The GMEC Glossary of project management terms

The GMEC glossary of project management terms has been developed over a number of years. Earlier copies were supplied to both BSI and APM to assist them in the compilation of their glossaries.

Latest Developments

May 2007 - search keywords modified in order to improve definition

General details

The full glossary contains some 700 definitions and is updated on a regular basis. You can either purchase it as a .pdf download from the Project Management Information Shop or you can search the glossary directly within the member's area. The .pdf download gives you the list of Project Management terms arranged in alphabetical order, viewable 10 at a time.

Within the members' area, two methods of searching are provided. The first is achieved by entering the first few letters of the term and pressing 'search'. The system performs a fuzzy search on these letters and returns appropriate terms, their definitions and sometimes explanatory notes.

For example, a search on the letters MON yields the following:

Expected Monetary Value
	The product of an event's probability of occurrence and the (financial )gain or loss that will result. Hence if there is a 50% probability of rain and the rain will result in a œ1000 increase in cost, the EPV will be 0.5x 1000 i.e. œ500

Monitoring
	Monitoring is the recording, analysing and reporting of project performance as compared to the plan in order to identify and report deviations

Monte Carlo Simulation
	A technique used to estimate the likely range of outcomes from a complex process by simulating the process under randomly selected conditions a large number of times.

The second search method enables the member to search for project management terms and their definitions using key words, firstly to define general areas of interest and then to refine the search

This yields a list of appropriate project managment terms and their definitions. For example searching on the primary key word 'Quality Management' and then refining the search on the secodary key word 'Validation' yields the following:

Validation
	The process of providing evidence that a system meets the needs of the user

Verification
	Proof of compliance with specification performance requirements. Verification may be determined by test, analysis, inspection, or demonstration

This enables the researcher to identify topics appropriate to an area of interest and to identify alternative terms that may be used for substantially the same item

The key words below are examples that define primary search parameters:

Primary Key Words	Details of items in this key word category
Project Acceptance	The formal process of accepting delivery of a deliverable or a product
Project Authorisations	The decision that triggers the allocation of funding needed to carry on the project
Project Benefits Management	The process for planning, measuring, monitoring, managing and delivering the project or programme benefits
BoK (Bodies of Knowledge)	Bodies of Knowledge and related or similar documents
Business and Commercial aspects of Project Management	The management of business or commercial aspects of a project or programme
Project Change Control	The process that ensures that all potential changes made to a project’s baseline, including scope, cost, time or performance objectives, are identified and managed
Conflict Management	The process of identifying and addressing differences, managing them and preventing them from becoming destructive elements in a project
Project Control	The process of developing targets and plans; measuring actual performance, comparing it against planned performance, analysing the differences and taking effective action to correct adverse situations
Project Natural Environmental considerations	The way in which project management impacts on the natural environment
Project Finance and Financial control	Securing finance and controlling the financial aspects of a project or programme
General items	This category is used for items that do not fit naturally into the categories of the defined key words or which could be classed under many key words
Project Governance & Organisation	Those parts of corporate governance that are specifically related to project procedures. Alignment of the interests of board directors, project teams and wider stakeholders
Health, Safety & Environment	The process of determining and applying appropriate standards and methods to minimise the likelihood of accidents, injuries or environmental damage both during the project and during the operation of its deliverables
Project Information and Communications	The process of and techniques for collection, storage, dissemination, archiving and appropriate destruction of project information.
Information Technology	The technology appropriate for managing project information
Project Lifecycle	Defined stages over the full duration of a project
Legal aspects of Project Management	The relevant legal duties, rights and processes which should be applied to projects
Project Management Methodologies	Processes for management of projects that contain procedures, definitions and roles and responsibilities
Project Management processes & style	Sets of interrelated resources and activities which transform project inputs into outputs
Multiple -project Management	The simultaneous management of many projects that are interrelated either logically or by shared resources
Project Organisation	The structure of and the relationship between the parts of an entity that is undertaking a project or providing services to a project
Project Appraisal	Calculating the viability of a project
Project Context	The environment in which a project is undertaken
Project Definition	The definition of a project i.e. why it is required, what will be done, how when and where it will be delivered, the organisation and resources required, the standards and procedures to be followed
Performance and progress	Factors concerning the quality of the delivery and the deliverables (outputs) of the project. Techniques for assessing the partial completion of a project, or a measure of the same
Project Planning	Factors associated with the process of identifying the means, resources and actions necessary to accomplish an objective
People in Project Management	Items concerning human resources and human nature in a project environment
Project Procurement	Items concerning the securing of goods or services
Project Quality Management	Topics concerning fitness for purpose or the degree of conformance of the outputs of the process
Project Reviews and Audits	Topics relating to formal reviews or audits of carried out on projects
Project Resource Management	Topics associated with the identification and assignment of resources to activities so that the project is undertaken using appropriate levels of resources and within an acceptable duration
Project Roles	The various roles that are commonly found in the project management environment
Project Requirements Management	Capturing, analysing and testing the documented statements of stakeholder and user wants and need
Project Scheduling	Determining the overall project duration. This includes identification of activities and their logical dependencies, estimating activity durations, taking into account requirements and availability of resources
Project Stakeholders	People who have a vested interest in the success of a project or organisation and the environment in which it operates.
Project Scope Management	Processes by which the deliverables and work to produce these is identified, defined and managed.
Project Strategy and Tactics	High level planning that will enable the project to reach a successful conclusion How the project is to be executed.
Project Success	Factors concerning qualitative or quantitative measures by which the success of the project is judged
Project Systems	Standard methods, facilities, practices and procedures of handling frequently occurring events within the project
Techniques of Project Management	Ways of managing projects, aspects of projects, and different types of projects
Project Technical Management	Managing the technical aspects o projects
Project Management tools	Techniques and software applications that assist in the management of projects
Project Management Training & Learning	Training and learning facilities, courses and techniques appropriate to project management
Types of Project	The different types of project and factors that influence the way in which they should be managed
Project Uncertainty	Unknown or uncertain factors on a project including risks, opportunities, provision of contingencies, etc.
Project Work Breakdown Structure	Factors describing dealing with how a project may be logically divided by level into discrete work groups for scheduling, cost planning and control purposes.
Project Work	Topics concerning the total number of hours, people or effort required to complete project tasks

The following key words are examples that define secondary search parameters:

Secondary Key word	Secondary Key word
Acceptance, Close-out and Demobilisation	Leadership
Accounting	Learning & Development
Agile	Logic
Appraisal	Logistics and Materials Control
Approvals	Marketing and Sales
Audits	Modelling and testing
Behaviour	Models, simulations and techniques
Benefits management	Negotiation
Blueprint	Network and planning techniques
Breakdown structures	Operational phase
Brief, SOR Etc	Opportunity
Business case	Piloting
Certification	Planning
Commissioning & Pre-commissioning	PM Software
Communications	Portfolio Management
Concept phase	Presentation
Concession	PRINCE 2
Concurrent Engineering	Procedures
Configuration management	Programme management
Construction	Project Management
Consumable resources	Project Management Processes
Context	Project Office
Contingency and reserves	Purchasing
Contracting	Quality assurance
Control Board	Quality control
Coordination	Quality planning
Cost change	Rapid Application Development
Cost Control	Rational Unified Process
Cost Management (general)	Reporting
Dates	Requirements Definition & Management
Definition	Requirements Management
Delegation	Resources/ resource type
Design & Development	Reviews
Design Management	Risk management
Dispute resolution	Roll out
DSDM	Safety
Earned Value	Schedule control
Estimating and budgets	Schedule dates
Excellence Models & Maturity	Scope change
Fast Tracking	Scope Statement
Finance and funding	Start up
General	Steering Group
Governance	Structures
Health safety and environment	Systems management
Human resources	Tactics
Implementation or Execution	Teamwork
Information Management	Technology management
Initiation	Tendering and Bidding
Innovation	Theory of Constraints & Critical Chain