Autonomous project organisation (= Pure project organisation)
A form of organisation used in large-scale projects. The project manager assumes full responsibility for the project and is the disciplinary superior of the project team members. Also called pure or absolute project organisation.
Brainwriting
A problem-solving technique that involves creating a comprehensive list of related ideas.
Change management
Assessment of all change requests, especially when they affect project objectives. Relates to changes in the project environment.
Core team (= Project management team)
Team consisting of the management staff of a project (e.g. project manager, sub-project manager). Risk of confusion: the project management team is not the project team!
All of the customer’s requirements in respect of goods or services ordered from a contractor. A list of all the customer’s or user’s requirements of the project (especially objectives, scope of delivery and services, constraints). The customer specification should also be used by the project, as customer, when it subcontracts work.
Delegation
Hand over tasks to project team members so that they can perform them.
Eisenhower matrix
Tasks are classified into important/ unimportant and urgent/ non-urgent. Depending on where the tasks are located, they are prioritised differently.
Fairy tale method
A method that is helpful in becoming aware of life goals. For this purpose, one's own life fairy tale is written. The focus is on all private and professional achievements.
Free float (= FF)
The amount of float available when all predecessor activities are scheduled for their earliest deadlines.
Functional project organisation (= Unit or line project organisation)
The hierarchical relationships between staff and departmental managers, central departmental managers and executive management team members in an organisation. In project management, line organisation refers to the vertical incorporation of project team members in their base organisation.
Funeral oration method
A method that is helpful in becoming aware of life goals. The following questions are to be answered: What do you want to be said in your own funeral speech? What goals do you want to have achieved - both privately and professionally? What was your private and professional life like?
Matrix organisation
Form of project organisation in which all project team members continue to report to their superior in the (vertical) line organisation (e.g. departmental manager) while at the same time ensuring that project requirements are satisfied and carrying out instructions issued by the project manager (horizontal).
Milestone
A significant event (e.g. completion of a sub-task, interim acceptance) during a project.
Milestone plan
Checks the timing of interim results.
Motivation
Reason to move. Can be intrinsic (motivation which is driven by oneself) or extrinsic (motivation which is driven by external factors).
Pareto principle (= 20/80 rule)
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 %.
Personal success
Achievement of goals that you have set for yourself. As soon as these goals are achieved, a feeling of success appears.
PESTLE-Analysis
Political, economic, sociocultural, technological, legal or environmental impact on the project.
Phase model
Special type of a process model. Projects are divided into different phases in order to break the overall project goal down to partial steps.
Process schedule (= Project network diagram)
A schedule that divides a complex process into sub-processes (activities). Generally, includes the length, volume of work and other parameters for each activity, the precedence relationships between the activities and earliest and latest dates.
Project
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.
Project check
Points out the differences between a routine task and a project.
Project close-out (= Project conclusion)
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.
Project environment
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.
Project file (= Project manual)
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!
Project implementation
All processes that directly contribute to arriving at a specific target situation, it also includes the (technical) planning process.
Project network diagram
A visual representation of the workflow of a project. Shows how all WPs and other activities are linked together.
Project report
Gives all parties involved in the project an overview about the actual state of the project.
Project review
Review of project progress on a specific reporting date.
Project staff
All people working on a project, both those who work on core project tasks and those who work on ancillary project tasks.
Project start-up
In essence, the business decision to implement an idea in project form. At the beginning 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 and all project files are created. The project start-up usually takes place between the project preparation and project implementation phases.
Project team
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)!
Quality
Since it relates to all characteristics/ features of a product, quality means the product itself. Quality can also describe the conformity of the performance delivered to the customer’s specifications. As a quality improvement and problem solving-method the Deming cycle can be used (Plan – Do – Check – Act).
Risk value
Probability of an event occurring [%] times the impact if it occurring [CHF].
Specifications
Ensure that project outcomes (goals) are determined before the project is carried out.
Stakeholder
An individual or community of interest that has or could have an impact on the project.
Stakeholder analysis
Method for analysing and visualising the stakeholders’ influence on the project. Stakeholders are classified in a matrix which measures the impact of the project on them and their influence on the project’s success.
Stakeholder management
The application of management methods for correct dealing with stakeholders.
Steering committee
Committee with authorised members to which project representatives report. Its members can be the customer, investor(s), representatives of official bodies and public agencies. The number of steering committee members should be kept to a minimum. It serves as a reporting, decision-making and escalation body for the project manager.
Sub-project manager (= SPM)
Person responsible for a sub-project, he is part of the project management team.
Sub-task (= ST)
A project task that is sub-divided into smaller units in the work breakdown structure. It can be a group of related WPs in the WBS. Sub-tasks can be defined at several levels, whereby each higher-level sub-task comprises a group of related sub-tasks at the next lower level.
The supplier’s strategy for implementing the customer specification. In most cases, the supplier specification is agreed between the customer and the project (manager), though it is often simply one of the contractor’s internal documents.
Targets (= Project objectives)
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, displayed in the so called magic triangle), 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). Project objectives can compete with each other or complement each other.
Toilet map method
A method that is helpful in becoming aware of life goals. For this, a list with two columns is made every time the bathroom is used within 14 days. One column contains private goals, the other focuses on professional goals. Everything that seems to be important and should be achieved is written down.
Tuckman’s team development
Phase: Forming
Phase: Storming
Phase: Norming
Phase: Performing
Phase: Adjourning
Work breakdown structure (= WBS)
Systematic breakdown of a project into sub-tasks and work packages. The WBS can be in chart or table form, object-oriented, process-oriented, function-oriented, phase-oriented or combined.
Work package (WP)
Smallest unit in a WBS which describes the activities to accomplish a certain task. Beside these activities, an estimation of the duration and the costs are written down. Ideally it is defined as a closed-end performance element, deviating from another and linked to other WPs in a clear and straightforward way and assigned to least one work package manager.
Work package description
A detailed document with all relevant information about the work package (e.g. person responsible, WP content, dates, breakdown of activities/ tasks).
Work package owner (= WPO)
Responsible for the WP. The WPO is named in the work package description, is part of the project management team. He reports to project management on progress and is in charge of preparing a detailed work package description (e.g. activities that must be performed for realisation).