EVM Glossary, R-Z

Refer to this list for definitions of essential project management terms submitted by project managers from around the world.

Index: A-E | F-L | M-Q | R-Z

- R -

Readiness Assessment
A meeting or series of meetings by selected members of the customer C/SCSC review team at a contractor’s plant, to review contractor plans and progress in implementing C/SCSC in preparation for a full demonstration review.

Recurring Costs
Expenditures against specific tasks that would occur on a repetitive basis. Examples are sustaining engineering, production of operational equipment, tool maintenance, etc.

Relationship
A logical connection between two activities.

Relationship Float
Relationship free float is the amount by which the lag on that relationship would have to be increased in order to delay the successor activity. Relationship total float is the amount by which it would have to be increased in order to cause a delay in the completion of the project as a whole (or the violation of a late target).

Remaining Duration
Time needed to complete the remainder of an activity or project.

Replanning
Actions performed for any remaining effort within project scope. Often the cost and/or schedule variances are zeroed out at this time for history items.

Report Specification File
A set of codified instructions, which defines the layout of a report.

Re-Profiling
In resource scheduling it is possible to indicate that the specified resource requirement profile may be modified to fit the availability, without changing the total amount required.

Request for Change
A proposal by the project manager for a change to the project as a result of a project issue report.

Request for Proposal (RFP)
A bid document used to solicit proposals from prospective sellers of products or services.

Request for Quotation
Equivalent to a Request for Proposal but with more specific application areas.

Requirements
A negotiated set of measurable customer wants and needs.

Resource
An item required to accomplish an activity. Resources can be people, equipment, facilities, funding or anything else needed to perform the work of a project.

Resource Analysis
A term for resource leveling and resource smoothing.

Resource Assignment
The work on an activity related to a specific resource.

Resource Availability
The level of availability of a resource, which may vary over time.

Resource Breakdown Structure
A feature of hierarchical resources that facilitates both roll-up reporting and summary resource scheduling by enabling you to schedule at the detailed requirements level, and roll up both requirements and availabilities to a higher level.

Resource Calendar
A calendar that defines the working and non-working patterns for specific resources.

Resource Driven Task Durations
Task durations that are driven by the need for scarce resources.

Resource Histogram
A view of project data in which resource requirements, usage, and availabilities are shown against a time scale.

Resource Level
A specified level of resource units required by an activity per time unit.

Resource Leveling
The resource scheduling process of determining scheduled dates such that neither the project completion date nor any target finishes are jeopardized while minimizing the maximum extent to which any resource availability is exceeded.

Resource-Limited Resource Scheduling
The production of scheduled dates in which the resource constraints are considered as absolute and project completion is delayed as necessary to avoid exceeding resource requirements.

Resource Offset
In the definition of resource requirements, the number of work periods between the start of the activity and when the resource is first required.

Resource Optimization
A term for resource leveling and resource smoothing.

Resource Period
In the definition of a resource requirement, the number of work periods for which a resource is required.

Resource Planning
Evaluating what resources are needed to complete a project and determining the quantity needed.

Resource Pool
A higher level resource in a resource breakdown structure.

Resource Profile
The multiple specification of a single resource requirement or availability to indicate a variation over a period of time.

Resource Requirement
The requirement for a particular resource by a particular activity.

Resource Scheduling
The process of determining dates on which activities should be performed in order to smooth the demand for resources, or to avoid exceeding stated constraints on these resources. (See also, Resource Leveling, Time-Limited Resource Scheduling and Resource-Limited Resource Scheduling.)

Resourcing Plan
Part of the definition statement stating how the program will be resource loaded and what supporting services, infrastructure and third party services are required.

Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)
The RAM correlates the work required by a Contract Work Breakdown Structure (CWBS) element to the functional organization responsible for accomplishing the assigned tasks. The responsibility assignment matrix is created by intersecting the CWBS with the program Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS). This intersection identifies the cost account.

Responsibility Chart
See Responsibility Assignment Matrix.

Responsibility Matrix
See Responsibility Assignment Matrix.

Responsible Organization
A defined unit within the contractor’s organization structure which is assigned responsibility for accomplishing specific tasks, or cost accounts.

Retainage
A part of payment withheld until the project is completed in order to ensure satisfactory performance completion of contract terms.

Reviewers
Those responsible for ensuring a product is completed and fault free at a quality review.

RFC
See Request for Change.

Risk
The probability of an undesirable outcome.

Risk Analysis
A technique designed to quantify the impact of uncertainty. Usually, but not necessarily, associated with the Monte Carlo Simulation technique.

Risk Analysis Histogram
A view in which the results of risk analysis are displayed as vertical bars, S-curves, or tables against a date scale.

Risk Avoidance
Planning activities to avoid risks that have been identified.

Risk Event
A discrete occurrence that effects a project.

Risk Identification
Determining which risk events will effect the project.

Risk Management
The art and science of identifying and assessing the risk factors during a project and responding to them in the best interests of the project objectives.

Risk Management Plan
Part of the program definition statement that contains a record of all the risks in the business environment, and to the program itself.

Risk Matrix
A matrix with risks located in rows, and with impact and likelihood in columns.

Risk Prioritizing
Ordering of risks according first to their risk value, and then by which risks need to be considered for risk reduction, risk avoidance, and risk transfer.

Risk Quantification
Evaluating the probability of risk event effect and occurrence.

Risk Ranking
Allocating a classification to the impact and likelihood of a risk.

Risk Reduction
Action taken to reduce the likelihood and impact of a risk.

Risk Register
A file that holds all information on identifying and managing a risk.

Risk Response Control
Responding to changes in risk during a project.

Risk Response Development
Developing a plan of action to enhance opportunities and decrease threats.

Risks
Risks are events that if they occur can jeopardize the successful completion of the project. Risks should be identified and assessed for probability of occurrence and impact on the project.

Risk Transfer
A contractual arrangement between two parties for delivery and acceptance of a product where the liability for the costs of a risk is be transferred from one party to the other.

Risk Value
The number obtained when numeric impact and likelihood values are multiplied.

Rubber Baselining
An attempt by a contractor to take far-term budget and move it into the current period, in an attempt to disguise cost problems. Approach will be to move budget, but without a corresponding value of work, to mask cost difficulties. It is an indicator of a likely cost overrun condition.

- S -

Schedule
A Schedule is the timetable for a project. It shows how project tasks and milestones are planned out over a period of time.

Schedule Compression
See Duration Compression.

Schedule Control
Controlling schedule changes.

Schedule Dates
The start and finish dates calculated by the resource scheduling program, having regard to resource constraints as well as project logic.

Schedule Development
Developing a project schedule based on activity sequences, activity durations and resource requirements.

Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
Ratio of work accomplished versus work planned, for a specified time period. The SPI is an efficiency rating for work accomplishment, comparing work accomplished to what should have been accomplished.

Schedule Variance
The difference between the budgeted cost of work performed and the budgeted cost of work scheduled at any point in time (BCWP-BCWS).

Scheduled Finish
The date calculated by the resource scheduling program as the earliest date on which an activity can finish, having regard to resource constraints as well as project logic.

Scheduled Start
The date calculated by the resource scheduling program as the earliest date on which an activity can start, having regard to resource constraints as well as project logic.

Scheduling
Scheduling is the process of determining when project activities will take place depending on defined durations and precedent activities. Schedule constraints specify when an activity should start or end based on duration, predecessors, external predecessor relationships, resource availability, or target dates.

Scope
The scope is the sum of work content of a project.

Scope Baseline
See Baseline.

Scope Change
Any change in a project scope that requires a change in the project’s cost or schedule.

Scope Change Control
Controlling changes to the scope.

Scope Definition
Breaking down a deliverable in to smaller manageable parts to ensure better control.

Scope Verification
Ensuring all identified project deliverables have been completed satisfactorily.

Scope of Work
A chronological description of the work to be accomplished or resources to be supplied.

S-Curve
A display of cumulative costs, labor hours or other quantities plotted against time.

Security Plan
A plan to abide by security measures related to the project.

Semi-Time-Scaled Logic Drawing
A drawing in which the positioning of the activities is modified somewhat by some date. Unlike true time-scaled drawings in which all horizontal positions correspond to a point in time, semi-time scaled logic drawings simply group activities whose dates fall within a specific time period.

Senior Technical
A member of the project board who represents the interests of the development and operational organizations.

Senior User
A member of the project board who represent the interests of user and others affected by the project.

Sequence
Sequence is the order in which activities will occur with respect to one another. This establishes the priority and dependencies between activities. Successor and predecessor relationships are developed in a network format. This allows those involved in the project to visualize the work flow.

SF Link
See Start to Finish.

Should-Cost Estimates
An estimate of the cost of a product or service used to provide an assessment of the reasonableness of a prospective contractor’s proposed cost.

Skill Groups
Some computer packages allow the definition of resources by their skills. The scheduling algorithm then chooses the most appropriate resource for an activity based on its availability and skill.

Skills
A feature of hierarchical resources that allows you to assign an attribute to a resource, and to define the resource requirement for an activity in terms of that attribute.

Slippage
Slippage is the amount of slack or float time used up by the current activity due to a delayed start. If an activity without float is delayed, the entire project will slip.

Smoothing
This refers to a resource-scheduling option that modifies the way time-limited scheduling (and resource-limited with thresholds) works. The objective of time-limited scheduling is to minimize the maximum extent that each resource availability needs to be exceeded, and the standard algorithm gives itself the maximum flexibility to achieve this by making use of any excess already incurred. The smoothing option modifies this so that it will not use the excess for a particular activity unless necessary in order to schedule that activity within its total float.

Soft Project
A project that is intended to bring about change and doe not have a physical end product.

Soft Skills
Soft skills include team building, conflict management and negotiation.

Solicitation
The process of obtaining quotes, bids or proposals.

Solicitation Planning
Identifying targets for quotes, bids or proposals.

Source Selection
Choosing from potential contractors.

Span Activity
See Hammocks.

Spending Plan
The total budgeted funds, based on the same subcategories as the cost plan, for a given task area over a given fiscal year.

Spending Plan Adjustments Form
A form used to change and authorize a spending plan adjustment during a fiscal year. The form explains why the spending plan and the cost plan do not match.

Splitting
In resource scheduling, it is possible to specify that an activity may be split if this results in an earlier scheduled finish date. This means that the specified duration may be divided into two or more pieces, while retaining the specified profile for resource requirements relative to this split duration.

SS Link
See Start to Start.

Stage
A subsection of a project that has its own organizational structure, life span and manager.

Stage Assessment
See End Stage Assessment and Mid-Stage Assessment.

Stage File
A file with the detailed management plans and reports for the stage.

Stage Manager
The person responsible for the management and successful completion of the stage.

Stage Resource Plan
A plan with all of the details of the required resources for a stage.

Stage Teams
A team built to complete a stage.

Stage Technical Plan
A plan that states all of the technical products, activities and quality controls of a stage.

Stakeholders
Stakeholders are the people who have a vested interest in the outcome of the project.

Start-to-Finish
See Logical Relationship.

Start Float
Start float is the amount of excess time an activity has between its Early Start and Late Start dates.

Start-To-Start Lag
Start-to-start lag is the minimum amount of time that must pass between the start of one activity and the start of its successor(s). This may be expressed in terms of duration or percentage.

Starting Activity
A starting activity has no predecessors. It does not have to wait for any other activity to start. Many PM software packages permit multiple start activities if needed.

Statement of Work (SOW)
A description of product and service to be procured under contract; a statement of requirements.

Status Date
See Time Now.

Status Reports
Written reports given to both the project team and to a responsible person on a regular basis stating the status of an activity, work package, or whole project. Status Reports should be used to control the project and to keep management informed of project status.

Stretching
In resource scheduling it is possible to specify that an activity may be stretched if this results in an earlier scheduled finish date. This means that the specified duration may be increased, while the specified profile is reduced proportionally.

Subcontract
A contractual document which legally defines the effort of providing services, data, or other hardware, from one firm to another.

Subnet
A division of a project network diagram representing a subproject.

Subnetwork
See Subnet.

Subproject
A group activities represented as a single activity in a higher level of the same.

Subsequent Application Review (SAR)
A review by customer personnel to determine whether the contractor has properly applied the C/SCSC to a new contract.

Successor
A successor is an activity whose start or finish depends on the start or finish of a predecessor activity. Refer to PREDECESSOR for related information.

Sunk Costs
Unavoidable costs.

Super-Critical Activity
An activity that is behind schedule is considered to be super-critical. It has been delayed to a point where its float is calculated to be a negative value. The negative float is representative of the number of units an activity is behind schedule.

System
The complete technical output of the project including technical products.

System Acceptance Letter
A letter signed by the senior technical member of the project board after ensuring the project has completed system test requirements and is ready for user acceptance.

Systems and Procedures
Systems and procedures detail the standard methods, practices and procedures of handling frequently occurring events within the project.

Systems Management
Management that includes the prime activities of systems analysis, systems design and engineering and systems development.

- T -

Target Completion Date
A date which contractors strive toward for completion of the activity.

Target Date
Date imposed on an activity or project by the user. There are two types of target dates; target start dates, and target finish dates.

Target Finish -- Activity
Target Finish is the user's imposed finish date for an activity. A Target Finish date is used if there are pre-defined commitment dates. Most PM software will not schedule a Late Finish date later than the Target Finish date. Your favorite PM software may alert you to negative float which occurs when a Late Finish date is later than a Target Finish date. This is caused by the duration of predecessors which makes it impossible to meet the Target Finish date. The negative float can be eliminated by reducing the duration of predecessors, increasing parallelism, or extending the Target Finish date.

Target Finish Date
The date planned to finish work on an activity.

Target Finish -- Project
A user's Target Finish date can be imposed on a project as a whole. A Target Finish date is used if there is a pre-defined completion date. Most PM software will not schedule any Late Finish date later than the Target Finish date. See TARGET FINISH ACTIVITY on how to deal with negative float.

Target Schedule
See Baseline.

Target Start -- Activity
Target Start is an imposed starting date on an activity. Most PM software will not schedule an Early Start date earlier than the Target Start date.

Target Start Date
The date planned to start work on an activity.

Task
Also called an activity. Tasks take place over a period of time and generally consumes resources.

Team
A team is made up of two or more people working interdependently toward a common goal and a shared reward.

Team Building
The ability to gather the right people to join a project team and get them working together for the benefit of a project.

Team Development
Developing skills, as a group and individually, that enhance project performance.

Team Leader
Person responsible for managing a stage team.

Team Members
Individuals, reporting to the project manager, who are responsible for some aspect of the projects activities.

Technical Assurance
The monitoring of the technical integrity of products.

Technical Assurance Coordinator
A member of the project assurance team who is responsible for reporting the technical assurance aspects of a project.

Technical Exception
Unplanned situations relating to an end product.

Technical File
A file that holds all of the end products to be delivered at the end of a project.

Technical Guide
A document that guides stage managers, team leaders and technical assurance coordinators on planning the production of products.

Technical Products
Products produced by a project for an end user.

Three Duration Technique
A method to reduce estimating uncertainty.

Time Analysis
The process of calculating the early and late dates for each activity on a project, based on the duration of the activities and the logical relations between them.

Time-Limited Resource Scheduling
The production of scheduled dates in which resource constraints may be relaxed in order to avoid any delay in project completion.

Time Now
The time at which all remaining work starts. Sometimes referred to as the status date because all progress information entered for a project should be correct as of this date. No work will be scheduled by the time analysis or resource scheduling programs prior to this date.

Time Recording
The recording of effort done on each activity in order to update a project plan.

Time Recording Software
Software packages that build a time sheet from project planning software files and feed actual effort back to the project plan.

Time-Scaled Logic Drawing
A drawing that allows you to display the logical connection between activities in the context of a time scale in which each horizontal position represents a point in time.

Time-Scaled Network Diagram
Any project network diagram drawn so that the positioning of the activity represents schedule.

Time Sheet
A means of recording the actual effort expended against project and non-project activities.

To Complete Performance Index (TCPI)
The projected performance which must be achieved on all remaining work in order to meet some financial goal set by management.

Tolerability
An accepted level of risk in order to achieve certain benefits.

Tolerance
The permitted cost and timescale limits set by the executive committee for the project or set by the project board.

Top Down Cost Estimating
The total project cost subdivided for individual activities based on historical costs and other project variables.

Total Allocated Budget (TAB)
The sum of all budgets allocated to the contract. This value is the same as the Contract Budget Base (CBB) unless an Over Target Baseline (OTB) has been established.

Total Float
The maximum number of work periods by which an activity can be delayed without delaying project completion or violating a target finish date.

Total Quality Management (TQM)
A strategic, integrated management systems for customer satisfaction that guides all employees in every aspect of their work.

Tracking
Collecting actual time, cost and resource information and putting them back into the project plan.

Transition Plan
Part of the program definition statement that describes how the transition from the current business operation to the new environment of the blueprint will be managed.

Triple Constraint
Triple constraint is accomplishing performance specifications, time schedules and monetary budgets simultaneously.

Turnaround Report
A report created especially for the various responsible managers to enter their progress status against a list of activities that are scheduled to be in progress during a particular time window.

- U -

Undistributed Budget (UB)
Budget applicable to contract effort which has not yet been identified to specific cost accounts or work packages.

User Acceptance Letter
A letter prepared by the project or stage manager after ensuring that the system complies with the user's acceptance criteria.

User Assurance Coordinator
The individual who represents the users on a day-today basis and is responsible for reporting and monitoring the user assurance components of a project.

- V -

Validation
A term used in C/SCSC to mean approval or compliance with the criteria.

Value
A standard, principle or quality considered worthwhile or desirable.

Value Management
A structured means of improving business effectiveness that includes the use of management techniques such as value engineering and value analysis.

Variance
A discrepancy between the actual and planned performance on a project, either in terms of schedule or cost.

Variance at Completion (VAC)
Variance at Complete is the algebraic difference between Budget at Complete and Estimate at Complete.

Variance Threshold
The amount of a variance which will require a formal Problem Analysis Report, as agreed to by the contractor and the customer. Variance parameters will differ depending on the function, level and stage of the project.

Variation Order
The term used in the construction industry for an approved technical change to the project.

- W -

WBS Dictionary
A document that describes each element in the WBS including a Statement of Work (SOW), describing the work content of the WBS element, and a Basis of Estimate (BOE), describing how the budget of the element was developed. Additional information about each WBS element might include the responsible organization, contract number, and so on. The WBS Dictionary will often result in the project or contract statement of work (SOW).

What-If Analysis
The process of evaluating alternative strategies.

Work
The total number of hours, people or effort required to complete a task.

Workaround
An unplanned response to a negative event.

Work Breakdown Code
A code that represents the ‘family tree’ of an element in a work breakdown structure.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
The WBS is a tool for defining the hierarchical breakdown and work in a project. It is developed by identifying the highest level of work in the project. These major categories are broken down into smaller components.

The subdivision continues until the lowest required level of detail is established. These end units of the WBS become the activities in a project. Once implemented, the WBS facilitates summary reporting at a variety of levels.

Work Flow
Work flow is the relationship of the activities in a project from start to finish. Work flow takes into consideration all types of activity relationships.

Work Load
Work load is the amount of work units assigned to a resource over a period of time.

Work Item
See activity.

Work Package
Detailed short-span tasks, or material items, identified by the performing contractor for accomplishing work required to complete a project. A work package represents a further breakdown of the work defined by the cost account. In traditional cost/schedule systems, the criteria for defining work packages is as follows: 1) Each work package is clearly distinguishable from all other work packages in the program. 2) Each work package has a scheduled start and finish date. 3) Each work package has an assigned budget that is time-phased over the duration of the work package. 4) Each work package either has a relatively short duration, or can be divided into a series of milestones whose status can be objectively measured. 5) Each work package has a schedule that is integrated with higher-level schedules.

Work Products
Work Products are the results or deliverables that need to be produced in order to complete the project and deliver the necessary changes. The work products may range from a new building to a completed training course.

Work Units
Work units is the measurement of resources. For example, people as a resource can be measured by the number of hours they work.

- Z -

Zero Float
Zero float is a condition where there is no excess time between activities. An activity with zero float is considered a critical activity. If the duration of any critical activity is increased (the activity slips), the project finish date will slip.