Project management glossary

One hundred terms you will meet in PMI exams and on real projects, defined in plain English. Each entry has its own link.

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Acceptance Criteria: The specific conditions a deliverable or user story must meet before the customer or product owner will accept it. They turn a vague request into a testable checklist.
Related: Definition of Done User Story Product Backlog
Adaptive Life Cycle: A way of running a project where the work is planned and delivered in short cycles so the team can respond to feedback and change. Agile frameworks such as Scrum and Kanban are adaptive.
Related: Agile Iteration Hybrid Approach
Agile: A mindset and family of methods that deliver value in small, frequent increments, welcome changing requirements and rely on close collaboration with the customer.
Related: Scrum Kanban Adaptive Life Cycle
Agile Release Planning: A high-level plan that groups iterations into releases so the team and stakeholders can see roughly when sets of features will reach users. It is revisited as velocity and priorities change.
Related: Product Roadmap Iteration Velocity
Assumption Log: A running record of the things the team believes to be true but has not confirmed, plus the limits the project must work within. Each entry is checked over time and may turn into a risk or an issue.
Related: Risk Register Constraint Project Charter
Backlog Refinement: The ongoing activity of reviewing, clarifying, splitting and re-ordering backlog items so the most valuable ones are ready for an upcoming iteration.
Related: Product Backlog User Story Product Owner
Baseline: The approved version of a plan (for scope, schedule or cost) that actual performance is measured against. It changes only through formal change control.
Related: Scope Baseline Schedule Baseline Cost Baseline
Benefits Realization: The process of making sure the outcomes a project or program promised actually show up and are measured after delivery, not just that the work was finished.
Related: Business Case Program Management Value Delivery
Burndown Chart: A simple graph showing how much work remains in a sprint or release over time. A falling line means the team is completing work as planned.
Related: Burnup Chart Sprint Velocity
Burnup Chart: A graph that tracks completed work rising toward a total-scope line. Because the scope line is shown separately, it makes added or removed scope easy to see.
Related: Burndown Chart Scope Creep Velocity
Business Case: The document that explains why a project is worth doing, usually comparing expected benefits with costs and risks. It is the main input to the project charter.
Related: Benefits Realization Project Charter Sponsor
Change Control Board: A formally chartered group that reviews, approves, defers or rejects requested changes to a project baseline and records those decisions.
Related: Change Request Integrated Change Control Configuration Management
Change Request: A formal proposal to modify a document, deliverable or baseline. In predictive projects it is evaluated through integrated change control before any work changes.
Related: Change Control Board Baseline Scope Creep
Communications Management Plan: The part of the project management plan that spells out who needs what information, in which format, how often and from whom.
Related: Stakeholder Register Project Management Plan Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix
Configuration Management: A disciplined way of identifying, controlling and tracking versions of project deliverables and documents so everyone works from the approved version.
Related: Change Control Board Baseline Change Request
Conflict Management: The skill of recognizing disagreement early and handling it in a way that keeps relationships intact and the work moving. Common approaches range from collaborating to compromising to withdrawing.
Related: Team Charter Servant Leadership Self-Organizing Team
Constraint: A limiting factor the project must respect, such as a fixed deadline, a budget cap, a regulation or available resources.
Related: Assumption Log Project Charter Schedule Baseline
Contingency Reserve: Time or money set aside for identified risks that have been analyzed and accepted. The project manager can usually use it without going back for approval.
Related: Management Reserve Risk Register Cost Baseline
Cost Baseline: The approved, time-phased budget used to measure cost performance. It includes contingency reserve but not management reserve.
Related: Baseline Earned Value Contingency Reserve
Cost Performance Index: An earned value ratio of earned value to actual cost that shows how efficiently money is being spent. A value above 1.0 means the work is costing less than planned.
Related: Earned Value Schedule Performance Index Estimate at Completion
Crashing: A schedule compression technique that adds resources or overtime to critical path activities to finish sooner, normally at extra cost.
Related: Fast Tracking Critical Path Schedule Compression
Critical Path: The longest chain of dependent activities through a schedule, which sets the shortest possible project duration. Any delay on it delays the whole project.
Related: Float Fast Tracking Schedule Baseline
Cross-Functional Team: A team that holds all the skills needed to turn a backlog item into a finished increment without waiting on outside groups.
Related: Self-Organizing Team Scrum Servant Leadership
Cycle Time: The elapsed time from when work actually starts on an item until it is finished. Shorter cycle time usually means faster feedback and less waste.
Related: Lead Time Throughput Kanban
Daily Standup: A short, timeboxed daily meeting where the team syncs on progress, plans the day and raises anything blocking them. It is for coordination, not status reporting to management.
Related: Scrum Sprint Impediment
Decomposition: Breaking scope into smaller, more manageable pieces until each one can be estimated, assigned and tracked. It is the core technique behind the work breakdown structure.
Related: Work Breakdown Structure Work Package Scope Baseline
Definition of Done: A shared checklist of everything that must be true for any backlog item to count as complete, such as tested, reviewed and documented. It applies to every item, unlike acceptance criteria.
Related: Acceptance Criteria Increment User Story
Definition of Ready: An agreed set of conditions a backlog item should satisfy before the team pulls it into an iteration, such as being clear, sized and having acceptance criteria.
Related: Backlog Refinement User Story Definition of Done
Deliverable: Any unique, verifiable product, result or capability that must be produced to complete a process, phase or project.
Related: Work Package Acceptance Criteria Scope Baseline
Development Approach: The overall method chosen to build the deliverables, whether predictive, adaptive or a hybrid of the two, selected to fit the product and its environment.
Related: Predictive Life Cycle Adaptive Life Cycle Hybrid Approach
Earned Value: The budgeted value of the work actually completed to date. Comparing it with planned value and actual cost shows whether the project is ahead, behind, under or over.
Related: Planned Value Cost Performance Index Schedule Performance Index
Epic: A large body of work that is too big to deliver in one iteration and is broken down into smaller features and user stories over time.
Related: User Story Feature Product Backlog
Estimate at Completion: A forecast of the total expected cost of the project based on performance so far. Several formulas exist depending on whether current trends are expected to continue.
Related: Earned Value Cost Performance Index Cost Baseline
Fast Tracking: A schedule compression technique that overlaps activities normally done in sequence. It saves time but raises the risk of rework.
Related: Crashing Critical Path Schedule Compression
Feature: A distinct piece of functionality that delivers value to users and is usually described in business terms. Features sit between epics and user stories in size.
Related: Epic User Story Product Roadmap
Float: The amount of time an activity can slip without delaying the project finish date. Activities on the critical path have zero float.
Related: Critical Path Milestone Precedence Diagramming Method
Hybrid Approach: A development approach that blends predictive and adaptive elements, for example fixed upfront planning for some parts and iterative delivery for others.
Related: Predictive Life Cycle Adaptive Life Cycle Tailoring
Impediment: Anything that slows or stops the team from delivering, from a missing decision to a broken tool. Removing impediments is a key duty of the scrum master.
Related: Scrum Master Daily Standup Servant Leadership
Increment: The sum of all backlog items completed during an iteration plus all previous increments. Each increment must be usable and meet the definition of done.
Related: Sprint Definition of Done Minimum Viable Product
Integrated Change Control: The process of reviewing every change request, judging its impact on all baselines and deciding whether to approve it before updating the plan.
Related: Change Control Board Change Request Project Management Plan
Issue Log: A record of problems that have actually occurred, who owns each one and its current status. Issues differ from risks, which have not yet happened.
Related: Risk Register Assumption Log Lessons Learned
Iteration: A fixed, repeated period in which a team plans, builds and reviews a small increment of work. In Scrum an iteration is called a sprint.
Related: Sprint Timebox Increment
Kanban: A flow-based agile method that visualizes work on a board, limits how much is in progress at once and focuses on steady delivery rather than fixed iterations.
Related: Work in Progress Limit Lead Time Cycle Time
Lead Time: The total time from when a request is made until it is delivered to the customer, including any waiting before work starts.
Related: Cycle Time Kanban Throughput
Lessons Learned: Knowledge gained during a project about what worked and what did not, captured so future projects can repeat the good and avoid the bad.
Related: Retrospective Project Closure Issue Log
Management Reserve: Budget or time held by management for unknown risks that were not identified in advance. Using it normally requires approval and a change to the baseline.
Related: Contingency Reserve Cost Baseline Risk Register
Milestone: A significant point or event in the schedule, such as a phase gate or a major approval. Milestones have zero duration and mark progress, not work.
Related: Schedule Baseline Critical Path Project Charter
Minimum Viable Product: The smallest version of a product that delivers enough value to real users to learn from their feedback and guide what to build next.
Related: Increment Product Roadmap Value Delivery
MoSCoW: A prioritization technique that sorts requirements into Must have, Should have, Could have and Won't have (this time), so teams protect the essentials when time is tight.
Related: Product Backlog Backlog Refinement Feature
Organizational Process Assets: The plans, templates, procedures, policies and historical knowledge an organization owns and that a project team can draw on.
Related: Lessons Learned Tailoring Project Management Office
Planned Value: The budgeted cost of the work scheduled to be done by a given date. It is the baseline against which earned value is compared.
Related: Earned Value Cost Baseline Schedule Performance Index
Portfolio Management: Selecting, prioritizing and overseeing a collection of programs and projects so that, together, they advance the organization's strategy within its capacity.
Related: Program Management Project Management Office Business Case
Power/Interest Grid: A two-by-two chart that plots stakeholders by how much authority they hold and how much they care about the project, which guides how closely to manage each one.
Related: Stakeholder Register Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix Communications Management Plan
Precedence Diagramming Method: A scheduling technique that draws activities as boxes connected by arrows showing their logical dependencies, such as finish-to-start.
Related: Critical Path Float Milestone
Predictive Life Cycle: A plan-driven approach where scope, schedule and cost are defined in detail early and change is controlled formally. It suits work that is well understood and stable.
Related: Adaptive Life Cycle Hybrid Approach Baseline
Probability and Impact Matrix: A grid used in qualitative risk analysis to rate each risk by how likely it is and how much it would hurt, producing a priority score.
Related: Qualitative Risk Analysis Risk Register Risk Appetite
Procurement Management: The work of deciding what to buy, selecting sellers, agreeing contracts and managing those relationships until the contract is closed.
Related: Deliverable Project Management Plan Change Request
Product Backlog: An ordered list of everything that might be needed in the product, owned by the product owner and refined continuously. The most valuable items sit at the top.
Related: Product Owner User Story Backlog Refinement
Product Owner: The person accountable for maximizing the value of the product by owning and ordering the product backlog and making priority decisions on behalf of stakeholders.
Related: Product Backlog Scrum Scrum Master
Product Roadmap: A high-level, time-based view of where the product is heading and which major capabilities are expected when. It communicates direction, not a detailed commitment.
Related: Agile Release Planning Feature Minimum Viable Product
Program Governance: The framework of roles, decision rights, policies and oversight that keeps a program aligned with its intended benefits and organizational strategy.
Related: Program Management Benefits Realization Steering Committee
Program Management: Coordinating a group of related projects and activities together to gain benefits and control that would not be available from managing them separately.
Related: Program Governance Portfolio Management Benefits Realization
Progressive Elaboration: Adding detail to plans as more information becomes available and estimates improve, instead of trying to define everything perfectly at the start.
Related: Rolling Wave Planning Decomposition Iteration
Project Charter: The document that formally authorizes a project, names the project manager and sets out the high-level objectives, success criteria and key stakeholders.
Related: Sponsor Business Case Milestone
Project Closure: The final set of activities that confirm deliverables were accepted, release resources, archive records and capture lessons learned.
Related: Lessons Learned Deliverable Benefits Realization
Project Management Office: A group within an organization that standardizes project practices, provides templates and support and often oversees a portfolio of projects.
Related: Portfolio Management Organizational Process Assets Program Management
Project Management Plan: The integrated document describing how the project will be executed, monitored and controlled, including all subsidiary plans and baselines.
Related: Baseline Integrated Change Control Communications Management Plan
Qualitative Risk Analysis: Prioritizing identified risks by judging their probability and impact, usually with a matrix, so the team focuses on the ones that matter most.
Related: Quantitative Risk Analysis Risk Register Probability and Impact Matrix
Quantitative Risk Analysis: Numerically analyzing the combined effect of prioritized risks on project objectives, often with simulation, to size reserves and inform decisions.
Related: Qualitative Risk Analysis Contingency Reserve Risk Register
RACI: A responsibility chart that marks each person as Responsible, Accountable, Consulted or Informed for each task, so there is exactly one accountable owner per item.
Related: Stakeholder Register Team Charter Work Package
Retrospective: A regular team meeting at the end of an iteration to reflect on how the work went and agree on specific improvements for the next one.
Related: Lessons Learned Sprint Sprint Review
Risk Appetite: The amount and type of uncertainty an organization is willing to accept in pursuit of its goals. It shapes which risks get a response and how strong it is.
Related: Risk Register Risk Response Qualitative Risk Analysis
Risk Register: The living document that lists identified risks with their causes, owners, ratings and planned responses. It is updated throughout the project.
Related: Risk Response Qualitative Risk Analysis Assumption Log
Risk Response: The planned action for a specific risk, such as avoid, mitigate, transfer or accept for threats, and exploit, enhance, share or accept for opportunities.
Related: Risk Register Contingency Reserve Risk Appetite
Rolling Wave Planning: Planning near-term work in detail while leaving later work at a higher level, then adding detail as that work approaches.
Related: Progressive Elaboration Work Breakdown Structure Hybrid Approach
Schedule Baseline: The approved version of the schedule model that actual dates are compared against. It can only be changed through formal change control.
Related: Baseline Critical Path Milestone
Schedule Compression: Techniques used to shorten the schedule without cutting scope, mainly crashing (adding resources) and fast tracking (overlapping work).
Related: Crashing Fast Tracking Critical Path
Schedule Performance Index: An earned value ratio of earned value to planned value that shows schedule efficiency. A value below 1.0 means less work has been done than planned.
Related: Earned Value Planned Value Cost Performance Index
Scope Baseline: The approved scope statement, work breakdown structure and WBS dictionary taken together. It defines what is and is not in the project.
Related: Work Breakdown Structure Scope Creep Baseline
Scope Creep: The uncontrolled growth of scope through small additions that were never formally approved, which quietly consumes time and budget.
Related: Change Request Scope Baseline Acceptance Criteria
Scrum: A lightweight agile framework built on short sprints, a small cross-functional team, three defined roles and a fixed set of events and artifacts.
Related: Sprint Scrum Master Product Owner
Scrum Master: The team member who coaches the team in Scrum, protects it from interruptions and works to remove impediments, acting as a servant leader rather than a boss.
Related: Servant Leadership Impediment Scrum
Self-Organizing Team: A team that decides for itself how to accomplish its work rather than being directed task by task. Leaders set goals and boundaries, and the team fills in the how.
Related: Cross-Functional Team Servant Leadership Scrum
Servant Leadership: A leadership style focused on serving the team first: removing obstacles, growing people and creating the conditions for them to do great work.
Related: Scrum Master Self-Organizing Team Conflict Management
Sponsor: The senior person or group that provides resources and support for the project, champions it in the organization and is accountable for its success.
Related: Project Charter Business Case Steering Committee
Sprint: A timeboxed iteration in Scrum, typically a few weeks, in which the team delivers a usable increment. Sprints follow one another without gaps.
Related: Iteration Timebox Sprint Review
Sprint Review: The meeting at the end of a sprint where the team shows the increment to stakeholders, gathers feedback and adjusts the product backlog accordingly.
Related: Sprint Increment Retrospective
Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix: A table that compares each stakeholder's current level of engagement (such as unaware, resistant, neutral, supportive or leading) with the level the project needs, highlighting gaps to close.
Related: Stakeholder Register Communications Management Plan Power/Interest Grid
Stakeholder Register: A document that identifies everyone affected by or able to affect the project, with their interests, influence and expectations.
Related: Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix RACI Communications Management Plan
Steering Committee: A senior governance group that provides direction, resolves escalated issues and makes major decisions for a project or program.
Related: Program Governance Sponsor Change Control Board
Tailoring: Deliberately adapting processes, tools and approaches to fit the specific project, team and organization rather than applying a method rigidly.
Related: Hybrid Approach Development Approach Organizational Process Assets
Team Charter: An agreement the team writes for itself covering values, working agreements, communication norms and how decisions and conflicts will be handled.
Related: Self-Organizing Team Conflict Management Servant Leadership
Throughput: The number of work items a team completes in a given period. It is a key flow metric in Kanban alongside lead time and cycle time.
Related: Lead Time Cycle Time Kanban
Timebox: A fixed, non-negotiable period allotted to an activity or iteration. When the time runs out, the work stops and is reviewed, which keeps focus and limits drift.
Related: Sprint Iteration Daily Standup
User Story: A short, plain-language description of a need written from the user's point of view, often in the form 'As a..., I want..., so that...'. It is sized to fit within one iteration.
Related: Acceptance Criteria Epic Product Backlog
Value Delivery: The focus on producing outcomes that matter to the customer and organization, measured by benefits realized rather than tasks completed.
Related: Benefits Realization Minimum Viable Product Business Case
Velocity: The amount of work, usually in story points, a team completes per iteration. Averaged over several sprints, it helps forecast how much the team can take on.
Related: Sprint Burndown Chart Agile Release Planning
Work Breakdown Structure: A hierarchical breakdown of the total scope of work into deliverables and work packages, giving a complete picture of everything the project must produce.
Related: Decomposition Work Package Scope Baseline
Work in Progress Limit: A cap on how many items can be in a given stage of a Kanban board at once. It exposes bottlenecks and pushes the team to finish work before starting more.
Related: Kanban Throughput Cycle Time
Work Package: The lowest level of the work breakdown structure, a defined piece of work that can be estimated, scheduled, assigned and tracked.
Related: Work Breakdown Structure Decomposition Deliverable

Project management glossary

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