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With 20 % of effort put in, 80 % of the desired results can be achieved. Conversely 80 % of one's energy needs to be spent on the remaining 20 %.

In a matrix organisation, project team members typically remain in their line unit and dedicate a certain proportion of their time to the project. Complications occur unless clear rules are established.

Difference between the projected costs of work or services performed (= value of work performed, actual cost to complete, budgeted cost of work performed) and the projected costs of work or services to be performed (= the projected costs of scheduled work and services to be performed up to the review date). The performance deviation delivers information about the extent to which the person responsible for a work package or sub-task is behind or ahead of schedule. Cost trends are used to ascertain whether a product or service is behind or ahead of schedule. The informativeness of this performance indicator depends on how reliably progress can be measured.

Teams that work together successfully and purposefully to accomplish tasks. Performing teams deliver good work results and are successful in their collaboration.

Achievement of goals that you have set for yourself. As soon as these goals are achieved, a feeling of success appears.

A method for analysing the influences on a project. Political, economic, sociocultural, technological, legal or environmental impact on the project.

Special type of a process model. Projects are divided into different phases in order to break the overall project goal down to partial steps.

An illustrative chart that enables the two-dimensional project classification. It is used in the project selection process, for instance. Projects that are available for selection are evaluated or classified in terms of two criteria (dimensions).
One widely used portfolio chart is the competitive advantage vs customer benefit portfolio (competitive advantage = first dimension, customer benefit = second dimension). Projects or the products that are developed in the projects are evaluated in terms of the competitive advantage that they will offer the organisation and the benefits that they will offer the customer.

In the organisational structure: an area of responsibility or competence assigned to a person.
In the simplest case, each position has one function allocated to it. In practice, this is seldom possible because, even in small-scale projects, one person often performs several different functions and in large-scale projects certain functions are allocated to several different position holders.

In addition to the values and principles, these Practices are meant to support the developers in behaving according to the Principles. They can be categorised as follows:

• Management practices
• Team practices
• Programming practices

Quantifiable dependence between events or activities.
The following standardised relationships exist between activities in a network diagram: standard sequence (finish-to-start), start sequence (start-to-start), finish sequence (finish-to-finish) and jump sequence (start-to-finish).

15 principles which are derived from the values and serve the basic understanding of XP.

Definition or use of priorities in conflict situations, for example, for the

• call on project team members by project and line,
• fulfilment of conflicting objectives,
• implementation of activities competing for the same resources.

The probability that a certain risk will actually occur. Probability of occurrence, like amount of loss (= impact), is a risk assessment criterion.

Project objectives relating to project processes (i.e. not to the project deliverable or the project result), such as interim results and transitions between phases.

Step-by-step definition of a process. This term has several meanings, including a (primitive) pre-stage for a method or a (complex) framework for specific methods.

A schedule that divides a complex process into sub-processes (activities). It generally includes the

• length, volume of work and other parameters for each activity,
• precedence relationships between the activities,
• earliest/ and latest start and finish dates.

All the rules and tools for project business processes in a project (management system).

Capacity (e.g. person days or machine hours) which is scheduled for, or consumed, during the implementation of work packages or activities.

A provisioning process initiated by a requisition order that extends as far as the provision of the material or equipment at the place of installation or use. The different procurement processes, such as supplier selection, order placement, transportation and payment are generally only performed by the project manager in an autonomous project organisation.

Regular interval for reviewing and evaluating (= grooming) the Product Backlog. This involves going through the stories in the backlog to check whether they are still relevant and whether they still reflect stakeholder interests.

All Items listed in the Product Backlog.
These may include:

• Tasks
• Activities
• Stories
• Epics
• Themes

The Product Backlog is a prioritised backlog of tasks, activities, stories, epics, etc. which are called Product Backlog Items (PBI). The Commitment of the Product Backlog is the Product Goal.

Is a Commitment of the Scrum Team to the Product Backlog and serves as a compass for the development of the current product. It describes a precise goal, which is pursued with the Scrum project and generated within the Sprints.

He represents the customer or the stakeholders and is responsible for the product. As manager of the Product Backlog, he fulfills the following functions:

• Developing and explicitly communicating the Product Goal.
• Creating and clearly communicating Product Backlog Items
• Ordering Product Backlog Items.
• Ensuring that the Product Backlog is transparent, visible and understood.

Structure of the product of human activity. In projects, a differentiation is made between two detailed structures.

Maps out the vision for developing new products based on economic criteria. This goes beyond the completion of the project and includes the product life cycle as well.

Major projects that comprise several individual projects. One example of a programme is the development of a new truck generation in a project that involves the automobile manufacturer and his suppliers (development of the vehicle plus all component parts, set-up of production facilities, establishment of the service network etc.).
A programme manager is responsible for a programme. A programme differs from a project portfolio because – like a project – it is a temporary undertaking. The truck programme ends when the customer is able to purchase the new truck models. The programme manager is then released from his duties.

Undertaking that is characterised by an overall uniqueness of conditions, such as objectives, time, financial, human resource-related and other constraints, difference from other projects and project-specific organisation structures.

A business decision to implement a project, the central aspect of the project start-up.

The total amount of funds that are made available to the project.

Points out the differences between a routine task and a project.

All procedures and documents that are necessary for the proper conclusion of the project, such as acceptance/ handover of project results, final accounts, controlling, project documentation, project evaluation, assessment, reporting.

All procedures and documents that are necessary for the proper conclusion of the project, such as acceptance/ handover of project results, final accounts, controlling, project documentation, project evaluation, assessment, reporting.

In general: an area of supervisory responsibility with contractually defined duties and competences (variance analysis) and targeted influencing of project processes. Construction industry: responsibilities or activities that are specifically defined, for example, by the Association of Project Controllers (in Germany) or the Association of Cost Engineers (UK).

See controller.

Generic term for all costs incurred during the course of a project. Total project costs.

A collection of selected, important data relating to configuration, organisation, funding, solutions, procedures and achieved project objectives.

The environment in which the project is formulated, assessed and implemented. This directly or indirectly affects the project and/ or is affected by the project.

The environment in which the project is formulated, assessed and implemented. This directly or indirectly affects the project and/ or is affected by the project.

A document or a collection of files, building the foundation of the project which is to be planned. Valid for each project team member and until the project close-out.
Risk of confusion: the project manual is not the project management manual!

All processes that directly contribute to arriving at a specific target situation. Also includes the (technical) planning process. (See project preparation)

Data for the planning, control and monitoring of a project.

All equipment and resources, and the interrelationships between such equipment and resources, in the acquisition, processing, evaluation, onward transfer and storage of project information. Standards and data stock are also part of the project information system.

The number of time units (e.g. months, years) to implement a project. This is initially estimated, calculated and shortened if necessary, then planned, implemented, monitored, corrected as necessary and documented.

Project management involves

• the application of methods and management tools (administration task),
• techniques and concepts of leadership (leadership task) and
• integration of the competences of the persons involved in the project (organisational task)

• analysis
• planning
• controlling
• monitoring
• administration
• review
• documentation

Expenditure of human and financial capital for the management of a project.

A compilation of rules that applies for the planning and implementation of all projects within an organisation.

The project management office ensures that the project portfolio is transparent (deadlines, resource usage, costs, functional relationships between the projects) and supports the processes of project selection and coordination. In some cases it also provides a pool of project managers, organises project management training for project team members, standardises processes and develops standards. (See project controller)

Operational project management (= doing the project right) is the responsibility of the project manager. He has to ensure adherence to deadlines and budgets, that the product or service is delivered in the required quality and that the project is implemented to the satisfaction of the most important stakeholders.

All processes to be performed by the project management team within the scope of a project, including project preparation, project start-up, project implementation (= management of technical planning and implementation) and project close-out.

A defined entity in the organisation that through the interaction of its units is able to prepare and implement projects.

Term used to describe all project management instruments and resources, especially software.

Strategic project management (= doing the right project) is generally the responsibility of a body established for this specific purpose, e.g. the project portfolio board. This body should not be confused with a steering committee installed for one specific project The members of a project portfolio board are generally the senior executives in the organisation and are responsible for the proper selection and timely abandonment of projects. They also make decisions that cannot be made by the individual project managers, but only by a body familiar with all the projects in the portfolio and with the organisation's business strategy. These decisions include the decision to approve the project budget.

For successful project work, project managers have a need for rules, framework conditions and working systems that support them in their project work, give them orientation and help them in difficult situations. Project managers make sure that deadlines and costs are met, that the desired performance is delivered in the required quality and that the project is completed to the satisfaction of the stakeholders.
As leaders, project managers take advantage of the opportunities that arise, they analyse, plan, realise, review what has been achieved, draw lessons and use the knowledge gained in the current project and in future tasks, they document what they have done and achieved, learn from it and optimise their working methods and their leadership behaviour.

A handbook documenting all the rules and agreements for a project (generally based on the project management manual).

A visual representation of the workflow of a project. Shows how all WPs and other activities are linked to eachother.

A demonstrable result to be achieved within a defined framework for the complete project.

All objectives related to and to be achieved in the project. Differentiation is made between

• objectives relating to the project deliverable: quality, cost and time objectives,
• objectives relating to the project result: process and result objectives,
• process-related objectives: general and operational objectives,
• the degree to which objectives are binding: essential and non-essential objectives.

The organisation in a project or PM system. See organisation. A characteristic feature of a project organisation is its ability to vary headcount and equipment used during the different project phases.

Person or group of people to be involved in a project because they have a vested interest in the project or will be affected by the project. Examples: customer, contractor, project manager, project team member, user of the project deliverable, local residents, nature conservation societies, press, public authorities. (See stakeholder)

Generic term for all people working on a project, including project managers and team members.

A project portfolio comprises several related projects that are being implemented by the same organisation (e.g. all organisation projects or all investment projects). Unlike programme managers, portfolio managers (= multi-project managers) hold permanent positions. The project portfolio changes continually because projects are completed or abandoned or new projects are initiated. The portfolio manager does not replace the managers of individual projects in the portfolio. He differs from the programme manager in that he has a controlling function to ensure the transparency of the project portfolio.

See project management, strategic for the functions of the project portfolio board.

All activities and processes to be performed prior to the project start-up phase, which is when project implementation commences.

Systematic prioritisation in projects. High priority projects generally have preferential access to resources to remove bottlenecks.

The entire process leading to the delivery of the project result. It consists, firstly, of the project management process and then many different implementation processes.

The project's degree of completion, or the number of milestones reached.

A business decision approving the use of external services by a project. The term project release is used in different contexts:

• As a go-ahead signal to prepare for project start-up, in this case provisional project release
• As a synonym for project approval
• As the go-ahead for project processes if they do not commence immediately after project release, in this case final project release

Gives all parties involved in the project an overview about the actual state of the project.

Project target situations differ depending on project type. In some cases, deliverable specifically means physical result (e.g. a building), although it is generally used – in organisation projects for instance – to describe a physical result and its environment.

Review of project progress on a specific reporting date.

Choosing projects from a wide selection of proposals according to certain criteria, such as expected profit margin or return on investment.

Legal entity or natural person who sponsors the project.

All people working on a project, both those who work on core project tasks and those who work on ancillary project tasks.

In essence, the business decision to implement an idea in project form.

• The project manager and project team are named.
• The project objectives are confirmed.
• The project budget is approved.
• The project manual is brought into operation.
• All project files are created.

A workshop attended by the project team where project objectives, the project organisation, methods etc. are drafted and agreed.

The structure of a project as shown in the work breakdown structure.

A team of natural persons who are assigned to a project to perform specific tasks, i.e., everybody who works in the specific project. Risk of confusion: the project team is not the project management team (= core team)!

A meeting of project team members. Also called jour fixe, if it takes place regularly on a specific day of the week or month.

Premature termination of a project before the main project objectives have been achieved. In project management, it is quite normal to commence a certain proportion of projects where there is no guarantee that project objectives will be achieved. That's why, in order to minimise losses, it is all the more important to abandon these projects in good time when it becomes clear that the objectives will not be achieved.

Value of work performed which is at variance to the projected cost of that work (= projected cost of work or services to be performed) when the project is behind schedule.

Projected cost for work or services to be performed by a specific date. If the work is on schedule, the projected cost for work or services performed is identical to the projected cost for work or services to be performed. The term "work performed" sometimes used in project management software, is misleading because work performed does not always relate to a completed activity.

(Project) promoter. Expert promoter: a promoter with special professional competence. Power broker: a promoter with special authority.