Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Glossary
This glossary is made up of terms used in the sixth edition of the APM Body of
Knowledge only. Definitions are provided where terms used are unique to the
profession, or have a unique meaning in the profession.
Accept A response to a threat where solutions are developed iteratively and
no course of action is taken. incrementally throughout the life cycle.
Acceptance criteria The Analogous estimating See
requirements and essential conditions comparative estimating.
that have to be achieved before a
Analytical estimating See bottom-
deliverable is accepted.
up estimating.
Accounting The process of collecting
Avoid A response to a threat that
and communicating financial information
eliminates its probability or impact on the
to meet legal requirements, business
project.
management requirements, plus internal
and external stakeholders’ needs. Balance A phase in the portfolio life
cycle where the component projects
Activity 1. A task, job, operation or
and programmes are balanced in terms
process consuming time and possibly
of risk, resource usage, cash flow and
other resources.
impact across the business.
2. The smallest self-contained unit of
Baseline The reference levels against
work in a project.
which a project, programme or portfolio
Activity duration The length of time is monitored and controlled.
that it takes to complete an activity.
Benefit The quantifiable and
Activity-on-node network A measurable improvement resulting
network diagram where the activities are from completion of deliverables that is
represented by the nodes. perceived as positive by a stakeholder.
It will normally have a tangible value,
Actual expenditure The costs that
expressed in monetary terms that will
have been charged to the budget and
justify the investment.
for which payment has been made, or
accrued. Benefits management The
identification, definition, planning,
Actual progress A measure of
tracking and realisation of business
the work that has been completed for
benefits.
comparison with the baseline.
Benefits realisation The practice of
Agile A family of development
ensuring that benefits are derived from
methodologies where requirements and
outputs and outcomes.
responsible for the governance that one activity cannot finish until
infrastructure of P3 management. another activity has finished.
Environment The circumstances and Finish-to-start A dependency in an
conditions within which the project, activity-on-node network. It indicates
programme or portfolio must operate. that one activity cannot start until
another activity has finished.
Escalation The process by which
issues are drawn to the attention of a Float A term used to describe the
higher level of management. flexibility with which an activity may be
rescheduled. There are various types of
Estimate An approximation of time
float, such as total float and free float.
and cost targets, refined throughout the
life cycle. Forecast expenditure The
estimated and predicted use of money.
Estimating The use of a range of tools
and techniques to produce estimates. Funding The means by which the
capital required to undertake a project,
Estimating funnel A representation
programme or portfolio is secured and
of the increasing levels of estimating
then made available as required.
accuracy that can be achieved through
the phases of the life cycle. Gantt chart A graphical
representation of activity against time.
Ethics frameworks Sets recognised
Variations may include information such
standards of conduct and behaviour
as ‘actual vs. planned’, resource usage
within the P3 profession.
and dependencies.
Event-driven Control actions or
Gate The point between phases,
reports that are triggered by a specific
gates and/or tranches where a go/
event are referred to as ‘event-driven’.
no go decision can be made about the
Exploit A response to an opportunity remainder of the work.
that maximises both its probability and
Go/No go A form of control where
impact.
a decision is made whether or not to
Extended life cycle A life cycle continue with the work.
model that includes the operation of
Governance The set of policies,
outputs and realisation of benefits.
regulations, functions, processes,
Financial management The process procedures and responsibilities that
of estimating and justifying costs in order define the establishment, management
to secure funds, controlling expenditure and control of projects, programmes or
and evaluating the outcomes. portfolios.
Finish-to-finish A dependency in an Handover The point in the life cycle
activity-on-node network. It indicates where deliverables are handed over to
the sponsor and users.