, such as equipment, money, or market share. The return can also be intangible, such as brand recognition, trademarks, and reputation.
Cultural and social environment
Type of environment; Defines how a project affects people and how those people may affect the project.
Includes the economic, educational, ethical, religious, demographic, and ethnic composition of the people affected by the project.
Deliverable
A product, service, or result created by a project. Projects can have multiple of these.
General management skills
These include the application of accounting, procurement, sales and marketing, contracting, manufacturing, logistics, strategic planning, human resource management, standards and regulations, and information technology. International and political environment
Type of environment; The consideration of the local and international laws, languages, communication challenges, time zone differences, and other non-collocated issues that affect a project's ability to progress.
Interpersonal skills
The ability to interact, lead, motivate, and manage people.
Iron Triangle of Project Management
A triangle with the characteristics of time, cost, and scope. Time, cost, and scope each constitute one side of the triangle; if any side of the Iron Triangle is not in balance with the other sides, the project will suffer. It is also known as the Triple Constraints of Project Management, as all projects are constrained by
time, cost, and scope. AKA Triple Constraints of Project Management
Physical environment
Type of environment; The physical structure and surroundings that affect a project's work.
Process groups
A collection of related processes in project management including Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing.
Initiating Process Group
Align stakeholders' expectations and the project purpose, inform stakeholders of the scope and objectives, and discuss how their participation in the project and its associated phases can help to ensure their expectations are met. Planning Process Group
The processes required to establish the scope of the project, define and refine the objectives, and develop the course of action required to attain the project objectives.
Executing Process Group
Those processes performed to complete the work defined in the project management plan to satisfy the project specifications.
Program
A collection of related projects working in unison toward a common deliverable.
Progressive elaboration
The process of gathering project details. This process uses deductive reasoning, logic, and a series of information-gathering techniques to identify details about a project, product, or solution.
Project benefits management plan
A document created and maintained by the project sponsor and the project manager. This plan defines what benefits the project will create, when the benefits will be realized, and how the benefits will be measured.
Project business case
Created and maintained by the project sponsor and shows the financial validity of why a project is chartered and launched within the organization. Typically, it is created before the launch of the project and may be used as a go/no-go decision point. Project environment
Type of environment; The location and culture of the environment where the project work will reside. Includes the social, economic, and environmental variables the project must work with or around.
Project life cycle
The phases that make up the project. They are unique to the type of work being performed and are not universal to all projects.
Project management office (PMO)
A central office that oversees all projects within an organization or within a functional department. Supports the project manager through software, training, templates, policies, communication, dispute resolution, and other services.
Project portfolio management
The management and selection of projects that support an organization's vision and mission. It is the balance of project priority, risk, reward, and return on investment. This is a senior management process.
Project
A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
Product
A project output; An artifact that is produced, is quantifiable, and can be either an end item in itself or a component item.
