GAQM CPD key terms

A temporary effort with a defined start and finish that produces a unique product, service, or result; its temporary nature and uniqueness distinguish it from routine ongoing operations.

The ongoing, repetitive work an organization performs to run the business and sustain itself; operations are permanent or continuous rather than temporary, and are managed by business rather than project processes.

Applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities so the effort meets its agreed requirements; it covers initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing.

The sequence of phases a project passes through from start to finish, such as initiation, planning, execution, and closure; phases may overlap and each typically ends with a review or approval gate.

A decision checkpoint at the end of a project phase where sponsors or governance bodies review results and formally authorize, delay, or cancel the next phase; also called a stage gate or kill point.

A document that formally authorizes a project and names the project manager, summarizing objectives, high-level scope, key stakeholders, and constraints; it gives the manager authority to apply resources.

The person or group providing resources and support for the project, championing it at senior level and typically approving the charter, major changes, and final acceptance of deliverables.

Any individual, group, or organization that can affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by the project; stakeholders are identified, analyzed, and engaged throughout the project life cycle.

A living document listing identified stakeholders with their roles, interests, influence, expectations, and engagement needs; it supports planning how each party will be informed and involved.

A classification tool that plots stakeholders by their authority over the project and their concern about its outcome, guiding tailored engagement strategies such as manage closely or keep informed.

A narrative description of the project's boundaries, major deliverables, assumptions, and exclusions; it defines what is included and, critically, what is not included in the work.

A hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work into smaller, manageable components called work packages, forming the basis for estimating cost, scheduling, and assigning responsibility.

The lowest level of a work breakdown structure, small enough to be estimated, scheduled, and assigned to a person or team; it is the unit from which activities are derived.

Uncontrolled expansion of project scope through small, undocumented additions that are not reflected in time, cost, or resource plans, often eroding schedule and budget performance.

Any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability produced to complete a process, phase, or project; deliverables are typically subject to formal acceptance by the customer or sponsor.

A significant point or event in the project with zero duration, used to mark completion of a major deliverable, phase, or approval; milestones are tracked rather than worked on.

A distinct, schedulable unit of work derived from a work package that consumes time and usually resources; activities are sequenced and estimated to build the project schedule.

A scheduling technique that identifies the longest sequence of dependent activities through the network, determining the shortest possible project duration and the activities that cannot slip without delaying completion.

The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying a dependent activity (free float) or the overall project finish date (total float); critical path activities have zero total float.

A horizontal bar chart displaying scheduled activities against a calendar timeline, showing start and finish dates, durations, dependencies, and milestones for easy visual communication of the schedule.

A graphical representation of activities and their logical dependencies, such as finish-to-start relationships, used to analyze sequencing, calculate the critical path, and identify float.

A technique for constructing a schedule network using nodes to represent activities and arrows to show dependencies; it supports four relationship types including finish-to-start and start-to-start.

The interdependent limits of scope, time, and cost that define a project's performance envelope; changing any one typically forces adjustment in at least one of the others, with quality often affected.

An approved, frozen version of scope, schedule, or cost used as a reference point for measuring performance; changes to a baseline require formal change control approval.

The process of reviewing all change requests, approving or rejecting them, and managing changes to deliverables, plans, and baselines in a coordinated way across the whole project.

A formally constituted group, often including the sponsor and key stakeholders, that reviews change requests and decides whether to approve, reject, or defer them according to project governance rules.

The integrated document describing how the project will be executed, monitored, controlled, and closed, consolidating subsidiary plans for scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, and communication.

A repository recording identified risks with their causes, potential effects, probability, impact, owners, and planned responses; it is reviewed and updated throughout the project.

A planned action to address an identified risk, chosen from strategies such as avoid, mitigate, transfer, or accept for threats, and exploit, enhance, share, or accept for opportunities.

Time or money set aside to address known risks that have been identified and accepted, released only when the associated risk event occurs and typically controlled by the project manager.

A budget held outside the approved cost baseline for unplanned, unknown work that falls within project scope; its use usually requires sponsor or senior management approval.

A performance measurement method integrating scope, schedule, and cost by comparing planned value, earned value, and actual cost to derive variances and forecasts of final project outcomes.

The difference between earned value and actual cost; a positive result means the project is spending less than the work accomplished is worth, while a negative result signals a cost overrun.

The difference between earned value and planned value; a negative result indicates less work has been completed than scheduled, while a positive result shows the project is ahead of plan.

The process-oriented activities that ensure the project uses appropriate processes and standards so that deliverables meet requirements; it is preventive and focuses on how work is done.

The inspection-oriented activities that monitor and verify specific deliverable results against quality requirements, identifying defects so they can be corrected before acceptance.

A chart mapping work packages or activities to the people or roles responsible for them, often using a RACI notation of responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed.

A subsidiary plan defining who needs which information, in what format, how often, and through which channels, along with owners and escalation paths for project communications.

A record of problems or concerns currently affecting the project, with owners, priority, and status; unlike risks, issues have already occurred and require active resolution.

An organizational unit that standardizes project governance and provides templates, training, coaching, and oversight; its authority may range from supportive to directive over project managers.