APCAT flashcards
APCAT · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Evidence-based practice
- Practice in which decisions are grounded in the best available research evidence, professional expertise, and the documented needs and preferences of the people affected.
- Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle
- A four-stage iterative improvement loop: plan a change, execute it on a small scale, check results against expectations, then act by standardising or adjusting before repeating.
- Inputs, processes, outputs, outcomes
- A logic chain describing the resources going into a system, the activities performed, the direct deliverables produced, and the longer-term changes those deliverables create.
- Competence versus capability
- Competence is demonstrated ability to meet a defined standard now; capability is the broader potential and capacity to adapt and perform in new or changing situations.
- Validity and reliability
- Validity is the degree to which an instrument measures what it is intended to measure; reliability is the consistency of repeated measurements under the same conditions.
- Root cause analysis
- A structured method that traces an observed problem back to underlying systemic causes rather than the immediate symptom, so that corrections prevent recurrence.
- Triangulation of data
- Using two or more independent sources, methods, or reviewers to corroborate a finding, reducing the chance that a conclusion rests on a single biased source.
- Sampling error
- The difference between a statistic calculated from a sample and the true population value, which generally shrinks as sample size rises and variability falls.
- SMART objectives
- A goal-setting criterion requiring objectives to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, so progress can be verified objectively rather than judged subjectively.
- Work breakdown structure
- A hierarchical decomposition of project scope into progressively smaller deliverable-oriented components, used to estimate effort, assign ownership, and confirm the full scope is covered.
- RACI matrix
- A responsibility chart labelling each task with who is responsible for doing it, accountable for the outcome, consulted for input, and informed of progress.
- Critical path
- The longest sequence of dependent tasks in a schedule; any delay along it delays the whole project, so it defines the minimum completion time.
- Change control board
- A designated group that reviews, approves, defers, or rejects proposed changes to an approved baseline, ensuring each change is assessed for impact before adoption.
- Quality assurance versus quality control
- Quality assurance is process-focused and preventive, building quality into how work is done; quality control is product-focused and detective, testing outputs against criteria before release.
- Baseline
- An approved, version-controlled reference point for scope, schedule, or cost against which actual performance is compared in order to calculate variance.
- Contingency reserve
- Time or funds set aside within an approved plan for identified risks that have been assessed and accepted, released only through the defined change process.
- Hierarchy of controls
- A ranked order of risk treatments from most to least effective: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and finally personal protective equipment.
- Corrective action
- An action taken to eliminate the cause of a detected nonconformity so that it does not recur, distinct from containment, which only addresses the immediate symptom.
- Standard versus regulation
- A regulation is a legally binding requirement enforced by an authority; a standard is a voluntary consensus document that becomes binding only when adopted by contract or regulation.
- Audit versus inspection
- An audit is a systematic, documented examination of a management system against criteria; an inspection is a direct physical check of a specific item, location, or activity.
- Informed consent
- Agreement given by a person who has been told the purpose, risks, benefits, and alternatives, and who is competent to decide free of coercion.
- Conflict of interest
- A situation where a personal, financial, or other interest could improperly influence professional judgement, requiring disclosure, recusal, or management rather than concealment.
- Confidentiality
- The duty to protect information shared in a professional relationship from unauthorised access, use, or disclosure, subject to defined legal exceptions such as imminent serious harm.
- Scope of competence
- The boundary of knowledge, skills, and authority within which a professional may practise; work beyond it should be declined, supervised, or referred onward.
- Power-interest grid
- A stakeholder mapping tool that classifies stakeholders by their influence over the work and their concern about it, guiding how closely each should be engaged.
- Active listening
- A communication technique of attending fully, reflecting back what was heard, and asking clarifying questions to confirm understanding before responding.
- Communication plan
- A document specifying who receives what information, in which format, at what frequency, and through which channel, plus who owns each message.
- Escalation path
- A pre-agreed route and trigger for raising an issue to higher authority when it exceeds the decision rights or resources available at the current level.
- Leading versus lagging indicators
- Leading indicators measure activities and conditions that predict future results; lagging indicators measure outcomes that have already occurred and can no longer be changed.
- Formative versus summative evaluation
- Formative evaluation is conducted during delivery to shape and adjust the work; summative evaluation is conducted at the end to judge overall merit and worth.
- Key performance indicator
- A quantifiable measure tied to a specific objective, with a defined target, data source, and review frequency, used to judge whether intended results are being achieved.
- Lessons learned register
- A running record of insights from successes and failures, capturing the context, what happened, the cause, and the recommended change so future work benefits.