references for project management assignment

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Project Management Institute. (2008). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (4th ed.). Project Management Institute.

Project Management Institute (PMI). (2022). About Us. https://www.pmi.org/about

Project Manager. (2019, Nov 27). The 10 project management knowledge areas (PMBOK). https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/10-project-management-knowledge-areas

Anthony, S. (2009). Major league innovation. Harvard Business Review . https://hbr.org/2009/10/major-league-innovation

Cabrera, E. F. & Bonache, J. (1999, March). An expert HR system for aligning organizational culture and strategy. Human Resource Planning, 22 (1).

Cooper, D. G., Edgett, D. J., & Kleinschmidt, D. J. (2000). New problems, new solutions: Making portfolio management more effective. Research Technology Management , 43 (2). http://www.stage-gate.net/downloads/working_papers/wp_09.pdf

Dean, T. (2013).   Network+ guide to networks (6th ed.). Course Technology.

El-Erian, M. A. (2014, June 13). The secret to Southwest’s success. Bloomberg View . http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-06-13/the-secret-to-southwest-s-success.

Hammonds, K. H. (2001, February 28). Michael Porter’s big ideas. Fast Company .  https://www.fastcompany.com/42485/michael-porters-big-ideas

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Strategy. In  Merriam-Webster.com dictionary . Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strategy

Morgan, M., Levitt, R. E., & Malek, W. A. (2007). Executing your strategy: How to break it down and get it done . Harvard Business School Publishing.

Porter, M. E. (2001, November 12). Manager’s journal: How to profit from a downturn. Wall Street Journal . https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1005516732627585320

Russo, P.E., & Boor, S. (1993). How fluent is your interface?: Designing for international users. Proceedings of the INTERACT ’93 and CHI ’93 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems .

Seeber, J. (2011). Project selection criteria: How to play it right. International Project Management Association .  http://www.ipma-usa.org/articles/SelectionCriteria.pdf

DiSC Profile. (n.d.). History of DiSC. Retrieved from: https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc/history-of-disc

Laufer, A., Hoffman, E. J., Russell, J. S., & Cameron, S.W.  (2015). What successful project managers do.  MIT Sloan Management Review , Spring:  43-51. http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/what-successful-project-managers-do/.

Myers, I. (1962). The Myers Briggs type indicator : Manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

Amabile, T. & Kramer, S.  (2011).   The progress principle: Using small wins to ignite joy, engagement, and creativity at work . Harvard Business Review Press.

Dugan, J. P.  (2017). Leadership theory: Cultivating critical perspectives . Jossey-Bass.

Kerby, H. W., Brittland DeKorver, K., & Cantor, J. (2018, September 1).  Fusion story form: A novel, hybrid form of story.  International Journal of Science Education , 40 (14),  1774-1794. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2018.1512172

Laufer, A. (2012). Mastering the leadership role in project management: Practices that deliver remarkable results . FT Press.

Laufer, A., Little, T., Russell, J., & Maas, B. (2018). Becoming a project leader: Blending planning, agility, resilience, and collaboration to deliver successful projects . Palgrave Macmillan.

Manning, T.  (2018). Help! I need to master critical conversations . Trevor Manning Consultancy Pty Ltd.

Mayer, J.D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D.R. (2001). MSCEIT (trademark) personal summary report , New York & Toronto: Multi-health Systems, Inc.

Nelson, J.  (2017, October 4). Lecture on reliable promising for EPD612: Technical Project Management. University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Page, S. E. (2008). The difference: How the power of diversity creates better groups, firms, schools, and societies . Princeton University Press.

Rock, D. & Grant, H. (2016, November 4). Why diverse teams are smarter. Harvard Business Review . https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter.

Snow, F. (2003). Give it to Chuck. Ask Magazine , 12-13.

Tuckman, B. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups.  Psychological Bulletin ,  63 , 384–399.

Viki, T.  (2016, December 6). Why diverse teams are more creative.  Forbes .  https://www.forbes.com/sites/tendayiviki/2016/12/06/why-diverse-teams-are-more-creative/#f27da2772628.

Bigelow, B. (2011, 22 October). Scope – mastering the fuzzy constraint [Paper presentation]. PMI Global Congress 2011, Dallas, TX, United States. https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/scope-understanding-change-perspectives-managing-6177

Bloomenthal, A. (n.d.). Deliverables. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/deliverables.asp .

California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS). (2008, August 28).  Project monitoring & control procedure . Office of Systems Integration.  http://www.bestpractices.ca.gov/sysacq/documents/Project%20Monitoring%20&%20Controlling%20Procedure.pdf

Contract. (n.d.). The People’s Law Dictionary . (1981-2005). Retrieved July 1, 2018. https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/contract

Feldsher, R. (2016, July 9). What to include in a project scope statement. Clarizen. https://www.clarizen.com/what-to-include-in-a-project-scope-statement/

Howell, G.A., Laufer, A., & Ballard, G. (1993). Uncertainty and project objectives.  Project Appraisal ,  8 (1), 37-43.  https://doi.org/10.1080/02688867.1993.9726884

Martinez, M. (n.d.) Project management scope . Project Management Skills . https://www.project-management-skills.com/project-management-scope.html

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Planning. In  Merriam-Webster.com dictionary . Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/planning

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Proposal. In  Merriam-Webster.com dictionary . Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proposal

Peterman, R. (2016, September 12).  Project management phases: Exploring phase #4 — monitoring & control.   PM project-management.com .    https://project-management.com/project-management-phases-exploring-phase-4-monitoring-control/

Peters, C. (2011, May 10).  An overview of the RFP process for nonprofits, charities, and libraries: Some basic considerations for each phase of the RFP process.  Tech Soup . http://www.techsoup.org/support/articles-and-how-tos/overview-of-the-rfp-process

Portny, S. (n.d.).  What to include in a project scope statement. Dummies .   http://www.dummies.com/careers/project-management/what-to-include-in-a-project-scope-statement/

Financial Times. (n.d.). Risk management. Financial Times Lexicon. http://lexicon.ft.com.

Parker, D. & Mobey, A. (2004). Action research to explore perceptions of risk in project management. I nternational Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 53 (1), 18–32. https://doi.org/10.1108/17410400410509932

Business Dictionary. (n.d.)  Businessdictionary.com dictionary . Retrieved May 2, 2018, from  http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/direct-cost.html.

Harrin, E. (2017, October 13). Learn what a project milestone is.  The Balance Careers .   https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-a-project-milestone-3990338

Law, J.  (Ed.).  (2016).  A dictionary of business and management  (6th Edition). Oxford University Press.

Project-Management.com. (2016). PMO and project management dictionary.  https://project-management.com/pmo-and-project-management-dictionary/

State of Michigan: Department of Technology, Management & Budget. (2013, August). Project management key term, definitions and acronyms.  https://www.michigan.gov/documents/suite/PM_KeyTerms_Defs_Acronyms_080213_431285_7.pdf

Symes, S. (2018, April, 13). Advantages & disadvantages of a fixed-price contract.  Chron .  http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-fixedprice-contract-21066.html.

Thomack, David. 2018. “Introduction to Lean and Project Delivery.”  Video Lecture for CEE 498: Construction Management.  University of Wisconsin-Madison, College of Engineering, April 20.

Tracy, P. (n.d.). What is a general and administrative expense (G&A)?  InvestingAnswers.  https://investinganswers.com/dictionary/g/general-and-administrative-expense-ga

Viter, I. (2021). Creating a Project Budget-A Complete Guide. Forecast. https://www.forecast.app/blog/how-to-create-a-project-budget

Duarte, D. L. & Tennant Snyder, N.  (2006). Mastering virtual teams: Strategies, tools, and techniques that succeed.  Josey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint.

Govindarajan, V. & Gupta, A. K.  (2001) . Building an effective global business team.  MIT Sloan Management Review . http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/building-an-effective-global-business-team/.

Meyer, E.  (2010, August 19). The four keys to success with virtual teams.”   Forbes .  https://www.forbes.com/2010/08/19/virtual-teams-meetings-leadership-managing-cooperation.html?sh=532fa6e630cc

Purvanova, R. K. (2014).  Face-to-face versus virtual teams: What have we really learned? The Psychologist-Manager Journal , 17 (1), 2-29. http://www.doi.org/10.1037/mgr0000009

Siebdrat, F., Hoegel, M., & Ernst, H. (2009, July 1).  How to manage virtual teams. MIT  Sloan Management Review,   Summer,  63-68. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/how-to-manage-virtual-teams/

Sivasankari, R. (2010). Art of communication in project management. Project Management Institute . https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/effective-communication-better-project-management-6480

Thompson, L. [Kellog School of Management]. (2015, July 31). Optimizing virtual teams [Video]. YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SzWrazgt7Y&feature=youtu.be

Mackenzie, L.N., Wehner, J., Correll, S. (2019). Harvard Business Review. Why Most Performance Evaluations Are Biased, and How To Fix Them. https://hbr.org/2019/01/why-most-performance-evaluations-are-biased-and-how-to-fix-them

Williams, T. C.  (2011).   Rescue the problem project: A complete guide to identifying, preventing, and recovering from project failure.   AMACOM.

Commisceo Global Consulting Ltd. (2022a). Hello! (Bonjour) and Welcome to our Guide to Canadian Culture, Business Practices and Etiquette . https://www.commisceo-global.com/resources/country-guides/canada-guide

Commisceo Global Consulting Ltd. (2022b). Italy: Language, Culture, Etiquette and Business Practices . https://www.commisceo-global.com/resources/country-guides/italy-guide

Commisceo Global Consulting Ltd. (2022c). Sweden: Culture, Etiquette & Business Practices . https://www.commisceo-global.com/resources/country-guides/sweden-guide

Lysgaard, S. (1955). Adjustment in a foreign society: Norwegian Fulbright grantees visiting the United States. International Social Science Bulletin, 7, 45-51.

Participate Learning.  (2018). The Four Stages of Culture Shock. https://www.participatelearning.com/blog/the-4-stages-of-culture-shock/

Zimmermann, K.A. & Gordon, J. (2022). Indian culture: customs and Traditions. https://www.livescience.com/28634-indian-culture.html

Beck, K., Beedle, M., van Bennekum, A., Cockburn, A.,  Cunningham, W., Fowler, M., Greening, J., Highsmith, J., Hunt, A., Jeffries, R., Kern, J., Marick, B., Martin, R. C., Mellor, S., Schwaber, K., Sutherland, J., & Thomas, D. (2001). Principles behind the Agile Manifesto. http://agilemanifesto.org/iso/en/principles.html.

Cohn, Z. & Boone, G. (2016, September 20). Mississippi brings agile and modular techniques to child welfare system contract. 18F . https://18f.gsa.gov/2016/09/20/mississippi-agile-modular-techniques-child-welfare-system/.

Cohn, M. (2010, January 7). The role of leaders on a self-organizing team. Mountain Goat Software . https://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/blog/the-role-of-leaders-on-a-self-organizing-team.

Gupta, A. (2017, September 19). Resource capacity planning for agile teams. PM . https://project-management.com/resource-capacity-planning-for-agile-teams/.

Merrill, R. (2017, October 2). Senior business analyst [Interview]. University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mittal, Nitin. 2013. “Self-Organizing Teams: What and How.”  Scrum Alliance.  January 7. https://scrumalliance.org/community/articles/2013/january/self-organizing-teams-what-and-how.

OptiSol. (2015, February 23). What is the scope creep in agile development? https://www.optisolbusiness.com/insight/what-is-scope-creep-in-agile-development

ORC International: Expert Advisory Services. (n.d.). Rapid Product Development Experts . https://www.expertengine.com/experts/?strSearchType=all&strQuery=rapid+product+development

Saunders, Gareth. 2015. “The challenges of resource management in our Agile team.”  Digital Communications.  November 9. http://digitalcommunications.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/2015/11/09/the-challenges-of-resource-management-in-our-agile-team/.

Strategic Project Management Copyright © 2022 by Debra Patterson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Project Management: Referencing for Project Management

As Built Environment   students, you will be asked to use the APA 7th referencing style . 

What is referencing and why is it important?

At university you are expected to reference information sources used in your assignments. Referencing is important as it:

• gives credit to authors
• shows that you’ve done your research  
• means that others can find the resources you have used .
• Academic Integrity Study Guide

Referencing for Project Management

As a built environment student, you will be asked to use the APA 7th referencing style. The Library's APA guide will give you guidance, templates and examples you can use to build your own references. 

Referencing Videos

Sample references for Project Management

Ingason, H., & Jónasson, H. I. (2020).  Project execution . Routledge.

Journal article:

Kivilä, J., Martinsuo, M., & Vuorinen, L. (2017). Sustainable project management through project control in infrastructure projects. International Journal of Project Management, 35 (6), 1167-1183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2017.02.009 

Australian Institute of Project Management. (2020, September 18). Specialist project management: The engine of successful economic recovery . https://www.aipm.com.au/resources/reports/spm

Library database:

Isurv. (n.d.).  Earned value management . https://www.isurv.com/

Standards Australia & Standards New Zealand. (2018). Quality management - guidelines for quality management in projects  (AS/NZS ISO 10006:2018). https://www.saiglobal.com/

• << Previous: Search for Information
• Plan Your Search
• Search for Information
• Why we reference
• Referencing guide
• Referencing videos
• Sample references

Related guides

You might be able to find what you need in one of the related guides below

• Construction Project Management Guide
• Management Guide

Need more help?

• Last Updated: Jul 4, 2024 3:31 PM
• URL: https://studyguides.lib.uts.edu.au/projectmanagement

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Adams, S 2019, Dilbert Collections , Andrews McMeel Publishing.

Burke, R 2017, Fundamentals of project management , 2nd edn, Burke Publishing.

Burns, J 1978,  Leadership, Harper & Row, New York.

Fiedler, F 1971, ‘Validation and extension of the contingency model of leadership effectiveness’, Psychological Bulletin, vol. 76, no. 2.

Gardiner, P 2015, Project management: a strategic approach, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.

Gido, J & Clements, J 2017, Successful project management , 7th edn, Cengage.

Hartley, S 2018, Project management: a practical guide to planning and managing projects, 4th edn, Allen & Unwin Academic.

Infrastructure Australia 2013,  National infrastructure plan: June 2013 report to COAG and assessments, Australian Government, Canberra,  https://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/publications/national-infrastructure-plan-june-2013-report-coag-and-assessments

Leavitt, H 1986,  Corporate pathfinders, Dow-Jones-Irwin and Penguin Books.

Lindskold, S 1978, ‘Trust development, the GRIT Proposal, and the effects of conciliatory acts on conflict and corporation’, Psychological Bulletin, vol. 85, no. 4.

Meredith, J & Mantel, S  2019, Project management: a managerial approach , 10th  edn, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Mobey, A & Parker, D  2002, ‘Risk evaluation and its importance to project implementation’, Work Study , vol. 51, no. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/00438020210430760

Mohiuddin, M, Rahman, MN & Abedin, MZ  2017, ‘Uses of innovative project management tools in the establishment of e-Centers (Solar PV System Installation Project) without electricity in Bangladesh: a case study on InGen Technology Limited’, International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research , vol. 6, no. 2. https://bit.ly/33hI7HE

Pinto, J 2019, Project management: achieving competitive advantage , 5th edn, Pearson, Prentice Hall, Sydney.          

Project Management Institute  2021, A guide to the project management body of knowledge. 7th edn, Project Management Institute.

Shenhar, A 2001, ‘One size does not fit all projects: exploring classical contingency domains’, Management Science, vol. 47, no. 3.

Shi, Q & Chen, J 2006, The human side of project management: leadership skills. Project Management Institute.

Solera, J 2009, Project decelerators – lack of stakeholder support ,  Silicon Valley Project Management ,   https://svprojectmanagement.com/project-decelerators-lack-of-stakeholder-support .

Tannenbaum, R & Schmidt, W 1958, ‘How to choose a leadership pattern’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 36.

Whetton, D & Cameron, K 2005,  Developing management skills, Pearson Education.

Project Management: A Strategic Approach Copyright © 2022 by Carmen Reaiche is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Project Management: APA Referencing

• SIT Library books, ebooks & journals
• Online Databases
• Research Help
• Web Resources
• APA Referencing
• Te Tiriti o Waitangi

Referencing is a critical part of assignments, you must always acknowledge where information has come from e.g. article, book or website.

APA 7th edition colour coded guide to referencing

• Parts of a reference...
• Colour code used in examples...
• Book with edition other than first
• Edited book
• Chapter in an edited book
• Journal article from online databases
• Journal article from the internet e.g. Google Scholar
• Lippincott Procedures
• MIMS New Ethicals
• Webpage with an author
• Webpage with no author listed
• Website with no date
• Document on a website with a corporate author

A reference has four main pieces of information: author, date, title and source information.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of work: Second part of title. Source information.

Author: Names are inverted, surname comes first followed by initial/s. For two or more initials leave single spaces between initials.  Always use ‘&’ between the last two names in a reference, not ‘and’.

Date: Copyright or publication year in brackets, followed by a full stop.  Provide the most specific date possible, so if month and day are given, include them as well as the year e.g. (2018, September 16).

Title: Capitalise only the first letter of first word.  For a two-part title also capitalise the first letter of the first word of the second part e.g. Small business management: Entrepreneurship and beyond .  If a proper noun (person, country, company etc) is in the title the first letter is capitalised e.g. Two people, one land: The New Zealand wars .  Most titles are also italicised, the exceptions are a journal article’s title or a chapter’s title in an edited book.

Source information: Publisher name, journal information, DOI or URL.  Do not include Inc. or Ltd as part of a publisher’s name.  Do not include a full stop at the end of DOIs or URLs.  For articles, source information includes the journal’s title, volume and issue number, page range and DOI or URL (if article is freely available on the internet).  Capitalise the first letter of all major words in a journal’s title and italicise along with the volume number but not the issue number e.g. Journal of Business Ethics, 150 (3), 961-709. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3171-1     

The tabs of this box show examples of reference structures for common information sources.  Each example uses a colour code to identify the four main pieces of information a reference must include.

Wright, M. (2006). Two peoples, one land: The New Zealand wars . Reed Books.

Rudman, R. (2010). Human resources management in New Zealand (5 th ed.). Pearson.

• Please note there is no full stop or comma between the title and the edition number in brackets.  Close brackets and end with a full stop.

Shanken, E. A. (Ed.). (2009). Art and electronic media. Phaidon Press.

• Use (Ed.) for one editor or (Eds.) for multiple editors. Close the brackets and end with a full stop.

Papps, E. (2015). Cultural safety: Daring to be different. In D. Wepa (Ed.), Cultural safety in Aotearoa New Zealand (2 nd ed., pp. 36-48). Cambridge University Press.

• The chapter title is not in intalics, however, the title of the edited book is written in italics.
• Include the chapter page range.  If the book has an edition or volume number include this in the brackets before the page range.
• Write the word “In”, then the initials and last name (not inverted) of each editor. Use (Ed.) for one editor or (Eds.) for multiple editors. After the editor brackets end with a comma.

Example of a journal article from the online databases with a DOI:

Grandy, G., & Sliwa, M.   (2017).   Contemplative leadership: The possibilities for the ethics of leadership theory and practice.   Journal of Business Ethics, 143 (3), 423-440.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2802-2   

Write the authors’ names in the order they appear in the article.

• Capitalise the first letter of all major words in the journal’s title and italicise along with the volume number (but not the issue number).
• Do not put a space between the volume number and the brackets around the issue number.
• Do not include pp. at the start of the page range.      
• Articles from online databases accessed through the library's MySIT page must include the DOI number if available. 

Example of a journal article from the online databases without a DOI:             

Mohammed, M., & Naji, F. L. (2017). Benefits of exercise training for computer-based staff: A meta analyses. International Journal of Kinesiology & Sports Science, 5 (2), 16-23.

• Articles from online databases accessed through the library's MySIT page must include the DOI number .  If no DOI is listed on the article's record, end the reference after the page range.             

Lagerkvist, C. J., & Hess, S. (2011). A meta-analysis of consumer willingness to pay for farm animal welfare. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 38 (1), 55-78. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=b7ff2a9a4f2b3acc0ef8db8e0cc0ec077c19c79f

Include the URL if the article is accessible on the internet to all readers without needing to login to the website.

Blood pressure measurement.   (2022, February 18).   Lippincott Procedures: New Zealand Instance. http://procedures.lww.com

• Include both the month and date, if provided, along with the year.
• Lippincott Procedures is a subscription database accessed through the library's MySIT page.  Due to this, you cannot include the URL from the database but instead must include the general  Lippincott Procedures homepage URL  http://procedures.lww.com .
• The in-text citation will be formatted with the title in quotation marks and year e.g. ("Blood pressure measurement", 2022).

Paracetamol.   (2022).   MIMS New Ethicals, Jul-Dec 22 (37), 203-205.

• MIMS New Ethicals is a journal published twice a year so follows journal reference formatting.
• As there is no author, the drug name is moved to the author position.
• The in-text citation will be formatted with the title in quotation marks, year and page number e.g. ("Paracetamol", 2022, p.203) .

While MIMS is a journal, please confirm with your tutor the format they will accept as in some situtations tutors prefer MIMS referenced as a book.

Bersin, J. (2015, March 13). Culture: Why it’s the hottest topic in business today. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2015/03/13/culture-why-its-the-hottest-topic-in-business-today/#54831119627f

• If the website provides the month and date include these with the year e.g. (2015, March 13).

List the website or organisation's name for the publisher.  

Ministry for the Environment. (2021, September 30). Evidence for climate change. https://environment.govt.nz/facts-and-science/climate-change/evidence-of-climate-change/

• If no author is specified use the website or organisation's name in place of the author e.g. (Ministry for the Environment). This is known as a corporate author.  The author’s may be located on an “about us” or acknowledgements page.  As the author and website/organisation's name are the same, do not repeat it as the publisher in the source information.  

Ministry of Education. (n.d.). Innovative learning environments. TKI. https://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Innovative-learning-environments

• Do not use a date from a website footer because this date may not indicate when the content on the webpage was published but when any information across the whole website was updated. If no separate date is indicated for the webpage, treat the page as having no date.  In the date field use (n.d.).

Ministry of Health. (2020). Eating and activity guidelines for New Zealand adults. https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/eating-activity-guidelines-new-zealand-adults-updated-2020-jul21.pdf

• If no individual author is specified use the website or organisation’s name in place of the author e.g. (Ministry for the Environment).  This is known as a corporate author.  The author’s may be located on an “about us” or acknowledgements page.  As the author and website/organisation's name are the same, do not repeat it as the publisher in the source information.  Just include the document's URL.

Useful APA websites

• Introduction to APA...
• Academic Writer Tutorial: Basics of 7th edition APA style
• In-text Citations
• Handouts and guides

Are you struggling with APA referencing?  Check out these links to the official APA 7 th edition referencing website https://apastyle.apa.org/ .  This website provides webinars, tutorials, handouts and information on all aspects of APA referencing as well as information on appropriate writing style.

https://extras.apa.org/apastyle/basics-7e/?_ga=2.183941029.2072941113.1602723313-185554434.1602723313#/

This tutorial helps writers understand and implement basic elements of APA style including format, academic writing style, grammar, bias-free language guidelines, mechanics of style, table and figures, in-text citations, paraphrasing, quotations and reference list format and order.

https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references

References provide the information necessary for the reader to identify and retrieve each work quoted or paraphrased by the writer.  This webpage answers any questions you may have about referencing.

Reference Examples:

https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples

This provides reference examples for the most common works that writers cite.  To find the reference example you need, first select a category (e.g. periodicals) and then choose the appropriate type of work (e.g. journal article) and follow the relevant example.

https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations

In academic writing it is essential to acknowledge any ideas that are not your own.  This webpage helps writers understand the principles of citation and how to avoid plagiarism.

Basic Principles:

https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/author-date

APA uses the author-date citation system.  This webpage explains the number of authors to include, the dates in a citation, exceptions to the basic in-text citation style and repeating a citation.

Quotations:

https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/quotations

A direct quotation reproduces word for word from another source.  This webpage addresses how to format short and long quotes.

Paraphrasing:

https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is restating another's ideas in your own words.  It allows your to summarise information from one or more sources.  This webpage states how to cite original works you have paraphrased.

https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/tutorials-webinars

These tutorial webinars explain how to format, cite and reference correctly to APA 7th edition standards.

https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/handouts-guides

This webpage provides guides, checklists and interactive activities to improve APA formatting and writing.

SIT APA 7th edition guides

• APA 7th Edition Referencing Guide This is the official referencing guide for SIT. It provides detailed information on APA referencing and examples of in-text citations and references for a wide variety of information sources.
• APA Referencing: The basics A step by step guide to why, when, and how to use the APA referencing style in academic essay writing.
• APA 7th Edition Quick Look Help Sheet This table has an in-text citation and reference example for the most common types of sources.
• APA 7th Edition Sample Essay with Comments This sample essay illustrates essay structure and correct use of in-text citations and references.
• Essay Handbook This is the official academic writing guide for SIT. This guide provides detailed information on all aspects of essay writing.

EndNote Reference Manager

EndNote is software for managing references.  EndNote can:

• Store, organise and search references
• Import references from online databases, Google Scholar and Ebook Central
• Insert in-text citations into a Word document and create a reference list
• Format references in the appropriate style e.g. APA 7th edition  

Click here to access comprehensive instructions on the installation and use of the reference management software EndNote.

Useful library books on referencing...

• << Previous: Web Resources
• Next: Interloans >>
• Last Updated: Aug 19, 2024 4:53 PM
• URL: https://sitacnz.libguides.com/Project_Management

Fundamentals of Project Management, Third Edition by James P. Lewis

Get full access to Fundamentals of Project Management, Third Edition and 60K+ other titles, with a free 10-day trial of O'Reilly.

There are also live events, courses curated by job role, and more.

References and Reading List

Argyris, Chris. Overcoming Organizational Defenses: Facilitating Organizational Learning . Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1990.

Carlzon, Jan. Moments of Truth . New York: Perennial, 1987.

Deming, W. Edwards. Out of the Crisis . Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1986.

Graham, Robert J., and Randall L. Englund. Creating an Environment for Successful Projects . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997.

Lewis, James. Team-Based Project Management . Beard Books, 2003.

Lewis, James. Mastering Project Management . New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998.

Lewis, James. The Project Manager’s Desk Reference , Third edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006.

Lewis, James. Project Planning, Scheduling, and Control , Fourth edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, ...

Get Fundamentals of Project Management, Third Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Don’t leave empty-handed

Get Mark Richards’s Software Architecture Patterns ebook to better understand how to design components—and how they should interact.

It’s yours, free.

Check it out now on O’Reilly

Dive in for free with a 10-day trial of the O’Reilly learning platform—then explore all the other resources our members count on to build skills and solve problems every day.

References in project reports and assignments

Each time you quote or write a passage inspired my something you might have read elsewhere, you must include a source reference  – this applies to books, newspapers, magazines, websites, etc. EVERY TIME you base your writing on information found elsewhere, you must include a source reference. This also applies to your own previous work, such as something you might have written yourself in previous projects.

The purpose of the source references are:

• To give credit to the people whose work you have applied.
• To academically support your own work.
• To enable your readers to obtain the works and examine whether he/she might have reached the same conclusions on the same basis.

Therefore, referencing forms a substantial part of academic project work. Source references must be short and uniform and must be positioned where necessary. Source references may be structured in various ways. Communication and Digital Media has decided that all source references must be structured according to the APA referencing style . We recommend that you always use the latest edition of APA. Page numbers are not required, but it is encouraged for clarity.

Example of APA referencing:

(Rienecker & Jørgensen, 2001, p. 192) This includes the last names of the authors (note: and is substituted with &), year of publication and page number.   For works with two authors, both names should be listed in each reference. For works with three, four or five authors, all authors should be listed in the first reference. For subsequent in-text references, the first author should be listed followed by et al. (the abbreviated form of the Latin et alii, meaning “and others”), year of publication; in the reference list, all authors must be listed.

(Rogers et al., 2011, p. 437)

For works with no obvious indication of an author, the author is replaced by the title,

(Curriculum and Regulations, section 15, subsection 6).

WEB DOCUMENTS

When adding link references you must either refer to the author of the website or the organisation behind the website.

RECURRING REFERENCES

When adding references to the same source several times in a row (without adding any references to other sources), you must do the following:

For works with two authors, both names should be listed in each reference.

For works with three, four or five authors, all authors should be listed in the first reference. For subsequent in-text references, the first author should be listed followed by et al., year of publication; in the reference list, all authors must be listed.

For works with six or more authors, the first author should be listed followed by et al., year of publication.

Please note: APA Style does not use Ibid.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Whether referring to a book, an article or a link, you should always list the authors of the text to which you refer – the editor of the work to which the author may have contributed should not be listed. 

It is highly essential that your project includes accurate source references. Taking notes as you go along will make it easier for you to compile your final reference list, and you minimise the risk of finding yourselves in a situation in which you cannot find a particular reference. You may also use RefWorks or Mendeley which are tools used for collecting and managing references. Microsoft Word also allows you to create a ‘bibliography’.

You can find more information on the proper use of source references and quotations at the website en.stopplagiat.nu .

Home student handbook

The study programmes, semester descriptions and syllabi, project work, the project report, examination, credit transfer, frequently asked questions to the student guidance service, who is who, proofreading, reference lists, the length of the project report, plagiarism and cheating, project library at aalborg university, philosophy of science – what and why, image library, project literature.

Contact AAU

Aalborg University

Aalborg University P.O. Box 159 DK-9100 Aalborg

Phone: +45 9940 9940

Mail: [email protected] CVRnr: 29102384 Eannr: EAN

Privacy, DPO and use of cookies

Organisation and Management

Strategy, mission and vision, quality assurance of study programmes, the aalborg model for problem based learning, aau in figures and facts, international cooperation, history, honorary doctors and fellows.

• The Open University
• Accessibility hub
• Guest user / Sign out
• Study with The Open University

My OpenLearn Profile

Personalise your OpenLearn profile, save your favourite content and get recognition for your learning

About this free course

Become an ou student, download this course, share this free course.

Start this free course now. Just create an account and sign in. Enrol and complete the course for a free statement of participation or digital badge if available.

The Complete Glossary of Project Management Terminology

By Kate Eby | February 24, 2017

• Share on Facebook
• Share on LinkedIn

Link copied

Establishing standardized definitions for common project management terms is a challenge, even for seasoned pros. To help you achieve this goal, we’re offering this authoritative reference guide, pulling together a complete list of project management terminology. This glossary contains more than 600 terms and provides simple, clear explanations.

Included on this page, you'll find definitions from A-Z, from activity codes and dependencies , to performance reporting and timeboxes . 

Project Management Terms

A - project management terms.

Accept - A decision to take no action against a threat. Project teams typically accept risks when they fall below risk thresholds or when the team thinks it best to act only if and when a threat occurs. (See also risk acceptance )

Acceptance criteria - The specific requirements expected of project deliverables. To be formally accepted, deliverables must meet all acceptance criteria.

Acceptance test - A test in which a team of end users runs a product through its full range of use to identify potential problems.

Acquisition process - This process obtains the personnel and resources necessary for project work. Acquisitions are closely coordinated with project budgets and schedules.

Action item - An activity or task that must be completed.

Action item status - This tracks an action item’s progress from creation to closure. Since work packages comprise multiple action items, keeping action item statuses updated is important for project progress.

Activity - The smallest unit of work necessary to complete a project work package (which includes multiple activities). Time, resources, and finances are required to complete each activity.

Activity code - An alphanumeric value by which activities can be grouped and filtered. A code is assigned to each activity.

Activity identifier - A unique alphanumeric value by which an individual activity can be distinguished. An activity identifier is assigned to each activity.

Activity label - A short descriptor for an activity. Activity labels may be placed below arrows representing activities in activity-on-arrow (AOA) diagrams.

Activity list - This documents all the activities necessary to complete a project. Each activity is accompanied by its activity identifier and a description of the work it entails.

Activity-On-Arrow (AOA) - In this network diagram, arrows represent activities and nodes represent events or milestones. AOA diagrams can only indicate finish-to-start relationships.

Activity-On-Node (AON) - In a network diagram of this nature, nodes represent activities and arrows illustrate logical relationships between activities. AON diagrams can illustrate four relationship types: start-to-start, start-to-finish, finish-to-start, and finish-to-finish.

Actual cost of work performed (ACWP) - This represents the total cost incurred for work done in a given period of time.

Actual duration - The length of time taken to complete an activity.

Actual effort - The amount of labor performed to complete an activity. It is expressed in person-hours or similar units of work.

Actual expenditure - The sum of costs paid from a budget.

Actual progress - This measures the amount of work completed on a project. It is used to assess the comparison between project progress and project baselines and is usually stated as a percentage.

Adaptive project framework (APF) - An approach to project management that rejects traditional, linear project management and instead accepts changing requirements and allows projects to be affected by external business environments. The APF stresses flexibility in many aspects of project management and focuses on performing and evaluating project work in stages to allow room for replanning due to changing business goals, objectives, and requirements.

Administrative closure - This refers to the set of formal requirements fulfilled to end a project. Among other things, it involves documenting the formal acceptance of deliverables and ensuring that all relevant information is sent to a project’s sponsor and stakeholders.

Aggregate planning - This strategy uses demand forecasts to manage scheduling and planning for project activities between three and 18 months in advance, so that the necessary resources and personnel can be efficiently acquired or assigned.

Agile - The Agile family of methodologies is a superset of iterative development approaches aimed at meeting ever-changing customer requirements. Agile development proceeds as a series of iterations, or sprints, with incremental improvements made in each sprint. Since agile projects do not have fixed scopes, agile methodologies are adaptive, and the iterative work is guided by user stories and customer involvement.

Agile project management - Agile project management draws from concepts of agile software development. Agile approaches focus on teamwork, collaboration, and stakeholder involvement, as well as the use of iterative development methods.

Agile software development - Agile software development originates from the Agile Manifesto , a set of principles that emphasizes meeting changing requirements through collaborative development and making ongoing improvements through iteration. It stresses the importance of being reactive to rapid changes in external environments.

Allocation - The assigning of resources for scheduled activities in the most efficient way possible. (See also resource allocation )

Alternative analysis - The evaluation of possible courses of action for project work in order to find the most suitable course of action.

Analogous estimating - This technique uses historical project data to prepare time and cost estimates. It is considered the most inaccurate estimation technique. (See also top-down estimating )

Analytical estimating - This technique computes total project time and cost estimates by preparing estimates for each project activity and adding them together. Analytical estimating is considered the most accurate estimation technique. (See also bottom-up estimating )

Application area - The specific project category of which the project is a part. Application areas can be defined on the basis of project products’ characteristics or applications or by the projects’ customers or stakeholders.

Apportioned effort - Project work associated with components of a work breakdown structure and performed in proportion, with discrete effort. Since the amount of apportioned effort (which includes activities such as quality assurance) depends directly on the amount of discrete effort, it cannot be considered separately from discrete effort. It is one of three types of activities used to measure work performance as part of earned value management.

Approach analysis - During the project planning phase, this type of analysis is used to examine the various methods by which a project’s goals may be achieved.

Arrow diagramming method (ADM) - A method of constructing a network diagram that uses arrows to represent activities and nodes to represent events or milestones. The ADM is used to construct activity-on-arrow (AOA) diagrams.

Artifact - Items that support software development. Artifacts include both items associated with the process of development, such as project plans, and items used to support actual aspects of development, such as use cases and requirements.

Assignment contouring - The process of assigning people to project work for changing numbers of hours per day as the project moves through different stages. Assignment contouring is typically done using project management software.

Assumption - Factors deemed to be true during the project planning process, though proof of their validity is not available. A project’s assumptions can affect its risks and outcomes, so you must consider them carefully.

Authorization - In general, authorization is the power to make decisions that the management grants. The specific remit for authorization varies on a case-by-case basis.

Authorized work - Work that management or others in authority approve.

Avoid - A response to a negative risk that seeks to ensure the risk does not occur or (if the risk cannot be eliminated) seeks to protect the project objectives from the negative risk’s impact. (See also risk avoidance )

Simple, powerful project management with Smartsheet. See for yourself.

Smartsheet is a cloud-based platform that allows teams and organizations to plan, manage, and report on projects, helping you move faster and achieve more. See Smartsheet in action.  

Watch a free demo

Project Management Guide

Your one-stop shop for everything project management

Ready to get more out of your project management efforts? Visit our comprehensive project management guide for tips, best practices, and free resources to manage your work more effectively.

View the guide

B - Project Management Terms

Backward pass - This calculates late-start and finish dates for project activities by working backwards from the project end date.

Balance - A phase in the portfolio life cycle that involves balancing a portfolio’s components based on risk, costs, and use of resources. It is an aspect of organizational project management. (See also portfolio balancing )

Balanced scorecard - A Balanced scorecard is a concept or tool used to assess whether an organization’s activities are correlated with its general vision and objectives.

Bar chart - A diagrammed calendar schedule of project activities’ start and end dates in logical order. (See also Gantt chart )

Baseline - This term represent the costs and schedules approved at the start of the project. They use baselines as a basis for monitoring and evaluating performance.

Benefits realization -This term focuses on ensuring that project results give customers and stakeholders the benefits they expect.

Blueprint - A document that explains what a program means to accomplish and describes a program’s contribution to organizational objectives.

BOSCARD - This method details and considers the background, objectives, scope, constraints, assumptions, risks, and deliverables of new projects.

Bottom-Up estimating - This calculation computes total time and cost estimates for projects by preparing individual estimates for each of a project’s activities and adding them together. Bottom-up estimating is considered the most accurate estimation technique. (See also analytical estimating )

Brief -  This refers to the document produced during a project’s concept phase. It is the primary document outlining requirements.

Budget - The sum of money allocated for a project. The term may also refer to a comprehensive list of revenues and expenses.

Budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) - The portion of the budget allocated to scheduled work actually performed in a period of time. (See also earned value )

Budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS) - The portion of the budget allocated to work scheduled to be performed in a period of time. (See also planned value )

Burn down chart - A graph that shows the relationship between the number of tasks to be completed and the amount of time left to complete these tasks.

Burst point - A point in a network diagram at which multiple successor activities originate from a common predecessor activity. None of the successor activities may start until one finishes the predecessor activity.

Business analysis - The practice of identifying and solving business problems. It focuses on creating and implementing solutions to business needs via organizational development, process reengineering, or any number of other methods.

Business case - A documentation of the potential outcomes of a new project, including benefits, cost, and effects. It shows the reasoning for starting the project.

Business imperative - An issue, situation, or circumstance with the potential to affect a business in one way or another, depending on the course of action used to address it. Organizations prioritize business imperatives for actions that will realize any potential benefits or avoid any potential harm.

Business model - A company’s business model is the system by which the organization’s  profitable activities are planned, structured, and executed, and by which it interacts with its customers.

Business operations - The entire ensemble of activities or business processes through which a company uses its assets to create value for its customers.

Business process - A Business process is a system of activities by which a business creates a specific result for its customers. There are three categories of business processes: management processes, operational processes, and supporting processes.

Business process modeling (BPM) - Business process modeling is the representation, analysis, and evaluation of business processes in an effort to improve them.  

Business requirements - The conditions a product must satisfy to effectively serve its purpose within a business.

Business value - The business value of a project is the sum of positive effects — tangible and intangible — it has on the business.

C - Project Management Terms

Calendar unit - The smallest unit of time — usually hours or days — by which project activity durations are measured.

Capability maturity model (CMM ) - This model is used to assess the maturity of business process capabilities. It was created to assess the capabilities of software development processes but is now used in a number of other industries as well. Like other maturity models, the CMM allows organizations to assess themselves against external benchmarks and provides recommendations for improvement.

CAPEX - CAPEX, or capital expenditure, is the money a company spends to acquire new fixed physical assets or upgrade old ones, typically for long-term use.

Case study - A case study involves extensive and in-depth formal research into an area of a company, a situation, or an event. Case studies typically result in formal reports that are published in academic or professional publications. They investigate important, singular, or locally representative cases that contribute to the advancement of knowledge.

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) - This is an entry-level certification for project managers offered by the Project Management Institute. It is designed to build knowledge of project management processes and terms.

Champion - A project champion makes project success a personal responsibility. This person pushes the project team to work hard, liaise with stakeholders on behalf of the project, and support the project manager. Project champion is an informal role.

Change control - Change control is the process of identifying, evaluating, approving, and implementing changes to a project. It ensures that changes are introduced in a controlled and effective manner and that any adjustments necessitated by changes are also addressed.  

Change control board - An appointed group of stakeholders who evaluate proposed changes and decide when and whether to make them.

Change control system/process - The process by which changes to the project are evaluated before approval, implemented, and documented.

Change freeze - The point at which scope changes to a project are no longer permissible.

Change management plan - A Change management plan details the change control process. It is created to ensure all changes are managed according to procedure. Change management plans can be created for individual projects or for organizations undergoing transitions.

Change request - A formal document submitted to the change control board that requests changes to the finalized project management plan. Change requests are usually made only for significant changes, as smaller changes with little to no impact on the project work can be brought to the project manager.

Client/Customer - The people who will directly benefit from a project. A team executes a project with specific attention to a client’s requirements.  

Closing phase - The final phase of the project management life cycle, in which all aspects of the project are officially completed and closed. This includes making sure that all deliverables have been given to the client, that the team notifies suppliers of completion, and that the team updates stakeholders regarding the end of the project and overall project performance.

Code of accounts - An alphanumeric system used to assign unique identifiers to all work breakdown structure components.

Collaborative negotiation - Collaborative negotiation entails all negotiating parties obtaining at least some of what they want from negotiations.

Communications log - This document is used to track all project-related communications. It is organized and edited by the project manager and details who communicated, when and where the communication took place, what information was shared, and the results of the communication.

Communications management plan - This plan states who will send and receive information on aspects of the project, what details are communicated, and when communications are sent. It is part of the project management plan.

Communities of practice - Groups of people who share an area of interest within project management. They meet regularly to share and develop knowledge in the area of interest.

Competence - The ability and knowledge required to perform the tasks associated with a specific role.

Competence framework - The set of competence expectations by which one assesses a person’s suitability for a specific role.

Concept - The beginning phase of the project management life cycle. In the concept phase, the team presents the opportunity or problem (along with possible solutions) and examines the general feasibility of the project.

Conceptual project planning - Conceptual project planning involves developing the documentation from which a project’s organization and control system will originate.

Concurrent engineering - A product development approach where design and development are carried out at the same time. It is used to shorten the development life cycle and to release products more quickly. The simultaneous execution of design and development can help to improve design practicality.

Configuration - Configuration of a product involves shaping its functions and characteristics to make it suitable for customer use.

Configuration management - Configuration management ensures that the product of a project meets all necessary specifications and stipulations. It provides well-defined standards for the management and team to guarantee that they meet quality and functional requirements, as well as any other characteristics considered important.

Consensus - A decision agreed upon by all members of a group.

Constraint - A limitation on a project. Among other things, constraints may be financial or based on time or resource availability.

Constructability - Constructability is a concept used in complex hard projects to assess and examine the entire construction process before beginning construction. It reduces the number of errors, setbacks, and delays once construction work actually begins.

Construction - The process by which a team builds infrastructure. Construction projects are complex. Engineers and architects supervise them, while a project manager manages the project work.

Consumable resource - A nonrenewable resource that cannot be used once consumed.

Contingency plan - An alternative or additional course of action planned in anticipation of the occurrence of specific risks.

Contingency reserve - An allocation of time or money (or both) set aside for the occurrence of known possibilities that could delay a project or make it more expensive. It is not the same as a management reserve, which is an allocation made for unforeseeable circumstances. Use of a contingency reserve is typically authorized upon the occurrence of a contingency.

Contract administration - The process by which a team manages a relationship with a contracting party. It establishes protocols for dealings between contracting parties.

Contract closeout - The process of determining whether the terms of a contract were completed successfully and of settling any remaining terms.

Control Account - A work breakdown structure tool that allows aggregation of costs for work packages as part of earned value management calculations.

Control chart - Control charts compare process results with historical averages and process control limits to show whether a process meets results expectations. If a process’s results are inconsistent or fall outside process control limits, it may need to be examined and adjusted.

Core process - A process that follows an established order and is central to the performance of the process system or project of which it is part.

Corrective action - A step taken to bring work back into alignment with performance expectations after it has failed to meet expectations. A corrective action, which is reactive, is not the same as a preventive action, which is proactive.

Cost baseline - The sum of work package estimates, contingency reserve, and other associated costs by which project performance is assessed. A formal change control process is necessary to change the cost baseline.

Cost benefit analysis - A Cost benefit analysis is used to weigh project costs against anticipated tangible project benefits.

Cost engineering - The application of scientific and engineering principles to several aspects of cost management. Among other things, cost engineers contribute to estimation procedures and project cost management. Cost engineering may also be called project controls in some industries.

Cost management plan - This plan details how project costs will be planned, funded, and controlled. It is a part of the project management plan.

Cost of quality - The cost associated with ensuring project quality. This cost may mean the difference between unacceptable and acceptable project results.

Cost overrun - A cost overrun occurs when unexpected costs cause a project’s actual cost to go beyond budget.

Cost performance index - A cost performance index measures the cost efficiency of a project by calculating the ratio of earned value to actual cost.

Cost plus fixed fee contract (CPFC) - Under a cost plus fixed fee contract, the seller is reimbursed for costs incurred and paid a predetermined fixed fee.

Cost plus incentive fee contract (CPIF) - Under a cost plus incentive fee contract, the seller is reimbursed for costs incurred and paid an additional fee if they meet performance criteria specified in the contract.

Cost plus percentage of cost contract (CPPC) - Under a cost plus percentage of cost contract, the seller is reimbursed for costs incurred and paid an additional amount equal to a percentage of the costs incurred if they meet performance criteria specified in the contract.

Cost reimbursable contract - A cost reimbursable contract is a contract under which a seller is reimbursed for costs incurred and paid an additional sum as per a predetermined agreement as profit. They are typically negotiated for projects with costs that are not fully known or not well defined.

Cost variance - The Cost variance of a project is its earned value minus its actual cost. A negative cost variance indicates that a project is running over budget. A positive cost variance indicates that a project is running below budget.

Cost/schedule impact analysis - A cost/schedule impact analysis determines the effects of a particular change on a project’s cost or schedule.

Crashing - A schedule compression technique used to speed up project work by increasing the rate at which critical path activities are completed by adding more resources — usually more personnel or more equipment. Crashing increases project costs, so it is used first on activities that can be sped up at the least additional cost.

Critical chain project management (CCPM) - Critical chain project management is an approach to managing projects that emphasizes the resources needed to complete project activities over activity order and durations set in a schedule. It uses resource optimization techniques like resource leveling and requires that activity start times be flexible.

Critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) - CISD is a psycho-educational exercise for small groups who have experienced a traumatic event. It is sometimes used in project management to help project teams cope with trauma and to rebuild team cohesion.

Critical path activity - A scheduled activity that is part of a project’s critical path.

Critical path method - The Critical path method is used to estimate the shortest length of time needed to complete a project and to determine the amount of float for activities that are not part of the critical path.

Critical success factor - A critical success factor is an aspect of a project that is crucial to the success of the project.

Criticality index - Each project activity is assigned a percentage called a criticality index, which is a measure of how frequently it is a critical activity in project simulations. Activities with high criticality indexes are likely to prolong project duration if delayed.

Current finish date -  The most up-to-date estimate of when an activity will finish.

Current start date - The most up-to-date estimate of when an activity will start.

Current state - A detailed representation of current business processes that is used as a point of comparison for efforts to analyze and improve processes’ efficiency, effectiveness, and outputs.

D - Project Management Terms

Data date - A data date, also called an as-of date, is a point at which a project’s status is measured and documented. It separates actual data from scheduled data.

Decision tree analysis - A diagrammatic technique used to illustrate a chain of decisions and to examine the implications of multiple decision-making or situational outcomes.

Decomposition - The hierarchical breaking down of project deliverables into smaller components that are easier to plan and manage.

Defect repair - An action taken to remedy a product that is nonfunctional or does not match expectations or requirements.

Define - The phase in the portfolio life cycle in which projects, programs, and any organizational changes needed to realize strategic objectives are identified and examined.

Definitive estimate - A definitive estimate reaches a total project cost estimate by computing cost estimates for all a project’s work packages. Definitive estimating is considered a highly accurate estimation technique, with estimates falling within a ten-percent range of the actual budget.

Deflection - The transferring of risk to another party, generally via a contract.

Deliverable - A final product or product component that must be provided to a client or stakeholder according to contractual stipulations.

Delphi technique - An estimation method based on expert consensus. Experts make estimates individually and simultaneously and then review their estimates as a group before making another set of estimates. The process is repeated, with the pool of estimates typically becoming narrower after each round of review until a consensus is reached. (See also wideband delphi )

Dependency - A logical relationship between project activities in a network diagram that determines when a dependent activity may begin.

Discrete effort - Project work directly associated with components of a work breakdown structure. It is directly measurable. Discrete effort is one of three types of activities used to measure work performance as part of earned value management.

Discretionary dependency - The preferred way to sequence activities when there is no logical limitation on how they must be ordered.

Do nothing option - An element of a project business case that states the consequences, if any, of not undertaking the project.

Drawdown - A method used to exercise control on the release of project funds. Instead of making entire project budgets available from the outset, management may choose to release funds at specific times. These releases are called drawdowns. Drawdowns may coincide with phase gates so that funds are released at the beginning of each phase.

Dummy activity - In activity-on-arrow diagrams, where arrows represent activities, dummy activities show logical relationships between activities. They are not actual activities themselves - dummy activity arrows are drawn with broken lines to differentiate them from regular activity arrows.

Duration - The amount of time taken to complete an activity or task from start to finish.

Duration compression - Duration compression techniques shorten a project’s duration without reducing its scope. This typically requires additional expenditure. There are two main duration compression techniques: crashing and fast tracking. (See also schedule compression technique )

Dynamic systems development method - The dynamic systems development method is one of the agile product development methodologies. Like other members of the agile family, it conducts development in a series of iterations, with user-story-based improvements made in increments. The dynamic systems development method operates with fixed cost and time constraints and uses the MoSCoW prioritization method to identify the desired product requirements with these constraints in mind.

E - Project Management Terms

Early finish date - The earliest time by which a scheduled project activity can logically finish.

Early start date - The earliest time by which a scheduled project activity can logically start.

Earned schedule - A method of measuring schedule performance that improves upon traditional earned value management. Earned value management tracks schedule variance only in terms of money and not in terms of time and thus does not accurately indicate schedule performance by the end of a project. To address this discrepancy, earned schedule theory uses the same data as traditional earned value management but tracks schedule performances separately with respect to money and time.

Earned value - A concept used to gauge project schedule and cost performance. Portions of the project budget are assigned to components of the work breakdown structure, and successful completion of a work breakdown structure component is understood as value earned through work.

Earned value management - A method of measuring project performance and progress with regard to scope, time, and costs. It is based on the use of planned value (where portions of the budget are allotted to all project tasks), and earned value (where progress is measured in terms of the planned value that is earned upon completion of tasks).

Effort - The amount of labor needed to complete a task. It is measured in person-hours or similar units.

Effort estimate - A calculated approximation of the effort — measured in staff-hours or similar units — needed to complete an activity.

Effort management - The most efficient allocation of time and resources to project activities.

End user - The person or persons who will eventually use the product of a project. Products are designed with end users in mind.

Enhancement, maintenance, and upgrade (EMU) - Enhancement, maintenance, and upgrade are project classifications used in the software development industry. Enhancement projects involve improving the functionality or performance of software. Maintenance projects keep software functioning as expected. Upgrade projects create a new version of the software, called a release.

Enterprise environmental factors - Internal and external factors that can impact projects. They include such things as climate, available resources, and organizational structure.

Enterprise modeling - Enterprise modeling is the creation of a model to represent an organization’s structure, processes, and resources. Enterprise models are built to increase understanding of how organizations work. They form the basis of improvement or restructuring efforts.

Epic - A set of similar or related user stories.

Estimate at completion (EAC) - The estimated total cost for all project work, calculated as the sum of the actual cost and the estimate to complete.

Estimate to complete (ETC) - At a given point in a project, the estimate of the cost of the work that still needs to be completed.

Estimating funnel - A metaphor for the increased accuracy in estimation made possible as a project progresses.

Estimation - The use of estimating techniques to reach approximations of unknown values.

Event chain diagram - A visual representation of a schedule network based on event chain methodology. It shows relationships between project activities and risk events.

Event chain methodology - A schedule network analysis method that enables uncertainty modeling. It is used to identify risk events’ impact on a schedule.

Event-Driven - The adjective describes an action that is prompted by the occurrence of an event.

Execution phase - The execution phase begins after activity approval and is the phase in which the team executes the project plan. Execution is typically the longest and most expensive phase in the project management life cycle.

Executive sponsor - Typically a member of the organization’s board who is ultimately responsible for the success of the project. They provide high-level direction to project managers and are accountable to the board for project success.

Expert judgment - The practice of using expert opinion to guide decision making.

External dependency - An outside relationship that affects the completion of a project activity.

Extreme programming (XP) - An agile software development methodology that emphasizes a high degree of responsiveness to evolving customer demands. Development cycles in extreme programming are short, and releases are frequent. Its main features include high-volume communication with customers and pair programming.

Extreme project management (XPM) - An approach to project management used mostly for complex projects with a high degree of uncertainty. XPM is designed for projects where requirements are expected to change. Therefore, it focuses on flexibility more than rigid scheduling. Where traditional project management proceeds sequentially through the project management life cycle and thus clearly defines problems, scopes, and solutions, extreme project management accepts that all three aspects will change as the project proceeds and thus emphasizes continual learning over deterministic planning.

F and G - Project Management Terms

Fallback plan - A predetermined alternative course of action adopted if a risk occurs and  a contingency plan proves unsuccessful in avoiding the risk’s impact.

Fast tracking - A schedule compression technique or duration compression technique in which the duration of a critical path is shortened by performing sections of some critical path activities concurrently instead of consecutively.  

Feasibility study - An evaluation of how likely a project is to be completed effectively, or how practical it is, taking resources and requirements into consideration.   

Finish-To-Start - In a finish-to-start relationship, a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has finished.

Finish-To-Finish - In a finish-to-finish relationship, a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor activity has finished.

Fishbone diagram - A fishbone diagram is used in project management to identify and categorize the possible causes of an effect. (See also Ishikawa diagram )

Fixed duration - A task in which the time required for completion is fixed.

Fixed formula method - The fixed formula method calculates earned value in a given period of time by splitting a work package budget between the start and completion milestones of a work package. A known proportion of value is earned upon beginning the work package, and the rest is earned upon completing the work package.

Fixed price contract (FPC) - A fixed price contract pays an agreed-upon fee and does not incorporate other variables, such as time and cost.

Fixed units - A task in which the number of resources used is fixed.

Fixed work - A task in which the amount of effort required is fixed.

Float - A measure of the schedule flexibility involving a particular task.

Flowchart - A diagram that lays out the complete sequence of steps in a process or procedure.

Focused improvement - An improvement strategy based on the theory of constraints. Attention is focused on addressing one limiting factor — called a constraint — at a time in order to optimize a system. Each constraint is improved until it no longer limits the system’s performance.

Fordism - Fordism, named for Henry Ford, is a manufacturing system in which mass-produced goods are priced affordably enough that those producing them may reasonably buy them with their own wages.

Forecast - A prediction or estimation of future project status based on available information.

Formal acceptance - The step at which authorized stakeholders sign off on a product, indicating that it meets their expectations.

Forward pass - A technique used to calculate early start and finish dates by working forwards from a point in a project schedule model.

Free float - The amount of time by which an activity can be postponed without affecting the early start dates of a successor activity.

Functional manager - The individual in charge of all activities carried out by a particular functional department within an organization.

Functional organization - An organization which organizes and manages staff members in groups based on specialty areas.

Functional requirements - The working characteristics of a product. These are based on how end users will use the product.

Future state - A detailed representation of the ideal condition of a company’s business processes after improvement.

Gantt chart - A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that shows all the tasks constituting a project. Tasks are listed vertically, with the horizontal axis marking time. The lengths of task bars are to scale with tasks’ durations. (See also bar chart )

Gate - An end-of-phase checkpoint at which decisions are made regarding whether and how to continue with the project. (See also phase gate )

Go/No go - A point in a project at which it is decided whether to continue with the work.

Goal - An objective set by an individual or an organization. It is a desired endpoint reached by setting and working towards targets.

Goal setting - The process of creating specific, measurable, and attainable goals and of setting deadlines for these goals if desired.

Gold plating - The practice of incorporating features and improvements that go beyond a product’s agreed-upon characteristics. This is generally done to boost customer satisfaction.

Governance - The structure by which roles and relationships between project team members and an organization’s high-level decision makers are defined.

Graphical evaluation and review technique (GERT) - A network analysis technique that uses Monte Carlo simulation to bring a probabilistic approach to network logic and the formation of duration estimates. It is an alternative to the PERT technique but is not often used in complex systems.

H, I, and K - Project Management Terms

Hammock activity - In a schedule network diagram, a hammock activity is a type of summary activity that represents a number of grouped - but unrelated -smaller activities that occur between two dates.

Handover - In the project life cycle, a handover is the point at which deliverables are given to users.

Hanger - An unplanned break in a network path, usually caused by oversights regarding activities or dependent relationships between activities.

HERMES - A project management method created by the Swiss government and used by IT and business organizations. It is a simplified project management method that can be adapted to projects with varying degrees of complexity. It provides document templates to expedite project-related work.

High-Level requirements - The high-level requirements explain the major requirements and characteristics of the final product, including its purpose as a product and within the company. (See also product description )

Historical information - Data from past projects used in the planning of future projects.

Human resource management plan - A human resource management plan details the roles of and relationships between personnel working on a project, as well as how personnel will be managed. It is part of the project management plan.

Hypercritical activities - Critical path activities with negative slack time. They are created when a sequence of critical path activities leading up to another activity is too long to be completed in the stated duration.

Information distribution - The channels used to provide stakeholders with timely information and updates regarding a project.

Initiation phase – The formal start of a new project. It involves receiving proper authorization and creating a clear definition for the project.

Inputs - The information required to start the project management process.

Inspection - The process of reviewing and examining the final product to assess compliance to initial requirements and expectations.

Integrated assurance - The process of coordinating assurance activities across a number of assurance providers.

Integrated change control - The coordination of changes throughout all aspects of a project, including scope, budget, and schedule.

Integrated master plan (IMP) - A project management tool used to break down project work in large, complex projects. It lists project tasks and events in a hierarchical structure and shows relationships between them.

Integrated master schedule (IMS) - An integrated master schedule is produced from an integrated master plan. It is a list of all project tasks represented as a networked schedule.

Integration management plan - A document that explains integration planning and details how changes to project aspects will be managed.

Integration planning - The process of deciding how project elements will be integrated and coordinated and how changes will be addressed throughout the project management process.

Integrative management - Management processes that coordinate a number of project aspects including cost, schedule, and resources (among others).

Invitation for bid - An invitation for expressions of interest that a procuring organization extends. (See also request for proposal )

Ishikawa diagram - Ishikawa diagrams are used in project management to identify the possible causes of an effect. (See also fishbone diagram )

ISO 10006 - A set of quality-management guidelines for projects. It is a standard created by the International Organization for Standardization.

Issue - Anything that can cause problems for a project. The term typically refers to major problems that cannot be tackled by the project team on their own.

Issue log - Project issues and the persons responsible for resolving them. It may also include issue status, plans for resolution, and resolution deadlines.

Iteration - A concept from iterative software development that specifies a fixed time cycle for development work, typically a few weeks long. The development life cycle consists of a number of iterations, sometimes with a functional version of the software produced at the end of each one. Iterative development prioritizes time over scope, so there are rarely concrete requirements to be achieved in an iteration.

Iterative development - Iterative development focuses on developing products in a series of repeated fixed-time iterations, instead of working towards a single deliverable. At the end of an iteration, the team assesses progress and sets targets for the next iteration.

Iterative and incremental development - Iterative and incremental development is any combination of the iterative and incremental development approaches. It is an alternative to the waterfall development method: instead of focusing on sequential development with a single end product, it passes through a number of development cycles, with an improved version of the product, called an increment, produced at the end of each iteration.

Kanban - The word kanban means visual signal in Japanese. Kanban is a visual communication approach to the project management process. It uses visual tools like sticky notes or virtual cards in an online bulletin board to represent project tasks and to track and indicate progress throughout a project.

Kickoff meeting - The first meeting between a project team and stakeholders. It serves to review project expectations and to build enthusiasm for a project.

Key performance indicator (KPI) - A Key performance indicator is a metric for measuring project success. Key performance indicators are established before project execution begins.

L - Project Management Terms

Lag/Lag time - A necessary break or delay between activities.

Late finish date - The latest possible date a scheduled activity can be completed without delaying the rest of the project.

Late start date - The latest possible date a scheduled activity can be started without delaying the rest of the project.

Lateral thinking - Lateral thinking involves using a roundabout method to inspire new ideas or solutions. It can be done in a variety of ways, from using a random word to choosing an object in a room as a basis for thought.

Lead/Lead time - The amount of time an activity can be brought forward with respect to the activity it is dependent upon.

Lean manufacturing - A production methodology based on the idea of streamlining and doing more with less, such as by providing customers with the same product value while eliminating waste and thus reducing production costs.  

Lean six sigma – Lean six sigma combines the no-waste ideals of lean manufacturing with the no-defects target of six sigma. The goal of Lean six sigma is to eliminate waste and defects so that projects cost less and deliver more consistent quality.

Lessons learned - The sum of knowledge gained from project work, which can be used as references and points of interest for future projects.

Level of effort - Work that is not directly associated with components of a work breakdown structure but that can instead be thought of as support work. Examples of level of effort include maintenance and accounting. It is one of three types of activities used to measure work performance as part of earned value management.

Life cycle - The entire process used to build its deliverables. Life cycles are divided into a number of phases. A variety of life cycle models are in use in project management.

Line of balance - A graphical technique used to illustrate relationships between repetitive tasks in projects such as building identical housing units. Each set of repetitive tasks is illustrated as a single line on a chart. Project managers look for places where dependent tasks intersect, indicating that the successor task must be delayed.

Linear sequential model - A linear sequential model moves through a project life cycle’s phases systematically and sequentially. It is typically used for small projects with straightforward requirements, since sequential development makes it difficult to revise design based on testing or preliminary feedback. (See also waterfall model )

Linear scheduling method - A graphical scheduling technique used to assign resources when project work consists of repetitive tasks. It focuses on maximizing resource use and reducing time wastage due to interruptions.

Logic network - A chronologically arranged diagram that shows relationships between project activities.

Logical relationship - A dependency between project activities or between project activities and milestones.

M - Project Management Terms

Management - The act of overseeing planning, personnel, and resources to achieve a goal.

Management process - The act of planning and executing a project or process to meet a defined set of objectives or goals. Management processes may be carried out at multiple levels within organizations, with the scale and scope of activities typically increasing up the organizational hierarchy.

Management reserve - An allocation of money or time (or both) to address unforeseeable circumstances that might delay or increase the costs of a project. A management reserve is not the same as a contingency reserve, which is an allocation made for known possibilities. The senior management must typically approve any release of funds from a management reserve.

Management science (MS) - A field of study that seeks to improve organizational decision making through the use of quantitative and scientific research methods. It evaluates management decisions and outcomes to find optimal solutions to problems, and thus enables better decision making. (See also operations research )

Master project - A master project file comprises a number of smaller projects, called subprojects, arranged hierarchically.

Matrix organization - Employees in a matrix organization report to more than one boss, with different lines of reporting representing different organizational projects or functions. A matrix structure can boost employee engagement and cross-field approaches to problem solving, but it can also create ambiguity over an employee’s role.

Maturity model - Maturity is the extent to which an organization’s methods, processes, and decisions are standardized and optimized. A maturity model assesses one or more of these aspects against a set of external benchmarks to determine an organization’s maturity level. Maturity models allow organizations to assess themselves according to management best practices. They typically offer recommendations for improvement.

Megaproject - A complex, large-scale, and high-investment project. Only hard projects may be termed megaprojects.

Merge point - A point in a network diagram at which multiple predecessor activities culminate in a single successor activity. The successor activity may not start until all the predecessor activities have finished.

Milestone - Milestones indicate specific progress points or events in project timelines. They mark progress needed to complete projects successfully.

Milestone schedule - A milestone schedule details the time relationships associated with project milestones.

Mission statement - A concise enunciation of the goals of an activity or organization. Mission statements are usually a short paragraph, and can be created for entire organizations or for individual projects. They are designed to provide direction and guidance.

Modern project management - An umbrella term for a number of contemporary management strategies. In contrast to traditional management, modern project management: features more recognition of quality and scope variation; refines processes more frequently; stresses collective, interdisciplinary knowledge and team consensus over individual leadership. It is also less based on traditional hierarchies- modern project teams draw from a range of organizational levels and functional areas.

Monte Carlo simulation/technique - Monte Carlo simulation is a computer-based technique that performs probabilistic forecasting of possible outcomes to facilitate decision making. For each possible decision — from the most high-risk to the most conservative — a Monte Carlo simulation provides decision makers with a range of possible outcomes and the likelihood that each will occur.

MoSCoW - The MoSCoW prioritization method allows project managers to communicate with stakeholders on the importance of delivering specific requirements. The acronym indicates four categories of priority and importance for project requirements. Each requirement is prioritized as a “must have,” a “should have,” a “could have,” or a “won’t have.”

Most Likely Duration - An estimate of the most probable length of time needed to complete an activity. It may be used to compute expected activity duration through a technique called three-point estimation.

Motivation - A reason or stimulus that makes a person behave in a certain manner. In management, motivation refers to the desire to pursue personal or organizational goals and is positively associated with productivity.

Murphy’s Law - Murphy’s Law — “What can go wrong will go wrong.” — is cited in project management as a reason to plan adequately for contingencies.

N - Project Management Terms

Near-critical activity - A near-critical activity has only a small amount of total float, or slack time. Near-critical activities have a high chance of becoming critical since their float is easily exhausted.

Near-critical path - A series of activities with only small amounts of total float, called near-critical activities. A near-critical path may become a critical path if its float is exhausted.

Negative variance - The amount by which actual project performance is worse than planned project performance. Negative variances in time and budget show the project is taking longer and is more expensive than planned, respectively.

Negotiation - A discussion to resolve an issue between parties. Negotiations can take place at any point during an activity and may be formal or informal.

Net present value (NPV) - Net present value is a concept that compares the present value of a unit of currency to its inflation-adjusted possible value in the future. It allows organizations to determine the financial benefits, or lack thereof, of long-term projects.

Network Path - In a schedule network diagram, a network path is a logically connected continuous series of activities.

Node - In a network diagram, a node is a point at which dependency lines meet. In activity-on-node diagrams, nodes represent activities. In activity-on-arrow diagrams, they represent events or stages.

Nonlinear management (NLM) - Nonlinear management refers broadly to management practices which emphasize flexibility, self-organization, and adaptation to changing circumstances. It runs counter to concepts in linear management, which seek to impose structure on organizations. The defining characteristics of nonlinear management include encouragement of out-of-the-box thinking, proactivity in responding to challenges, and flexible working arrangements for employees.

O - Project Management Terms

Objective - A clear, concise statement about what an activity is meant to accomplish. Objectives are written to be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. A successful project meets all its stated objectives.

Operations and maintenance - Operations and maintenance is the stage at which a project or system is handed over to staff who will put it into full operation and carry out routine maintenance.

Operations management - The duty of ensuring that an organization's operations are functioning optimally. Operations managers maintain and improve the efficacy and efficiency of business processes. They seek to develop operations which deliver high-quality outputs while keeping costs low.

Operations research (OR) - A field of study that uses mathematical, statistical, and scientific methods to aid and optimize decision making. It uses techniques such as mathematical modeling and optimization to enable better decision making. (See also management science )

Opportunity - In project management, an opportunity is a possibility that can contribute to project objectives. Opportunities in project management are classified as a type of risk.

Opportunity cost - The opportunity cost of a particular course of action is the loss of potential gains from all alternative courses of action.

Optimistic duration - An estimate of the shortest length of time needed to complete a specific activity or task. It may be used to compute expected activity duration through a technique called three-point estimation.

Order of magnitude estimate - An order of magnitude estimate provides an early, imprecise idea of the time and money required to complete a project. It uses historical data from completed projects to form adjusted estimates for similar new projects, usually presenting these estimates as ranging from -25 percent to +75 percent of the actual budget to indicate the levels of uncertainty involved.

Organization - A formally structured arrangement of parties that actively pursues a collective purpose. Organizations can be affected by external factors, and they in turn can affect the external environment.

Organization development - Broadly, organization development involves strategic efforts to improve aspects of organizational performance such as efficacy, efficiency, and sustainability, as well as aspects of organizational health such as employee satisfaction and engagement. The term may also refer to a field of study focusing on the characteristics of organizations and their growth and evolution.

Organizational breakdown structure - A hierarchical model of an organization's units and all its activities. It shows relationships between activities and organizational units and indicates the responsibilities of each unit, thus providing a holistic perspective of how an organization operates.

Organizational enabler - Any practice, tool, knowledge, or skill base that facilitates an organization’s pursuit of its objectives may be termed an organizational enabler.

Organizational planning   - The strategic process of defining roles, responsibilities, and reporting hierarchies for parties within an organization, keeping the organization’s objectives in mind. It is carried out based on the principles and strategies by which an organization manages its members.

Organizational process assets - The specific set of formal and informal plans and processes in use at an organization. They also constitute the sum of knowledge and experience accumulated from past efforts. Organizational process assets are essentially the unique knowledge and processes that facilitate an organization’s operations.

Organizational project management - A strategic approach that emphasizes the effective management of projects, programs, and portfolios as the best way to pursue organizational objectives. It focuses on aligning an organization’s activities with its objectives and on managing these activities collectively, so they contribute to objectives.

Organizational project management maturity - A measure of an organization’s ability to meet its objectives by effectively managing all its activities. It can be assessed with a maturity model called the OPM3, which, like other maturity models, provides comparisons and recommendations for improvement.

Output - In project management, an output is the (usually physical) end product of a process.

Overall change control - The evaluation, coordination, and management of project-related changes. It concerns both the effective integration of changes to benefit the project and the management of adverse changes or emergencies, so that project activities are not disrupted.

P - Project Management Terms

P3 assurance - P3 assurance involves satisfying sponsors and stakeholders that projects, programs, and portfolios are on course to meet performance expectations, fulfill objectives, and meet requirements.

P3 management - P3 management refers collectively to the management of projects, programs, and portfolios.

Parallel life cycle - In a parallel life cycle, certain phases are conducted in parallel (they overlap).

Parametric estimating - A technique for estimating cost and duration based on using historical data to establish relationships between variables — for example, calculating unit costs and the number of units required to complete a similar activity.

Pareto chart - A Pareto chart is a combination bar chart and line graph where the bars represent category frequencies in descending order from left to right, and the line tracks the cumulative total as a percentage.

Path convergence - On a schedule network diagram, path convergence occurs when an activity has multiple predecessors.

Path divergence - On a schedule network diagram, path divergence occurs when an activity has multiple successors.

Percent complete - The percent complete indicates the amount of work completed on an activity as a percentage of the total amount of work required.

Performance measurement baseline - A performance measurement baseline uses the schedule, cost, and scope baselines to create a point of comparison by which project performance is assessed. Variance from the performance measurement baseline may prompt corrective action.

Performance reporting - Performance reporting is formally informing stakeholders about a project's current performance and future performance forecasts. The aspects of performance to be reported are typically laid out in a communications management plan.

Performing organization - The performing organization for a project is the one whose members and resources most directly perform the project work.

Pessimistic duration - The pessimistic duration is an estimate of the longest length of time needed to complete a specific activity or task. It may be used to compute expected activity duration through a technique called three-point estimation.

PEST analysis - A PEST analysis examines how political, economic, social, and technological factors might affect a project.

Phase - A distinct stage in a project life cycle.

Phase gate - A phase gate is an end-of-phase checkpoint where the project leadership reviews progress and decides whether to continue to the next phase, revisits work done in the phase, or ends the project.

Planned value (PV) - The budget assigned to the work it is meant to accomplish. (See also budgeted cost for work scheduled )

Planning - The development of a course of action to pursue goals or objectives.

Planning phase - In project management, planning refers specifically to a phase of the life cycle that involves creating plans for management, control, and execution, as well as for what a project is meant to accomplish.

Planning poker - A consensus-based estimation technique. It attempts to avoid the anchoring effect — where the first estimate forms a baseline for all subsequent estimates — by having project team members make estimates simultaneously and discuss their estimates until they reach agreement.

Portfolio - A collectively managed set of programs and projects.

Portfolio balancing - An aspect of organizational project management, portfolio balancing involves selecting and tailoring a portfolio’s components so they can be managed in line with organizational objectives.

Portfolio charter - A portfolio charter details the formal structure of a portfolio and describes what it is meant to achieve. It authorizes the creation of a portfolio and connects its management with organizational objectives.

Portfolio management - The collective management of portfolios and their components in line with concepts of organizational project management.

Portfolio manager - The individual responsible for balancing and controlling a portfolio in line with concepts of organizational project management.

Portfolio, program, and project management maturity model (P3M3) - The P3M3 assesses organizational performance in portfolio, program, and project management via a set of key process areas (KPAs). Like other maturity models, the P3M3 allows organizations to measure their performance against external benchmarks and provides a roadmap for project performance and delivery improvement.

Positive variance - The amount by which actual project performance is better than planned project performance. Positive variances in time and budget show the project is proceeding faster and is less expensive than planned, respectively.

Precedence diagramming method (PDM) - The process of constructing a project schedule network diagram. It illustrates the logical relationships between project activities and shows the order in which they must be performed by using nodes to represent activities and arrows to show dependencies. PDM also indicates early and late start and finish dates, as well as activity durations.

Precedence network - A precedence network visually indicates relationships between project activities. Boxes and links are used to represent activities and activity relationships. Precedence networks also detail the time relationships and constraints associated with activities.

Predecessor activity - In a schedule, a predecessor activity logically comes immediately before another activity, which is dependent on the predecessor.

Preventive action - A step taken to ensure future work does not stray from performance expectations. A preventive action, which is proactive, is not the same as a corrective action, which is reactive.

PRINCE2 - PRINCE2 is an acronym for projects in controlled environments, version 2. It is a project management methodology that emphasizes business justifications for projects.  PRINCE2 management is based on clear organization of project roles and responsibilities and managing when necessary rather than by obligation. It involves planning and executing projects in a series of stages, with stipulated requirements for each work package.

PRiSM - PRiSM is an acronym for projects integrating sustainable methods. It is a project management methodology that focuses on minimizing negative impacts on society and the environment. PRiSM focuses on sustainability. It is essentially green project management.

Probability and impact matrix - A visual framework for categorizing risks based on their probability of occurrence and impact.

Problem statement - A problem statement concisely states and describes an issue that needs to be solved. It is used to focus and direct problem-solving efforts.

Process - A process is a repeatable sequence of activities with known inputs and outputs. Processes consume energy.

Process architecture - The sum of structures, components, and relationships that constitute a process system, which is a complex system of processes. It refers to the overall design of a process system and comprises both infrastructure (the constituent parts and relationships) and suprastructure (the larger system of which the process system is part).

Process management - The act of planning, coordinating, and overseeing processes with a view to improving outputs, reducing inputs and energy costs, and maintaining and improving efficiency and efficacy.

Process-based project management - A methodology that views projects as means of pursuing organizational objectives. It involves using an organization’s mission and values to guide the creation and pursuit of project objectives. If project objectives aren’t in alignment with the company mission statement, they are amended accordingly.

Procurement management plan - A procurement management plan explains how an organization will obtain any external resources needed for a project.

Product breakdown structure (PBS) - A product breakdown structure is used in project management to record and communicate all project deliverables in a hierarchical tree structure. It may be thought of as a comprehensive list of all project outputs and outcomes.

Product description - A product description defines and describes a project product and its purpose. (See also high-level requirements )

Product verification - Product verification involves examining a deliverable to ensure, among other things, that it meets requirements, quality benchmarks, and expectations set by the product description. It is conducted before a product is presented to a customer for acceptance.

Professional development unit (PDU) - A continuing education unit that project management professionals (PMPs) take to maintain certification.

Program - A collectively managed set of projects.

Program charter - An approved document that authorizes the use of resources for a program and connects its management with organizational objectives.

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) - PERT is a statistical method used to analyze activity and project durations. PERT networks are typically illustrated with activity-on-arrow diagrams. The method makes use of optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely durations to estimate expected durations for project activities and to determine float times, early and late start dates, and critical paths. (See also three-point estimating )

Program management - The collective management of programs and their components in line with concepts of organizational project management.

Program manager - A program manager has formal authority to manage a program and is responsible for meeting its objectives as part of organizational project management methods. They oversee, at a high level, all projects within a program.

Progress analysis - The measurement of progress against performance baselines. Progress analysis collects information about the status of an activity that may prompt corrective action.

Progressive elaboration - The practice of adding and updating details in a project management plan. It aims at managing to increase levels of detail as estimates are revised, and more up-to-date information becomes available.

Project - A temporary, goal-driven effort to create a unique output. A project has clearly defined phases , and its success is measured by whether it meets its stated objectives.

Project accounting - In project management, project accounting deals with reporting on the financial status of projects. It measures financial performance and actual costs against budgets or baselines. Therefore, it complements project management while providing financial information to the sponsor. Project accounting may also be referred to as job cost accounting.

Project baseline - A project baseline comprises the budget and schedule allocations set during the initiation and planning phases of a project. Assuming the scope of the project remains unchanged, it may be used to determine variance from budget or schedule.

Project calendar - A project calendar indicates periods of time for scheduled project work.

Project charter - A Project charter is a document that details the scope, organization, and objectives of a project. It is typically created by a project manager and formally approved by the sponsor. A project charter authorizes the project manager’s use of organizational resources for the project and is understood to be an agreement between the sponsor, stakeholders, and project manager. (See also project )

Project cost management (PCM) - The use of an information system to estimate, measure, and control costs through the project life cycle. It aims at completing projects within budgets.

Project definition - A project definition or project charter is a document created by a project manager and approved by a project sponsor that details the scope, organization, and objectives of a project. It authorizes a project manager’s use of resources for a project and constitutes an agreement between the sponsor, stakeholders, and project manager (See also project charter )

Project management body of knowledge (PMBOK) - The PMBOK is a collection of project management-related knowledge maintained by the Project Management Institute.

Project management office - An organizational unit that oversees project management-related activities within an organization. It seeks to facilitate and expedite project work through the use of standard procedures. A project management office also functions as a repository of general, project-related knowledge and resources.

Project management process - A management process that encompasses all phases of a project, from initiation to the meeting of objectives.

Project management professional (PMP) - A Project management professional (PMP) is a person certified by the Project Management Institute upon completion of a course of formal education, an examination, and a certain number of hours managing projects. The certification is considered the gold standard in project management.

Project management simulators - Software training tools that teach project management skills via interactive learning and provide real-time feedback by which project management trainees can practice and reassess their decision making. Some simulators, such as the Monte Carlo simulator, are used to support and complement decision making in real projects.

Project management software - Project management software is a family of tools typically used in the management of complex projects. They provide the ability to: calculate estimates; create and manage schedules and budgets; track and oversee project activities and progress; assign and allocate resources; optimize decision making; and communicate and collaborate with members of a project team.

Project management triangle - A visual metaphor that illustrates relationships between scope, cost, and schedule. It expresses the idea that none of the three aspects can be amended without affecting the others.

Project manager - The person tasked with initiating, planning, executing, and closing a project, and with managing all aspects of project performance through these phases. The term is typically used for a project management professional. Project managers are able to use organizational resources for projects. They serve as contact points for sponsors, program managers, and other stakeholders.

Project network - A visual representation of the activities and dependencies involved in the successful completion of a project.

Project performance indicators - Measures used to assess project performance, usually with reference to project or performance baselines. These typically include cost, schedule, and scope statuses.

Project phase - A distinct stage in a project management life cycle. Each phase comprises a set of project-related activities.

Project plan - A document formally approved by the project manager, sponsor, and other stakeholders which states the approved cost, schedule, and scope baselines. It guides project execution, control, and quality and performance assessment. The project plan also forms the basis for communication between parties involved in a project. Project plans can vary in their levels of detail.

Project planning - Project planning is usually the longest phase of the project management life cycle. It involves determining cost, schedule, and scope baselines and using these to create a detailed roadmap for executing project activities and producing deliverables.

Project portfolio management (PPM) - A method of collectively managing a portfolio’s constituent programs and projects to pursue organizational objectives. It involves optimizing the mix and scheduling of projects to pursue objectives as effectively as possible. Project portfolio management is closely related to organizational project management.

Project schedule network diagram - A diagram is a visual representation of how scheduled project activities are ordered and related. Depending on the type of network diagram, boxes represent activities or events, and arrows indicate activities or dependencies, typically with expected durations.

Project scope statement - A project scope statement details what a project is meant to achieve and describes the deliverables expected. It forms the basis of measurable objectives by which the success of a project will be assessed. Project scope statements are typically part of project plans.

Project stakeholders - Broadly, a Stakeholder is any party which may be affected by a project. In project management, the term usually refers to parties with an interest in the successful completion of a project.

Project team - A project team is responsible for leading and collectively managing a project and its related activities through the project’s life cycle. Project teams may contain members from several different functional groups within an organization. Depending on the nature of the project, a project team may be disbanded upon completion of a project.

Project tiers - Project sizing categorizes projects into project tiers based on staff power or time required for completion to determine the most appropriate project management practices.

Projectized organization - A projectized organization arranges all its activities into a collection of projects, programs, and portfolios. Projects are typically completed for external clients or customers. The prioritization of project work means the project manager can utilize resources and assign work as they see fit.

Proof of concept - A proof of concept is derived from a pilot project or experiment that examines whether an activity can be completed, or a concept can be realized. It shows the feasibility of an idea.

Proport - The term proport is used to define the sum of unique skills that team members bring to a project. These skills can be harnessed for collective benefit.

Q - Project Management Terms

Qualitative risk analysis - A project management technique that subjectively analyzes risk probability and impact. The risks are categorized on a probability and impact matrix, and those deemed significant may undergo a quantitative risk analysis.

Quality - In project management, quality is a measure of a deliverable’s degree of excellence. Quality may also refer to a clearly defined set of stakeholder requirements by which results are assessed.

Quality assurance - A set of practices designed to monitor processes and provide confidence that result in deliverables meeting quality expectations. It may involve quality audits and the stipulated use of best practices.

Quality control - The use of standardized practices to ensure that deliverables meet stakeholder expectations. It involves not only the definition and identification of unacceptable results but also the management of processes to optimize results.

Quality management plan - A quality management plan identifies stakeholders’ quality expectations and details quality assurance and quality control policies to monitor results and meet these expectations. It is part of a project management plan.

Quality planning - Quality planning involves identifying expected quality standards and creating mechanisms to ensure these standards are met. It may also recommend corrective action if quality standards are not being met.

Quality, cost, delivery (QCD) - QCD is an approach to management that focuses on assessing production processes with regard to three aspects: quality, cost, and delivery. It seeks to simplify process management and facilitate decision making by providing objective information about each of the three aspects, with an understanding that modifications to any one aspect will also affect the others.

Quantitative risk analysis - The mathematical analysis of risk probability and impact. In project management, it is not a substitute for qualitative risk analysis. Instead, quantitative analysis is conducted after qualitative analysis and assesses risks that qualitative analysis has identified as significant.

R - Project Management Terms

RAID log - RAID is an acronym for risks, assumptions, issues, and dependencies. The RAID log is a project management tool that records developments in these four aspects of project work for the stakeholders’ benefit and for an end-of-project review.

RASCI/RACI chart - A RASCI chart is created during project initiation to identify those who are: responsible for project activities, accountable for ensuring that work is done, signing off on the work, consulted in relation to work activities, and informed about the status of the work. The acronym may be simplified as RACI . (See also responsibility assignment matrix )

Reengineering - Reengineering involves the extensive redesign or rethinking of core processes to achieve major performance improvements. It focuses on optimizing key performance areas such as quality and efficiency. Reengineering often involves restructuring organizations so that multi-functional teams can manage processes from start to end.

Release - In IT project management, a release is a fully functional software delivered to a customer as agreed, typically after a series of iterations.

Remote team - A remote team’s members work in collaboration, usually electronically, from different geographic locations.

Repeatable - The term repeatable is used to describe a sequence of activities that may be easily and efficiently replicated. Repeatable processes are economical since they typically avoid negative variances and have established operations.

Request for proposal - A formal invitation for expressions of interest that is extended by an organization looking to procure goods or services. (See also invitation for bid )

Request for quotation - Upon receipt of proposals after issuing a request for proposal, an organization will issue a request for quotations to shortlisted proposers, asking for detailed cost estimations for specific goods or services.

Requirements management plan - A requirements management plan explains how project requirements will be defined, managed, and delivered. It is part of a project management plan and is used to guide project execution and control to adequately deliver requirements.

Requirements traceability matrix - A table that tracks requirements through the project life cycle and product testing. It is used to ensure that a project is able to deliver the stipulated requirements during the verification process.

Requirements - A set of stipulations regarding project deliverables. They are a key element of the project scope and explain in detail the stakeholders’ expectations for a project.

Residual risk - Any risks that have not or cannot be addressed by risk mitigation or risk avoidance procedures.

Resource allocation - The assigning and scheduling of resources for project-related activities, ideally in the most efficient manner possible. Resource allocation is typically handled by a project manager, though they may be overridden by a program manager if resources are to be shared between multiple projects. (See also allocation )

Resource availability - Resource availability indicates whether a specific resource is available for use at a given time.

Resource breakdown structure - A hierarchical list of resources needed for project work, classified by type and function.

Resource calendar - A resource calendar indicates resource availability, usually by shift, over a period of time.

Resource leveling - A technique that involves amending the project schedule to keep resource use below a set limit. It is used when it is important to impose limits on resource use. Resource leveling can affect a project’s critical path.

Resource loading profiles - Resource loading profiles indicate the number and type of personnel required to do project work over periods of time.

Resource optimization techniques - Resource optimization techniques seek to reconcile supplies and demands for resources. Depending on whether project duration or limiting resource use is prioritized, they can be used to amend activity start and finish dates in ways that do or do not affect a project’s critical path. (See also resource leveling and resource smoothing )

Resource smoothing - A technique that makes use of float when allocating resources so as not to affect total project duration. It is used when project time constraints are important. Resource leveling does not affect a project’s critical path.

Resource-Limited schedule - A resource-limited schedule has had its start and end dates adjusted based on the expected availability of resources.

Resources - The elements needed for a project to successfully meet its objectives. Examples of resources include equipment, staff, locations, facilities, and money.

Responsibility assignment matrix - A responsibility assignment matrix identifies those who are: responsible for project activities, accountable for ensuring that work is done, consulted about work activities, and informed about the work status. (See also RASCI/RACI chart)

Retainage - The sum of money withheld from a contract payment until completion of the contract according to terms.

Return on investment (ROI) - The expected financial gain of a project expressed as a percentage of total project investment. It is used to assess the overall profitability of a project.

Risk - The probability of occurrence of a specific event that affects the pursuit of objectives. Risks are not negative by definition. In project management, opportunities are also considered risks.

Risk acceptance - Risk acceptance involves acknowledging a risk and not taking preemptive action against it.

Risk appetite - The amount and type of risk an organization is willing to accept in anticipation of gains. It is not the same as risk tolerance, which is the amount of variation in performance measures that an organization is willing to accept.

Risk assessment - An activity that involves identifying possible risks to a project and examining how these risks, if they occur, would affect objectives.

Risk avoidance - Risk avoidance focuses on avoiding threats that can harm an organization, its projects, or assets. Unlike risk management, which is geared toward mitigating the impact of a negative event, risk avoidance seeks to address vulnerabilities and make sure those events do not occur.

Risk breakdown structure - A hierarchical model of all risks, arranged categorically.

Risk category - A set of risks grouped by cause.

Risk efficiency - A concept based on the idea of maximizing the return-to-risk ratio. It can do this in two ways: by minimizing exposure to risk for a given level of expected return or by seeking the highest possible expected return for a given level of risk.

Risk enhancement - Risk enhancement involves increasing the probability of an opportunity, or positive risk, occurring.

Risk exploitation - Risk exploitation focuses on ensuring that an opportunity, or positive risk, occurs.

Risk identification - The process of identifying and examining risks and their effects on project objectives.

Risk management - A subset of management strategies that deals with identifying and assessing risks and acting to reduce the likelihood or impact of negative risks. Risk managers seek to ensure that negative risks do not affect organizational or project objectives.

Risk mitigation - Risk mitigation involves decreasing the probability of a negative risk occurring, as well as protecting project objectives from a negative risk’s impact.

Risk monitoring and control - The risk monitoring and control process uses a risk management plan to identify risks and implement appropriate risk responses.

Risk owner - A risk owner is responsible for determining and enacting appropriate responses to a specific type of risk. (See also risk response owner )

Risk register - A risk register, or risk log, is a tool used to chronicle risky situations and risk responses as they arise.

Risk response owner - A risk owner monitors a specific type of risk and implements appropriate risk responses when necessary. (See also risk owner)

Risk response planning - Risk response planning is typically conducted after risk analyses to determine appropriate courses of action for risks is deemed significant.

Risk sharing - Risk sharing involves handing ownership of a positive risk to a third party who is typically specialized and better able to realize the opportunity.

Risk threshold - The level at which the likelihood or impact of a risk becomes significant enough that the risk manager deems a risk response necessary.

Risk tolerance - The level of variation in performance measures that an organization is willing to accept. It is not the same as risk appetite, which is the level and type of risk an organization is prepared to accept in anticipation of gains.

Risk transference - Risk transference involves handing ownership of risk to a third party who is typically specialized and better able to address the risk or to withstand its impact.

Risk trigger - An event that causes a risk to occur. A trigger can serve as a warning that a risk has occurred or is about to occur.

Rolling wave planning - A planning approach that focuses on in-depth detailing of work to be accomplished in the near term and progressively lower levels of detail for work scheduled farther in the future. It is based on the idea that work scheduled in the future is more subject to change and thus less worth planning in detail. Rolling wave planning only works for schedules with clearly defined iterations.

Root cause - The primary reason an event occurs.

Run book - A comprehensive catalog of information needed to conduct operations and to respond to any emergency situations that arise during operations. It typically details, step by step, all regular operational procedures and emergency responses.

S - Project Management Terms

S-Curve analysis - An s-curve tracks cumulative financial or labor costs. S-Curve analysis is used to compare a project’s cumulative costs at any given point with a cumulative cost baseline created during the planning phase. It allows project managers and sponsors to assess performance and progress.

Schedule - A comprehensive list of project activities and milestones in logical order, with start and finish dates for each component.

Schedule baseline - A schedule baseline is the original project schedule — approved by the project team, sponsor, and stakeholders — by which performance is assessed. Schedule baselines are generally inflexible, though alteration of a schedule baseline via a formal change control process may be allowed.

Schedule compression technique - A schedule compression technique speeds up projects without affecting scope by decreasing the duration of a project’s critical path. There are two main schedule compression techniques: crashing and fast tracking. (See also duration compression )

Schedule model - A logically arranged, time-based plan for project activities. It is used to create a project schedule.

Schedule model analysis - Schedule model analysis examines the project schedule created from a schedule model. It aims to optimize the schedule, usually via the use of scheduling software.

Schedule network analysis - Schedule network analysis uses a variety of techniques to identify early and late start and finish dates for project activities and thus to create project schedules.

Schedule performance index (SPI) - The ratio of earned value to planned value at a given point in time. It shows whether a project is running to schedule. An SPI lower than one indicates the project is behind schedule. An SPI higher than one indicates the project is ahead of schedule.

Schedule variance - Schedule variance is the difference between earned value and planned value at a given point in time.

Scientific management - Scientific management was an early attempt to bring scientific approaches to process management. Its earliest form was derived from a 1911 monograph by Frederick W. Taylor, who focused on increasing economic efficiency via the analysis and optimization of labor processes.

Scope - The scope of a project constitutes everything it is supposed to accomplish in order to be deemed successful.

Scope baseline - The set of requirements, expectations, and work packages approved as project deliverables. It is used to guide and assess project performance.

Scope change management - Scope change management deals with amendments to the scope as set in the scope baseline and project management plan. Since scope amendments typically affect cost and schedule estimates, scope change management involves revising estimates and adequately communicating these to stakeholders, as well as obtaining the resources necessary to fulfill new scope requirements.

Scope creep - Scope creep refers to gradual changes in project scope that occur without a formal scope change procedure. Scope creep is considered negative since unapproved changes in scope affect cost and schedule but do not allow complementary revisions to cost and schedule estimates.

Scrum - Scrum is an iterative development procedure used in software development projects. Scrum-based projects focus on prioritizing requirements and working towards a clear set of goals over a set time period, called a sprint. The development team thus works through the list of requirements over a number of sprints. Scrum-based projects usually do not have project manager. Instead, the project team meets daily for progress updates.

Secondary risk - A risk created by a risk response.

Security - Security in project management refers broadly to protecting humans, information, and resources from risk.

Six Sigma - An approach to process management that focuses on the near total elimination of product or service defects. It uses quality management methods to improve and optimize processes involved in the production of a product or service so that 99.99966 percent of process outcomes are defect-free.

Slack time - The length of time an activity's early start can be delayed without affecting project duration. (See also float )

Slip chart - A slip chart graphically compares predicted activity completion dates with originally planned completion dates.

Slippage - The negative variance between planned and actual activity completion dates. Slippage may also refer to the general tendency of a project to be delayed beyond planned completion dates.

Soft project - A soft project does not have a physical output.

Software engineering - Software engineering is generally defined as the use of engineering principles in software development. It systematically employs scientific and technological approaches in the design, operation, and modification of software.

Spiral life cycle - An IT system’s development model that aims to learn from experience by drawing from both iterative development and the waterfall model. It has four sequential phases: identification, design, construction, and evaluation and risk analysis. At the end of each life cycle, an iteration is assessed by the customer, and the spiral sequence begins again upon receipt of customer feedback. The spiral model is typically used in long-term projects or those where requirements are expected to vary, and customer feedback is to be incorporated in phases.

Sponsor - A sponsor has ultimate authority over a project. They provide high-level direction, approve project funding as well as deviations from cost and budget, and determine project scope. Sponsors are typically members of the senior management and are expected to provide high-level support for a project.

Sprint - In iterative project development, a sprint is a fixed unit of time during which the project typically passes through a complete development life cycle. A sprint is usually a few weeks long.

Stakeholder - In project management, a Stakeholder is any party with an interest in the successful completion of a project. More generally, the term refers to anyone who is affected by a project. (See also project stakeholder )

Standards - A standard prescribes a collection of standardized rules, guidelines, and characteristics requirements for processes or products that are approved by a recognized body. Standards are not by definition mandatory. They are adopted by consensus, although they may be enforced as a requirement for participation in certain markets.

Start-To-Finish - In a start-to-finish relationship, a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor activity has started.

Start-To-Start - In a start-to-start relationship, a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has started.

Statement of work (SoW) - A Statement of work is a comprehensive and detailed list of deliverables expected under a contract, with expected dates for each deliverable.

Steering committee - A steering committee provides high-level strategic guidance on a project. It typically comprises individuals from a number of stakeholder organizations and serves to provide consensus-based direction on projects with a large number or a diversity of stakeholders.

Story point - In sprint-based projects, a story point is a measure of the amount of work required to implement a particular user story. Assigning and totaling story points allows project teams to target a realistic number of user stories for action during an iteration or sprint.

Successor activity - In a schedule, a successor activity logically comes after and depends on an activity immediately preceding it.

Summary activity - In a network diagram, a summary activity combines a set of related activities and visually represents them as a single activity.

Sunk cost - A cost that cannot be recovered once spent.

Systems development life cycle (SDLC) - In systems engineering, the systems development life cycle is the process of creating, releasing, and maintaining an information system, which may comprise hardware, software, or both. The typical SDLC has six sequential phases: planning, analysis, design, implementation, testing, and maintenance.

Systems engineering - A field of engineering that applies principles of systems thinking to the development of complex systems. Since complex systems are more difficult to coordinate and make cohesive, systems engineering focuses on developing and optimizing systems as interactive wholes instead of sums of parts. As complex systems comprise both technical and human elements, systems engineering is, by nature, interdisciplinary.

T - Project Management Terms

Task - In project management, a task is a unit of work or activity needed for progress towards project goals. Typically, a task must be completed by a set deadline. Tasks may be further broken down into assignments or subtasks.

Task analysis - A task analysis details the actions or resources required to complete a task.

Testing - The testing phase involves assessment of the product developed so as to gauge quality and performance and to determine whether requirements have been met.

Theory of constraints - The theory of constraints explains that any process is limited from optimum performance by its weakest link or links, called constraints. The theory of constraints methodology involves identifying these weak links via a strategy called focusing and improving them until they no longer limit performance.

Threat - A negative risk that could adversely affect project objectives.

Three-point estimating - A superset of estimating techniques that use averages (or weighted averages) of most likely, optimistic, and pessimistic costs, and duration estimates to form final estimates.

Time and material contract - A time and material contract pays per unit of time and reimburses materials costs for contracted work.

Time chainage diagram - In project management, a time chainage diagram graphically represents scheduled activities for a hard project completed sequentially over a geographic distance, such as the construction of a motorway or the laying of a pipeline. It thus provides both a scheduled time and a relative geographic location for each activity.

Time limit - The time limit for a task is the window of time or deadline by which it must be completed.

Time-scaled network diagram - A network diagram is time scaled if the lengths of activities are drawn to scale to indicate their expected durations.

Timebox - Timeboxing is a project management strategy that prioritizes meeting deadlines over scope requirements. It involves assigning specific lengths of time, called timeboxes, to project activities. Project teams work to address as many requirements as possible within each timebox, proceeding to successor activities once the time limit has passed.

Timeline - A Timeline is a graphical, sequential representation of project activities.

To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI) - A project’s to-complete performance index is the cost performance it needs to achieve to be completed within budget. The TCPI is calculated as the ratio of work remaining to budget remaining.

Tolerance - The acceptable level of variance in project performance. The project sponsor is typically informed if tolerance levels are crossed.

Top-Down estimating - Top-Down estimating uses historical data from similar projects to compute time and cost estimates. (See also analogous estimating )

Total cost of ownership (TCO) - The total cost of ownership estimates the sum total of direct and indirect costs incurred in the purchase, operation, and maintenance of an asset through its life.

Total float - The length of time an activity can be delayed from its early start date without affecting the project end date.

Trigger condition - A condition that causes a risk to occur. Trigger conditions can serve as warning signs that risks have occurred or are about to occur. (See also risk trigger )

U, V, W, and X - Project Management Terms

Unified process - A unified process may refer to any one of a family of iterative software development process frameworks. Unified processes have four phases: inception, elaboration, construction, and transition. Each phase comprises a number of timeboxed iterations, which in turn involve a cycle of specifying requirements, analysis, design, implementation, and testing, with emphases on these shifting as the project team proceeds through iterations. Each iteration results in an improved version of the system called an increment.

Use case - In software development, a use case is a step-by-step list of actions that end users would take to achieve specific goals. Use cases facilitate end user-focused software testing.

User story - A project requirement stated in one sentence. It typically identifies users, real or hypothetical, what these users want from software, and why they want it. Project development teams prioritize user stories in each iteration by assigning story points

V life cycle - The V in V life cycle stands for verification and validation. It is a sequential software development process that matches a corresponding testing phase to each phase in the software development life cycle. During the verification phase, a project team works at increasingly granular levels of detail to identify requirements and design, and then builds the software. Validation proceeds in the opposite direction, as testers examine software components in turn before moving on to systems testing and finally checking that the project as a whole meets requirements.

Value engineering - Value engineering seeks to increase the functionality-to-cost ratio of a product by providing improved functionality at lower cost. Some applications of value engineering attract criticism, as manufacturers may decrease costs by using lower-quality components that decrease product lifespans.

Value for money ratio - In project management, the value for money ratio is expressed as the ratio of financial and other benefits to the resources expended in a project.

Value tree - A hierarchical model of the characteristics of a product or service that determine its value.

Variance analysis - The practice of investigating deviations between planned and actual performance.

Variance at completion (VAC) - A project’s variance at completion is the difference between its budget at completion and its estimate at completion.

Vertical slice - A performance indicator that demonstrates progress across all project components or performance areas at a given point in time.

Virtual design and construction (VDC) - A method  based on using technology in design and construction projects. It uses building information modeling (BIM) tools that focus on designable and manageable aspects of projects to create integrated models that predict project performance.

Virtual team - A virtual team comprises people from different organizations, locations, or hierarchies. It is not necessarily the same as a remote team, which is a group of people working together from different locations.

Waterfall model - The Waterfall model is a software development life cycle in which development phases are sequential, non-iterative, and do not overlap. It is typically reserved for small projects with straightforward, clearly defined requirements since a sequential development process makes it difficult to revisit the analysis and design phases once testing has begun. (See also linear sequential model )

Weighted milestone method - The weighted milestone method allows project managers to estimate earned value by splitting work packages into weighted segments. Each segment represents a portion of the budget value for the work package and ends with a milestone. When a segment milestone is classified as complete, a portion of the total work package value has been earned.

What-If scenario analysis - A simulation technique that allows project managers to determine and compare specific conditions’ effects on project schedules and objectives.

Wideband delphi - An estimation technique based on expert consensus. Each member of an estimation team uses a work breakdown structure to create anonymous estimates of the effort required to complete each project element or work package. The estimates are then reviewed as a group before the experts create new estimates, and the process is repeated for a number of rounds until a consensus is reached. (See also delphi technique )

Work - In project management, work is the amount of effort needed to complete a task.

Work authorization system - A formal procedure to ensure that project work is performed on time and in logical order.

Work breakdown structure (WBS) - A Work breakdown structure is a comprehensive, hierarchical model of the deliverables constituting the scope of a project. It details everything a project team is supposed to deliver and achieve. A work breakdown structure categorizes all project elements, or work packages, into a set of groups and may be used to form cost estimates.

Work breakdown structure dictionary - A document that details, describes, and provides scheduling information for every element of a work breakdown structure. It may be thought of as a dictionary-cum-schedule of work packages.

Work package - The work packages of a project are its lowest-level deliverables. They are detailed in a work breakdown structure dictionary.

Work stream - In project management, a work stream is a logically arranged series of activities that must be completed to pursue project objectives. The term typically refers to the full sequence of work activities from project initiation to project closure.

Workaround - A way to circumvent a problem which does not have a permanent solution or for which no adequate response was planned.

X-Bar control charts - An x-bar control chart includes two separate charts that display the means and sample ranges for a number of periodically gathered, same-size samples. The sampled data constitute some characteristic of a product or a process.

Discover Smartsheet’s Premium Tools for Project Managers

Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change. 

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

Discover why over 90% of Fortune 100 companies trust Smartsheet to get work done.

Project Management

(16 reviews)

Adrienne Watt

Copyright Year: 2014

ISBN 13: 9781774200131

Publisher: BCcampus

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Carolyn McGary, Associate Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 10/2/23

From a project management process standpoint, it covers at a high level the majority of what a starting student would need to know. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

From a project management process standpoint, it covers at a high level the majority of what a starting student would need to know.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Principles are pretty universal, so accuracy still seems good.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

A few of the examples in the book are becoming outdated, and could use an update to ensure continued relevancy.

Clarity rating: 5

Written in a straightforward manner, with good separation of topics. Feels clear and provides adequate context.

Consistency rating: 5

Flow was logical, and chapters seem to be consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

Felt the chapters were easily divisible if needed.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Structure and flow seem to be logical.

Interface rating: 5

Did not see any significant issues with navigation or interface.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Did not see any significant grammatical errors in the text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I did see a variety of examples for the topics. I did not notice anything insensitive, but I could be biased to that.

Overall the book has good data, I like the flow and the content. I would look at updating some of the examples and if possible update some of the graphics and tables for visual effect. I did like that there have been some improvements in 2019, 2021 and 2022 including some reformatting for accessibility. I have adapted portions of this text for my own Construction Project Management course.

Reviewed by Megan Hamilton, Faculty- Coordinator of Civic Engagement Projects, Emory and Henry College on 6/30/23

It covers all the major points that I want my students to understand when learning about the craft of project management. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

It covers all the major points that I want my students to understand when learning about the craft of project management.

While this book does address that project management is applicable to many sectors and careers, it doesn't provide as much a of a non-profit lens on project management as I would like my students to understand. This text is meant to apply to any type of project management though, which is important for my students to understand even though this specific class is about project management in the non-profit world.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

It is very up to date and would be easy to update in the future.

It's very easy to read.

Yes, this text provides consistency in the terminology it uses.

One of the reasons I picked this text besides that it was comprehensive and an easy read was because I could easily divide it up into smaller sections to help support our in class learning sessions.

It is organized well and in a thought out manner.

There were no issues when I read this text.

No major grammatical errors in the text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

There is nothing that jumped out at me reading this text that would be culturally sensitive, but I wasn't reading looking for that either.

This book does a good job of covering all the aspects of project management. It keeps things simple and basic, which is great for students who are just now learning about the craft of project management.

Reviewed by Michael Botyarov, Lecturer, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 7/24/22

This textbook provides a comprehensive overview of project management, including associated processes and tools. This introductory text can be an excellent supplement to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) given the flow and structure... read more

This textbook provides a comprehensive overview of project management, including associated processes and tools. This introductory text can be an excellent supplement to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) given the flow and structure of the chapters. That being said, project management has evolved over the last several years where a discussion of new methodologies, such as Agile and Critical Chain, could provide additional benefit to readers.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The textbook accurately describes project management fundamentals and provides accurate definitions of terms.

The fundamentals of project management are unlikely to shift much given the relevance of traditional waterfall approaches. Given that the purpose of the PMBoK, and other introductory texts such as this, is to provide a set of best practices for the field, the material will stay relevant. That being said, new methodology such as Agile is becoming increasingly common, so readers should keep that in mind and review newer methodologies on their own.

The textbook is very clear, providing definitions of key project management terms where needed. Additionally, case study examples provide insight into practical application(s) of the discussed topic, further elaborating on key terms and providing more clarity.

Throughout the entire textbook, the same terms are used and the formatting of chapters is similar such that the reader can get comfortable with the flow of material.

Modularity rating: 4

The textbook does an excellent job of decomposing project management topics into easy-to-digest sections, which the reader can comfortably read in one sitting. That being said, the textbook could benefit from sample exercises or problems after each chapter so the reader could apply the new knowledge in a practical way to enhance retention.

All topics in the textbook are presented in a logical way, similar to the sequence in an actual project, where you begin with stakeholder analysis and conclude with project completion. This organization further allows the reader to understand the structure of project management processes.

The textbook has clear examples, with graphics as needed, that are free from errors and are clearly displayed.

The textbook does not contain any evident grammatical errors and is therefore easy to read and digest.

Given the nature of the textbook and the way material is presented, it is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.

This textbook provides an excellent introduction to project management by decomposing relevant structure and processes. I would highly recommend this textbook to students seeking to learn the fundamentals of a dynamic field. Supplemental material regarding Agile, and other new project management processes, can be provided separately to further guide class discussions.

Reviewed by Smita Singh, Lecturer, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 5/13/22

The textbook is pretty comprehensive and covers all aspects of project management. The book is well - organized and provides power points and audio files in the end of each chapter. However some of the chapters are not much in detail. For... read more

The textbook is pretty comprehensive and covers all aspects of project management. The book is well - organized and provides power points and audio files in the end of each chapter. However some of the chapters are not much in detail. For instance, chapter 3 is pretty basic and should cover topics in detail.

I did not identify any accuracy issues.

The book is recommended for a senior level class. All the topics can be introduced in the junior sections, and thereafter, can be reintroduced in the senior sections.

The book is consistent with industry standards.

Consistency rating: 4

Some of the topics in this book are inconsistent and don't follow PMI standards. For instance, the phases of the project lifecycle can be reframed.

All the chapters can be divided into smaller reading sections and the language is very easy to understand.

No issues with the organization of this book.

I did not find any grammatical errors.

The book provides basic understanding of the project management discipline in a global environment and is politically correct.

Few of the chapters can be updated with the upcoming trends in the project management discipline.

Reviewed by Abdullah Oguz, Visiting College Lecturer, Cleveland State University on 7/4/21

The text covers all project management knowledge areas and process groups. The table of content shows all of the topics in an organized way. However, I think some chapters are short, and therefore they should include more content. For example,... read more

The text covers all project management knowledge areas and process groups. The table of content shows all of the topics in an organized way. However, I think some chapters are short, and therefore they should include more content. For example, Chapter 3 “The Project Life Cycle (Phase)” consists of four main phases with limited information for each of them. This chapter can be considered as a summary. There is a lack of clarification regarding the structure of the text after this chapter. Agile project management is addressed with only the Scrum framework in Chapter 4. One important advantage of this OER is that it provides PowerPoint presentation files and audio files for each chapter.

The content looks accurate. However, some parts need more explanation with exercises and case studies.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

The book was published in 2014. There are three updates in 2017 and 2019. However, they are mostly related to the formatting, not the content. Although the book covers the main topics in project management, there have been updates in the primary body of knowledge guide (PMBOK Guide) published by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The sixth edition was published in 2017, and the seventh edition will be released in August 2021. Besides, in the meantime, new and emerging technologies changed the corporate and social environment with new opportunities, and the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the understanding of risk evaluation and mitigation strategies. The content cannot be considered obsolete, but updates are required throughout the chapters.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is well-written, and it can be understood without ambiguity. However, a lack of explanation for some chapters and topics may leave doubts in many students’ minds.

The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

The text was structured for modularity with 19 chapters and sections inside each chapter. Therefore, it can be easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections although some chapters such as Chapter 19 cannot be considered a chapter, but a short conclusion.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

The chapter titles emphasize planning. Actually, planning is the most important part for a project manager. However, in project management, project monitoring and control, as well as execution (implementation), should be highlighted separately beside the planning. Therefore, it can create a perception that undermines the importance of other phases and process groups.

Interface rating: 4

Although chapter titles are available in the Table of Content, sections of chapters are not provided. The quality of the images is good in general. However, several figures such as Figure 1.1 don’t have a good resolution.

I did not find any grammatical errors. However, this issue should be addressed by an expert in this field.

In parallel with the global nature of project management discipline and diverse teams, the book provides examples of the implementation of projects in other cultures. For example, the “Project Management Expertise” section in Chapter 2 has a subsection “Understanding the Project Environment”. The last paragraph of this section reads “Project managers in multicultural projects must appreciate the culture dimensions and try to learn relevant customs, courtesies, and business protocols before taking responsibility for managing an international project. A project manager must take into consideration these various cultural influences and how they may affect the project’s completion, schedule, scope, and cost.” This positive approach is implemented throughout the book.

I found this book very helpful and included it in my two summer courses as a supplementary resource.

Reviewed by Debbie Austin, Part Time Faculty, Portland Community College on 1/11/21

This text is a comprehensive overview of the basic functions and processes of project management. It is not an in-depth study in any one area of project management but does a great job of covering the end to end process for a survey or basics course. read more

This text is a comprehensive overview of the basic functions and processes of project management. It is not an in-depth study in any one area of project management but does a great job of covering the end to end process for a survey or basics course.

I found the text to be accurate and sufficient for project management topics.

I like this text for the coverage of project management topics for a basic understanding of project methodology. Because it is a basics book, it does not cover agile methods sufficiently or address non-standard approaches to project management that could make it more relevant for today's project environments.

I really like this book for it's easy to understand language and straightforward layout. Students seem to be able to navigate and understand this book and are able to follow the direction that references the textbook.

This book is very consistent throughout with nicely structured chapters that are easy to digest in a single sitting.

This text has equally weighted chapters that are named appropriately and easy to understand. Within the chapters, there are section headers that make it easy to follow the content progression.

I use this book because it is so well organized. The chapters are clear and follow standard project management practice. They are structured by topic so it is easy to assign chapters that align to the content of the course.

The text is well designed with supporting images and examples that make the content more clear.

I have not found any grammatical issues.

I have not found any issues related to cultural sensitivities.

This is my go-to book for basic project management course needs. It is easy to read, understand, and use and I love the basic coverage of project management practice that it provides. This would not be a text for any specific project management topics that need more depth but it is a great basics book for those just starting out in project management. I highly recommend this text.

Reviewed by Andrea Peterson, Faculty: Lecturer, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 8/5/20

This text is perfect for a beginner's level course in Project Management. read more

This text is perfect for a beginner's level course in Project Management.

The text includes all the standard body of knowledge components making up the traditional framework of project management.

As the text is organized according to this traditional framework, it is readily adaptable to updates of current examples and processes.

The text is definitely easy to read and at a level commensurate with a beginner's course.

The text is consistent in its use of terminology true to the body of knowledge of project management.

The text contains 16 chapters which readily fits the format of most college-level courses of 15-16 weeks of study. Additionally, chapters can be easily combined for a more topical study and/or a compressed delivery.

The text follows the traditional methodology of study of the phases of project management and remains true to the body of knowledge required.

The text includes clickable links for some images and figures making it highly interactive.

No grammatical errors were found in this text as it is written in a very professional manner.

There are no cultural issues within this text.

The examples used in this text for explanation of the difficult subject of precedence planning and diagramming are that of planning a wedding, making this a highly valuable text for the hospitality industry and specifically meeting and event project management.

Reviewed by Keivan Sadeghzadeh, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on 6/27/20

This textbook covers many topics in the area but could include more such as "Communications Management" and ... read more

This textbook covers many topics in the area but could include more such as "Communications Management" and ...

I found the textbook error-free and unbiased ...

The textbook is almost up to date but there are rooms for improvement such as numerical examples and case studies. Using more interested real-word examples id recommended ...

Clarity rating: 2

The textbook lacks adequate context for many technical terminologies and concepts specifically quantitative methods such as CPM and PERT. Many project management techniques are not discussed and explained in details and major improvement in this category (clarity) is required ...

Terminology and framework are almost consistence but minor reorganizing in topics using the order of the project management areas according to the standards and guidelines is suggested ...

More breakdown in chapters is suggested specially in chapters 10 to 16. These chapters require developed structure using different level to make the concept and content clear and easy to understand ...

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

As mentioned in "Consistency", using the order of the project management areas according to the standards and guidelines in order to apply minor reorganizing could be effective ...

More graphical presentation and visualization techniques are required. Many areas of project management could benefit table, figures, and charts to present the context in a clear fashion ...

I don't see any errors ...

The textbook is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way ...

Reviewed by Jonathan de Alderete, Associate Teaching Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell on 6/10/20

This book is an excellent high level overview perfect for both business majors and engineers who are learning the ropes for staging a project. read more

This book is an excellent high level overview perfect for both business majors and engineers who are learning the ropes for staging a project.

This is a standard overview. I would have liked to see a bit more in depth on the techniques for planning but it is laid out in a similar way to how industry tackles problems.

Luckily barring a major industry overhaul, this is a well established workflow.

The book was written in an approachable non-technical fashion, with minimal use of jargon. Additionally lighthearted graphics increase the engagement.

The table formatting is a bit jarring at times (Colors, styles and fonts) which can be distracting.

The chapters are about the right length for a student to read before class, these would go well with a comprehensive case study.

There is a bit of a jump toward the end of this book (From project development to implementation is a bit glossed in my opinion), and I would have loved to see some implementation case study, but otherwise clear.

While the book does play some service to other cultures, I think a little more expansion on how regions can effect deliverable items as well as expectations is a major player. This won't be an issue to students or to the book, but I would add it as a consideration.

Overall this is a great primer on project management. I plan to use this book with Senior mechanical engineers to drive context on project planning.

Reviewed by Elaine Luther, Professor, Point Park University on 9/5/19

Table of Contents should provide short description of content for each Chapter. Would like to see more Business Examples, since this was listed under Business Area. Missing major projects such as; New Product Development/Acquisition, Capital... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

Table of Contents should provide short description of content for each Chapter. Would like to see more Business Examples, since this was listed under Business Area. Missing major projects such as; New Product Development/Acquisition, Capital Expenditures, Business Plans, Administrative Projects (Health Care Choices, etc.) Also, examples were confusing; some were project types, while others were job types, in C2. The Preface had 5 elements of Project Management, but then C3 only had 4, missing Control. That should be the structure for the textbook, and it should be consistent. Communication Planning should be an earlier Chapter rather than C15. Too late by then. Good coverage of Group Dynamics, Gantt Charts, Budgeting, Quality Conrol, Risk Management, and Implementation. Would like to see links to Excel for NPV calculations. It would also be nice to have a case study of a project that flows through all of the Chapters. ,

As referenced above, there was a discrepancy in steps in Project Management; preface listed 5, C3 only had 4 - dropped Control. I assume this is a country of original difference, but Third Party Contracting is often used over Outsourcing. Same with Charter versus Contract. Not sure. It seemed to be well edited.

It has been around for a long time, but history should be more current/relevant - with examples students could understand. Perhaps steps to develop the iPhone?

Planning a wedding might not be a good example for business. Even planning a vacation or building a tiny home would be more relevant.

I prefer more lists, rather than long paragraphs.

Also, there could be concrete examples.

Have links or examples for finding budget details - trade organizations, franchises, etc.

Chapter 10 and 11 seem to cover the same steps of preparing timelines.

I think there should be an overview chapter that describes the process from start to finish, perhaps with an outline or workbook.

C15 Communication should be up front. Have Overview Chapter.

Interface rating: 2

I could not find the slides. I could not get the audio files to open. Each time I tried, there was no back button, and I had to reopen the PDF and scroll down to the page.

Do PDF's have a find or go to page option?

It was well written. Very clear.

I would skip the wedding example for a business textbook. Event planning could be a substitute.

I was looking for a textbook that I could use with a Capstone course where senior develop a business plan. I wanted a stronger business focus. However, this is close. Thanks.

Reviewed by Micheline Al Harrack, Visiting Faculty, Marymount University on 7/26/19

This book covers all the topics relevant to Project Management. It outlines an overview of Project Management, the Project Life Cycle, and covers all knowledge areas as identified in the PMBOK 5th edition. It does not integrate using a software... read more

This book covers all the topics relevant to Project Management. It outlines an overview of Project Management, the Project Life Cycle, and covers all knowledge areas as identified in the PMBOK 5th edition. It does not integrate using a software like Microsoft Project. The book references Implementation instead of Executing even though it mentions Execution as an alternative. It goes briefly over Integration, and Monitoring and Controlling. It can be used as a textbook to be supplemented with a software package and the changes in the PMBOK 6th edition.

The book is accurate and in line with the PMBOK 5th edition.

The book is relevant and covers the principles of Project Management. It can be used as a basic reference even after the PMBOK 6th edition is out.

This book is clear. The style is simple, easy, and to the point.

The book is consistent in terminology and framework.

The chapters can be easily divided and assigned as readings and reference materials in a course. The chapters are short, to the point, and simple to read and understand.

The book is organized. It starts with the overview, the project life cycle, framework, stakeholder management then moves to the initiation phase and dedicates 9 chapters to planning the different knowledge areas. It covers the Executing phase very briefly in the "Project Implementation Overview" chapter and the Closing phase in the "Project Completion" chapter.

The book interface is clean. It is easy to navigate. Even though the charts are small, they are clear. I did not identify any problems in the display features.

The text is free of grammatical errors.

The text is not culturally insensitive. Most examples are universal. None are offensive, in my opinion.

This book is a good Project Management book. The style is clean and far from verbose. The text can be revised at a certain point to align the terminology with the PMBOK .

Reviewed by Paul Szwed, Professor, Massachusetts Maritime Academy on 4/21/19

The textbook offers a broad look at project management and provides a high-level treatment of most areas of project management. It would be a good introductory book on the subject, but due to its relatively abbreviated length, it does not go into... read more

The textbook offers a broad look at project management and provides a high-level treatment of most areas of project management. It would be a good introductory book on the subject, but due to its relatively abbreviated length, it does not go into uniformly deep coverage of all subjects or techniques.

Like most general texts on the subject, it provides an accurate view of what is commonly referred to as the traditional (or waterfall) framework for project management. There are alternative frameworks (e.g., agile) and other than a short mention in chapter 4, this text does not cover such alternative methods.

Most of the content in this text is useful and will benefit students in courses with introductory project management modules, or even entire introductory courses in project management. However, without additional support, the select tools and techniques described may not be in sufficient detail to enable a student to effectively apply them as a project manager.

The text is narrative in style and will be accessible and approachable from students of virtually any background or discipline. The text is not written for a specific discipline and adopts only jargon / technical terminology used broadly across project management professions.

The text lacked a bit of internal consistency in that the order of presentation of the chapters did not follow the framework for project management that was put forward in chapter 4 at the beginning of the book.

While I found the text to be a bit too abbreviated for my semester-long course, the chapters themselves were sufficiently short to be easily consumed by my undergraduate students. The text lacked any ability to easily decompose chapters further into sections or subsection, such that they might be adopted into specific modules.

Perhaps because I come from a PMI / PMP orientation and bias, I found the order of presentation to be slightly disorienting. It not follow the PMI order (mentioned in chapter 1 and illustrated partially in Table 4.1) nor did it necessarily follow the typical chronology of a project. Instead project phases were interspersed within project knowledge areas. For example, there was an extended section on project selection (NPV, ROI, etc.) in chapter 7 that typically proceeds initiation. Also, there was an extended section on interpersonal skills (e.g., personality, conflict resolution, meeting management, leadership) contained in chapter 11 on resource planning - this is usually separated from the technical skills of project management processes and could have easily been presented in a separate chapter or appendix.

The interface was simple and easy to navigate.

Overall, it was well-written and easily understood.

I think the text is acceptable, however when it is updated, the selection of examples could be more global and varied. There was a chapter devoted to culture that would provide an opportunity for readers to think more deeply about their own perspective and biases.

This is a decent textbook for project management, particularly when it is intended to be introductory. If educators are interested in developing technical project management competencies of its students, it may require supplemental materials. The next edition would also benefit from additional interactivity to further engage readers. Thank you to the authors and contributors for their solid work in putting forward one of the foremost OER texts in the discipline of project management.

Reviewed by Deborah Hommer, Assistant Teaching Professor, Penn State University Altoona on 2/1/18

I feel the book touches upon all the topics of a typical Project Management Book except use of a software tool like Microsoft Project. The book does not go into great detail on many of the project deliverables identified by PMI or PMD. Also... read more

I feel the book touches upon all the topics of a typical Project Management Book except use of a software tool like Microsoft Project. The book does not go into great detail on many of the project deliverables identified by PMI or PMD.

Also recommend: Chapter 12-take slide 8 and add formulas and add to text content.

I believe because it is high level, it will remain relevant. Additionally, the level will negatively impact it use in higher level classes (400-level).

I believe it is well written with nice examples.

I found the book to be consistent within and with industry information.

The chapters are assignable as smaller reading sections. They are in fact very small, high level information which I would augment with case studies.

This books is organized like most other Project Management Books-Project Life Cycle.

I did not experience any issues with the interface when reviewing this text. Limited graphics used had no issues displaying. Might recommend more graphics.

I feel the book is well written with no grammar errors.

I did not note any cultural issues with this text.

I think this would be good for a 100 or 200 level Project Management class. I would like to see some case studies and depth to be added so it could be used for a 400-level course.

Reviewed by Sang-Phil Kim, Assistant Professor, Winona State University on 6/20/17

Project management has soft skills and hard skills. Though the text covers all area and ideas of the subject it seems too concise, especially on hard/quantitative skills, such as critical path method (CPM), earned value analysis (EVA), and risk... read more

Project management has soft skills and hard skills. Though the text covers all area and ideas of the subject it seems too concise, especially on hard/quantitative skills, such as critical path method (CPM), earned value analysis (EVA), and risk analysis.

It can be used a supplementary material.

Content is accurate.I didn't find any error.

Content is up-to-date. The text is written and arranged in such a way that necessary updates will be easy and straightforward to implement.

The text is written in clear, accessible prose. It provides enough explanations for jargons.

The text is consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

The text has 19 chapters. It is easy to divide, to modify, or to rearrange.

The text has a logical structure/organization.

The text has no significant interface issues. The figures and tables are too small, but it can be seen in large version if a reader clicks the figure/table. I reviewed PDF version, but not sure in different formats.

I didn't find any grammatical errors.

The text is not culturally insensitive.

More contents for technical/quantitative skills and examples.

Reviewed by Ziko (Ziad) Rizk, Computer Systems Faculty, LinnBenton Community College (LBCC) on 6/20/17

The book covers the project management topic very well. The author begins the book with why businesses should leverage project management, then moves on to the project definition, the project life cycle, the Project Management Institute (PMI) and... read more

The book covers the project management topic very well. The author begins the book with why businesses should leverage project management, then moves on to the project definition, the project life cycle, the Project Management Institute (PMI) and project methodologies, and finally to each phase of the project life cycle (initiation, planning, implementation, and closing). The book does include an index, a slide set for each chapter, and is available in several different formats (HTML, PDF, etc.)

The book is accurate, up-to-date, and unbiased. The implementation chapter is light. I think a complete chapter on monitoring and controlling would have added much value to the book.

The book content is up-to-date. While the project management field continue to evolve, and core processes and knowledge areas are mature and stable. The book is written in such a way that corrections and revisions will be straightforward to implement. Speaking of revisions, the author covers the five PMI process areas (initiation, planning, executing/implementation, monitoring and controlling, and closing); however, the implementation chapter is light with brief mention of the monitoring and controlling activities. A good chapter on monitoring and controlling would have add much value.

The book is easy to read and follow. While the author used many of the project management technical terminology, she did not go overboard. The majority of the chapters cover the content well.

The book is mostly consistent. The one inconsistent, I think, that requiring refinement is the project management processes. While the author used initiation, planning, implementation, and closing, the PMI uses initiation, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. I think, it would be best to stay consistent with PMI.

The book is modular. The book consists of 19 different chapters. Each chapter focuses on a different project management topic. 9 of the 19 chapters focus on planning the different project management knowledge areas, which in my opinion, is appropriate.

The book is well organized and structured. The 19 chapters’ flow well. The content of flow of each chapter is also good. I already stated the implementation chapter is light and a separate chapter of monitoring and controlling would have added value.

The book interface is very good. As far as I can tell, there are no interface and navigation problems. The images and charts are clear and readable. A few of the images are busy and still readable.

The book grammar is very good. While I was not focusing much on grammar, no grammatical errors stood out.

The book is politically correct. I think, I would have noticed if the book was culturally insensitive.

I think, this is a good project management book. I think the implementation chapter should be renamed to executing and beefed up. I also think a new chapter on monitoring and controlling should be added. Finally, the planning chapters could be adjusted to align with the PMI knowledge areas.

Reviewed by Dave Amato, Adjunct Instructor, Portland Community College on 6/20/17

I think the book does a pretty good job of this although I think the representative graphics were difficult to view as part of the book content. They are too small and required enlargement if you wanted to try to get anything out of them. read more

I think the book does a pretty good job of this although I think the representative graphics were difficult to view as part of the book content. They are too small and required enlargement if you wanted to try to get anything out of them.

I was pleased with this aspect of the book.

As long as there are projects to manage, this book will be relevant. As an elementary guide to the process of project management it does a good job.

Many text books are pedantic and verbose. This one is not. Basic language drives to the elemental point.

I think the author did a very good job with her organization of the material, sequential steps and references.

The graphics are poor. I think there should be more use of charts and flow charts. The graphics provided are difficult to interpret or even see in the PDF version.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

Very little opportunity in the subject matter to deal with cultural relevance. I found no insensitive or offensive references of any kind.

The graphics provided were frustrating. Given the nature of this subject, I believe more graphics should be provided; flow charts, story boards, scheduling forms, etc. I am a visual learner and find subjects like this are easier to grasp with visual aids and case studies. Some examples were used but I think following an actual, completed project; supported by photos of the product of the project management effort would be helpful in keeping the learners interest.

Table of Contents

• 1. Project Management: Past and Present
• 2. Project Management Overview
• 3. The Project Life Cycle (Phases)
• 4. Framework for Project Management
• 5. Stakeholder Management
• 6. Culture and Project Management
• 7. Project Initiation
• 8. Overview of Project Planning
• 9. Scope Planning
• 10. Project Schedule Planning
• 11. Resource Planning
• 12. Budget Planning
• 13. Procurement Management
• 14. Quality Planning
• 15. Communication Planning
• 16. Risk Management Planning
• 17. Project Implementation Overview
• 18. Project Completion
• 19. Celebrate!
• Appendix 1: Project Management PowerPoints
• Appendix 2: Chapter Questions
• Appendix 3: Chapter Audio Files
• About the Author
• Versioning History

Ancillary Material

About the book.

This book covers the basics of project management. This includes the process of initiation, planning, execution, control and close out that all projects share.

About the Contributors

Adrienne Watt holds a Computer Systems Diploma (BCIT), a Bachelors in Technology (BCIT) and a Master’s in Business Administration (City University).

Since 1989, Adrienne has worked as an educator and gained extensive experience developing and delivering business and technology curriculum to post-secondary students. During that time she ran a successful software development business. In the business she worked as an IT Professional in a variety of senior positions including Project Manager, Database Designer, Administrator and Business Analyst. Recently she has been exploring a wide range of technology related tools and processes to improve delivery methods and enhance learning for her students.

Contribute to this Page

Ackoff, Russell L. 1974.  Redesigning the Future: A Systems Approach to Societal Problems, Volume 10 . Hoboken: Wiley.

Alexander, Moira. 2019. “How to Deliver Bad News to Project Stakeholders.” TechRepublic . August 19. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-deliver-bad-news-to-project-stakeholders/.

Allen, Jonathan. 2007. “One Big Idea for Construction Delivery: Risk Realignment, Implementing New Tools for Process Change and Big Financial Rewards.” Tradeline. https://www.tradelineinc.com/reports/2007-9/one-big-idea-construction-delivery-risk-realignment.

Amabile, Teresa, and Steven Kramer. 2011. The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.

American Society for Quality. n.d. “Cause Analysis Tools.” American Society for Quality. Accessed April 21, 2020. https://asq.org/quality-resources/root-cause-analysis/tools.

—. n.d. “How to Build A House of Quality with Technical and Competitive Benchmarking.” American Society for Quality . Accessed July 3, 2020. https://asq.org/quality-resources/house-of-quality.

—. n.d. “What Is a Quality Management System (QMS)?” American Society for Quality . Accessed May 20, 2020. https : //asq.org/quality-resources/quality-management-system.

—. n.d. “What Is ISO 9001:2015 – Quality Management Systems?” American Society for Quality . Accessed May 19, 2020. https://asq.org/quality-resources/iso-9001.

—. “What is Root Cause Analysis (RCA)?.” American Society for Quality. Accessed April 28, 2020. https://asq.org/quality-resources/root-cause-analysis.

Amundsen, Roald. 1913. The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the “Fram,” 1910-1912. Translated by A.G. Chater. Vol. 1. 2 vols. New York: Lee Keedick. Accessed July 12, 2016. https://books.google.com/books?id=XDYNAAAAIAAJ.

Anderson, Tim. 2018. “How to Avoid Product Manager Burnout.” Jama Software. January 23. https://www.jamasoftware.com/blog/avoid-product-manager-burnout/.

Anthony, S. (2009). Major League Innovation. Harvard Business Review . Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2009/10/major-league-innovation

Association for Project Management. n.d. “Difference Between “Resource Smoothing” and “Resource Leveling”.” apm.org. Accessed July 15, 2018. https://www.apm.org.uk/content/resource-smoothing.

—. n.d. “What is project management?” apm.org. Accessed June 15, 2018. https://www.apm.org.uk/resources/what-is-project-management/.

Atamian, Luna. 2017. “Why is Walmart a sustainability leader?” Huffington Post , December 14. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-is-walmart-a-sustainability-leader_us_5a329da5e4b00caf3d59eae8.

Ballé, M. (2016, February 2). Can lean support strategy as much as it does operations? Planet Lean . Retrieved from http://planet-lean.com/can-lean-support-strategy-as-much-as-it-does-operations

Ballé, M., Jones, D., Chaize, J., & Fiume, O. (2017). The Lean Strategy: Using Lean to Create Competitive Advantage, Unleash Innovation, and Deliver Sustainable Growth. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Ballestrin, Kim. 2015. “Using Cynefin to Solve Problems While Navigating Uncertainty.” The Lean Post . July 28. https://www.lean.org/LeanPost/Posting.cfm?LeanPostId=444.

Barstow, David, Laura Dodd, James Glanz, Stephanie Saul, and Ian Urbina. 2010. “Regulators Failed to Address Risks in Oil Rig Fail-Safe Device.” The New York Times , June 20. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/us/21blowout.html?pagewanted=all.

Becker, Jorg, Ralf Knackstedt, and Jens Poppelbuss. 2009. “Developing Maturity Models for IT Management: A Procedural Model and its Applications.” Business & Information Systems Engineering 1 (3): 213-222. doi:10.1007/s12599-009-0044-5.

Beckers, Frank, and Uwe Stegemann. 2013. “A risk-management approach to a successful infrastructure project.” McKinsey & Company. November. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/capital-projects-and-infrastructure/our-insights/a-risk-management-approach-to-a-successful-infrastructure-project.

Beedle, Mike, Arie van Bennekum, Alistair Cockburn, Ward Cunningham, Martin Fowler, Jim Highsmith, Andrew Hunt, et al. 2001. “Principles behind the Agile Manifesto.” Agile Manifesto. Accessed July 1, 2018. http://agilemanifesto.org/iso/en/principles.html.

Ben-Hur, Shlomo, Bernard Jaworski, and David Gray. 2015. “Aligning Corporate Learning with Strategy.” MITSloan Management Review Fall 2015. http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/aligning-corporate-learning-with-strategy/?use_credit=688d7d9df0f0255d120a667a2c469f8a.

Bergson, Henri. 1911. “Creative Evolution.” Project Gutenberg. Accessed June 15, 2018. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26163/26163-h/26163-h.htm.

Bernshteyn, Rob. 2013. “Customer Relations, And The Faults With ‘One Throat To Choke’ Business Alliances.” Forbes.com , October 23. https://www.forbes.com/sites/groupthink/2013/10/23/customer-relations-and-the-faults-with-one-throat-to-choke-business-alliances/#6ea6fe16506a.

Bigelow, Brad. 2012. “Scope–Mastering the Fuzzy Constraint.” Project Management Institute. Accessed June 16, 2018. http://www.pmi.org/~/media/Members/Requirements-Management/Scope%20Mastering%20the%20Fuzzy%20ConstraintBigelow.ashx.

Bloch, Michael, Sven Blumberg, and Jürgen Laartz. 2012. “Delivering Large-Scale IT Projects on Time, on Budget and on Value.” McKinsey&Company. October. Accessed August 4, 2016. http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/business-technology/our-insights/delivering-large-scale-it-projects-on-time-on-budget-and-on-value.

Bonabeau, Eric. 2003. “Don’t Trust Your Gut.” Harvard Business Review , May. https://hbr.org/2003/05/dont-trust-your-gut.

Bradley, Jeremy. n.d. “What Is an Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS)?” Chron. Accessed June 16, 2018. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/organizational-breakdown-structure-obs-72523.html.

Breen, Bill. 2000. “What’s Your Intuition?” Fast Company. August 31. https://www.fastcompany.com/40456/whats-your-intuition.

Breuer, Christina, Joachim Hüffmeier, and Guido Hertel. 2016. “Does Trust Matter More in Virtual Teams? A Meta-Analysis of Trust and Team Effectiveness Considering Virtuality and Documentation as Moderators.” Journal of Applied Psychology 101 (8): 1151-1177. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000113.

Brill, Steven. 2014. “Code Red.” Time , February: 26-36. http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,2166770-1,00.html. .

Broadleaf. 2016. “Complexity and project risk.” Broadleaf. January. http://broadleaf.com.au/resource-material/complexity-and-project-risk/.

Brooks, Jr., Frederick P. 1975. The Mythical Man-Month. Boston: Addison-Wesley.

Brown, Justin. 2010. “4 Steps to Rebuilding Customer-Supplier Relationships.” Supply Chain Quarterly (Quarter 3). http://www.supplychainquarterly.com/topics/Procurement/scq201003supplier/.

BuildingTalk, “Five Benefits of ISO 9001 in the Construction Industry.” BuildingTalk, https://www.buildingtalk.com/blog-entry/5-benefits-of-iso-9001-in-the-construction-industry/.

Burger, Rachel. 2017. “Business Agile and the Future of Project Management.” Capterra Project Management Blog. August 14. https://blog.capterra.com/business-agile-and-the-future-of-project-management/.

—.. 2017. “The 5 Biggest Project Management Trends Shaping 2018.” Capterra Project Management Blog. November 14. https://blog.capterra.com/the-5-biggest-project-management-trends-shaping-2018/.

Burgess, Heidi, and Brad Spangler. 2003. “Consensus Building.” Beyond Intractability. September. http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/consensus-building.

Burrough, Bryan. 2011. “Behind the Greening of Wal-Mart.” New York Times , May 14. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/business/15shelf.html?_r=0.

Business Dictionary. n.d. “change management.” BusinessDictionary.com. Accessed June 5, 2018. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/change-management.html.

—. n.d. “direct cost.” Business Dictionary. Accessed May 2, 2018. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/direct-cost.html.

—. n.d. “Dispute Resolution.” BusinessDictionary. Accessed June 15, 2018. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/dispute-resolution.html.

—. n.d. “engineering cost estimate.” Business Dictionary. Accessed July 15, 2018. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/engineering-cost-estimate.html.

—. n.d. “externalities.” BusinessDictionary. Accessed June 16, 2018. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/externalities.html.

—. n.d. “Organizational Learning.” BusinessDictionary.com. Inc. WebFinance. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/resource-management.html.

—. n.d. “price.” BusinessDictionary.com. Accessed July 15, 2018. http://www.businessdictionary.com.

—. n.d. “Resource Management.” BusinessDictionary.com. WebFinance, Inc. Accessed July 15, 2018. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/resource-management.html.

—. n.d. “work breakdown structure (WBS).” BusinessDictionary. Accessed June 16, 2018. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/work-breakdown-structure-WBS.html.

—. n.d. “Push System.” BusinessDictionary. Accessed July 1, 2018. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/push-system.html.

—. (n.d.). operational effectiveness . Retrieved July 29, 2018, from BusinessDictionary.com: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/operational-effectiveness.html

—. n.d. “Procurement.” BusinessDictionary.com. Accessed July 1, 2018. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/procurement.html.

Business for Social Responsibility. 2008. “Software  Accellerates  Sustainable Development.”  bsr.org.  http://www.bsr.org/reports/BSR_Software_Accelerates_Sustainable_Development.pdf.

Business News Daily. 2020. “Speak Up! Dissension Is Key to Successful Teamwork.” Business News Daily . March 6. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/8594-dissenting-voice-teamwork.html.

California Office of Systems Integration. n.d. “Best Practices: Monitoring & Control.” OSI Best Practices. Accessed June 1, 2018. http://www.bestpractices.ca.gov/project_management/monitoring.shtml.

Cambridge English Dictionary. 2018. “project.” Cambridge Dictionary. Accessed May 12, 2018. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/project.

Carlson, Nicholas. 2013. “Facebook’s New Mobile Product Is A Huge Flop Because It Was Built By iPhone Users.” Business Insider , May 13. http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-made-a-simple-huge-mistake-building-home-which-looks-like-a-bigger-flop-by-the-second-2013-5.

Catmull, Ed, and Amy Wallace. 2014. Creativity, Inc. New York: Random House.

Chamary, JV. 2016. “Apple Didn’t Learn From The iPhone Antennagate Scandal.” Forbes , October 31. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2016/10/31/iphone-antenna-performance/#454ef19e604d.

Chen, Brian X. 2017. “The Biggest Tech Failures and Successes of 2017.” The New York Times , December 13. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/13/technology/personaltech/the-biggest-tech-failures-and-successes-of-2017.html.

Clarizen. 2019. “How to Spot Project Failure Early.” Clarizen . July 14. https://www.clarizen.com/how-to-spot-project-failure-early/.

Cohenca-Zall, Dora, Alexander Laufer, Aviad Shapira, and Gregory A. Howell. 1994. “Process of Planning during Construction.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management , September: 561-578. http://tx.technion.ac.il/~avishap/During-Construction-Planning.pdf.

Cohn, Mike. 2010. “The Role of Leaders on a Self-Organizing Team.” Mountain Goat Software. January 7. https://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/blog/the-role-of-leaders-on-a-self-organizing-team.

Cohn, Zac, and Greg Boone. 2016. “Mississippi brings agile and modular techniques to child welfare system contract.” 18F. September 20. https://18f.gsa.gov/2016/09/20/mississippi-agile-modular-techniques-child-welfare-system/.

Cook, Matthew, and John P.T. Mo. 2018. “A Systems Approach to Life Cycle Risk Prediction for Complex Engineering Projects.” Cogent Engineering . March 26. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311916.2018.1451289.

Cooper, D. G., Edgett, D. J., & Kleinschmidt, D. J. (2000). New Problems, New Solutions: Making Portfolio Management More Effective. Research Technology Management, 43 (2). Retrieved from http://www.stage-gate.net/downloads/working_papers/wp_09.pdf

Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. n.d. “Supply Chain Management Definitions and Glossary.” cscmp.org. Accessed July 1, 2018. https://cscmp.org/CSCMP/Educate/SCM_Definitions_and_Glossary_of_Terms/CSCMP/Educate/SCM_Definitions_and_Glossary_of_Terms.aspx?hkey=60879588-f65f-4ab5-8c4b-6878815ef921.

Coutu, Diane. 2006. “Ideas as Art [an interview with James March].” Harvard Business Review , October. https://hbr.org/2006/10/ideas-as-art.

Covey, Stephen R. 1989. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Free Press.

Craven McGinty, Jo. 2016. “Why the Government Puts a Dollar Value on Life.” The Wall Street Journal , March 25.

Cremer, Andreas. 2017. “CEO says changing VW culture proving tougher than expected.” Reuters. May 22. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-culture/ceo-says-changing-vw-culture-proving-tougher-than-expected-idUSKBN18I2V3.

Curlee, Wanda. 2015. “Startups and Project Management: They Aren’t Opposites.” PM. April 23. https://www.projectmanagement.com/blog-post/12961/Startups-and-Project-Management–They-Aren-t-Opposites.

Danziger, Pamela N. 2017. “Growth in Store Brands and Private Label: It’s not about Price but Experience.” Forbes , July 28. https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2017/07/28/growth-in-store-brands-and-private-label-its-not-about-price-but-experience/#3f53504a505f.

DatacenterDynamics. 2011. “Thai Floods Threaten Hard Disk Drive Production Lines.” DatacenterDynamics. October 31. http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/servers-storage/thai-floods-threaten-hard-disk-drive-production-lines/50970.fullarticle.

Davis, Marty. 2001. “Tangled Up in Reviews.” Ask Magazine , July: 8-11.

DBP Management. 2014. “5 Ways to Manage Risk.” DBP Management. July 4. http://www.dbpmanagement.com/15/5-ways-to-manage-risk.

Dean, Tamara. 2013. Network+ Guide to Networks, Sixth Edition. Boston: Course Technology.

Denning, Steve. 2013. “What Went Wrong at Boeing?” Forbes , January 21. http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2013/01/21/what-went-wrong-at-boeing/.

Doglione, Cara. 2018. “Understanding Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RACI Matrix).” PM. January 25. http://project-management.com/understanding-responsibility-assignment-matrix-raci-matrix/.

Dolfing, Henrico. 2019. “Case Study 6: How Revlon Got Sued by Its Own Shareholders Because of a Failed SAP Implementation. Medium . August 8. https://medium.com/@henricodolfing/case-study-how-revlon-got-sued-by-its-own-shareholders-because-of-a-failed-sap-implementation-58b66f1267fa.

Duarte, Deborah L., and Nancy Tennant Snyder. 2006. Mastering Virtual Teams: Strategies, Tools, and Techniques that Succeed. San Francisco: Josey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint.

Dubois, Shelley. 2011. “How Going Green Can Be a Boon to Corporate Recruiters.” Fortune.com. June 2. http://fortune.com/2011/06/02/how-going-green-can-be-a-boon-to-corporate-recruiters/.

Edmondson, Amy. 1999. “Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams.” Administrative Science Quarterly 44 (2): 350-383. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2666999.

Egeland, Brad. 2013 “Gold Plating Project Management – Part 1.” October 6. Project Smart . https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/gold-plating-project-management-part-1.php.

Ehrenreich, Barbara. 2009. Bright-Sided. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.

El-Erian, M. A. (2014, June 13). The Secret to Southwest’s Success. Bloomberg View . Retrieved from http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-06-13/the-secret-to-southwest-s-success

Engel, Bob. 2011. “10 Best Practices You Should Be Doing Now.” Supply Chain Quarterly (Quarter 1). http://www.supplychainquarterly.com/topics/Procurement/scq201101bestpractices/.

Engel, Kristine. 2017. “Project Planning for Transmission Line Design.” PowerPoint presentation for class in Technical Project Management, University of Wisconsin-Madison, October 12.

Farlex. n.d. “contract.” The Free Dictionary. Accessed July 1, 2018. http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com.

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). 2017. Adaptation Clearinghouse. July. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.adaptationclearinghouse.org/resources/fhwa-synthesis-of-approaches-for-addressing-resilience-in-project-development.html.

Feldsher, Roni. 2016. “What to include in a project scope statement.” Clarizen. July 9. https://www.clarizen.com/what-to-include-in-a-project-scope-statement/.

Financial Times. n.d. “Risk Management.” Financial Times Lexicon. Accessed July 15, 2018. http://lexicon.ft.com.

Fisher, Roger, and Daniel Shapiro. 2005. Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate. New York: Penguin Books.

Fisher, Roger, and William Ury. 2011. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, Updated and Revised Edition. Edited by Bruce Patton. New York: Penguin Books.

Fitzgerald, Donna. 2003. “The Keys to Resource Allocation.” Tech Republic , April 21. http://www.techrepublic.com/article/the-keys-to-resource-allocation/.

Florentine, Sharon. 2016. “More than Half of IT Projects Still Failing.” CIO , May 11. https://www.cio.com/article/3068502/project-management/more-than-half-of-it-projects-still-failing.html.

Flyvbjerg, Bent, and Alexander Budzier. 2011. “Why Your IT Project May Be Riskier Than You Think.” Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2011/09/why-your-it-project-may-be-riskier-than-you-think/.

Foley, R. J. (2006, July 6). $26 Million Software Scrapped by UW System: Officials Regret the Loss But Believe A Different Vendor Will Prove Better In the Long Run. Wisconsin State Journal . Retrieved from http://host.madison.com/news/local/million-software-scrapped-by-uw-system-officials-regret-the-loss/article_d719f8a3-a718-59c6-8159-b3c27e23bf65.html

Fowler, Geoffrey A., Ian Sherr, and Niraj Sheth. 2010. “A Defiant Steve Jobs Confronts ‘Antennagate’.” Wall Street Journal , July 16. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704913304575371131458273498.

Fox, Justin. 2014. “Instinct Can Beat Analytical Thinking.” Harvard Business Review , June 20. https://hbr.org/2014/06/instinct-can-beat-analytical-thinking.

Franzen, Carl. 2014. “The history of the Walkman: 35 years of Iconic Music Players.” The Verge , July 1. http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/1/5861062/sony-walkman-at-35.

Friedman, Thomas L. 2005. The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. https://books.google.com/books?id=-mv_ryTuvo0C&pg=PA418&lpg=PA418&dq=well+educated+workforce+in+Ireland+results&source=bl&ots=xgXHeV0Ozx&sig=JoHGEs28SPnl9ZgKqUcsZusucbs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9hYvBlL_YAhVJ94MKHdStCE4Q6AEIUjAG#v=onepage&q=well%20educated%2.

Funcheon, Deirdra. 2019. “NTSB: Fatal Miami Bridge Collapse Caused By ‘A Paralyzing Culture of Group-Think’.” Bisnow . October 23. https://www.bisnow.com/south-florida/news/construction-development/miami-bridge-collapse-fiu-101395.

Garvin, David A. 1993. “Building a Learning Organization.” Harvard Business Review July-August. https://hbr.org/1993/07/building-a-learning-organization.

Gibbert, Michael, Martin Hoegl, and Liisa Välikangas. 2007. “In Praise of Resource Constraints.” MIT Sloan Management Review (Spring). http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/in-praise-of-resource-constraints/.

Gielan, Michelle. 2010. “Why Keeping Your Promise is Good for You.” Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/lights-camera-happiness/201005/why-keeping-your-promise-is-good-you.

Gino, Francesca, and Bradley Staats. 2015. “Why Organizations Don’t Learn.” Harvard Business Review November. https://hbr.org/2015/11/why-organizations-dont-learn.

Global Knowledge. 2017. “What is Project Quality Management?” April 10. Global Knowledge. https://www.globalknowledge.com/us-en/resources/resource-library/articles/what-is-project-quality-management/.

Goldstein, Amy. 2016. “HHS failed to heed many warnings that HealthCare.gov was in trouble.” Washington Post , February 23. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/hhs-failed-to-heed-many-warnings-that-healthcaregov-was-in-trouble/2016/02/22/dd344e7c-d67e-11e5-9823-02b905009f99_story.html?utm_term=.c2c2cd91ee68.

Goleman, Daniel. 1995. Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. New York: Random House.

Gonzalez, Tom. n.d. “Dashboard Design: Key Performance Indicators and Metrics.” BrightPointInc.com. Accessed June 1, 2018. http://www.brightpointinc.com/download/key-performace-indicators/.

Goodrich, Belinda. 2018. “Critical Path vs Critical Chain.” PM Learning Solutions. PM Learning Solutions. https://www.pmlearningsolutions.com/blog/critical-path-versus-critical-chain-pmp-concept-17.

—. n.d. “Budgetary Estimate vs Phased Estimate.” PM Learning Solutions. Accessed May 1, 2018. https://www.pmlearningsolutions.com/blog/budgetary-estimate-versus-phased-estimate-pmp-concept-20.

Gothelf, Jeff. 2014. “Bring Agile to the Whole Organization.” Harvard Business Review , November 14. https://hbr.org/2014/11/bring-agile-to-the-whole-organization.

Govindarajan, Vijay , and Hylke Faber . 2016. “Managing Uncertainty: What FDR Knew About Managing Fear in Times of Change.” Harvard Business Review , May 4. https://hbr.org/2016/05/what-fdr-knew-about-managing-fear-in-times-of-change.

Govindarajan, Vijay, and Anil K. Gupta. 2001. “Building an EFfective Global Business Team.” MIT Sloan Management Review. http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/building-an-effective-global-business-team/.

Graban, Mark. 2014. “#Lean: Clarifying Push, Pull, and Flow in a Hospital; the Patient “Pulls”.” Mark Graban’s Lean Blog. February 24. https://www.leanblog.org/2014/02/flow-push-and-pull-in-a-hospital/.

Green Wiki. 2015. “Sustainable Code Development.” Green Wiki. June 9. http://green.wikia.com/wiki/Sustainable_code_development.

Grove, Andrew S. 1999. Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company . New York: Doubleday.

Gupta, Aakash. 2017. “Resource Capacity Planning For Agile Teams.” PM. September 19. https://project-management.com/resource-capacity-planning-for-agile-teams/.

Hagel III, John, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison. 2009. “Managing Resources in an Uncertain World.” Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2009/02/the-potential-of-pull.

Hall, Harry. n.d. “How to Develop a Quality Management Plan.” Project Risk Coach . https://projectriskcoach.com/how-to-develop-a-quality-management-plan/.

Hammon, John S., Keeney, Ralph L. Keeney, and Howard Raiffa. 2015. Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions. Cambridge: Harvard Business Review Press.

Hammonds, K. H. (2001, February 28). Michael Porter’s Big Ideas. Fast Company . Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/42485/michael-porters-big-ideas

Haque, Umair. 2011. The New Capitalist Manifesto: Building a Disruptively Better Business. Cambridge: Harvard Business Review Press.

Harari, Oren. 2003. “18 Lessons: A Leadership Primer, Quotations from Colin Powell.” Absolute Advantage. http://www.csun.edu/~alliance/Wellness_Coreteam/Absolute%20Advantage%20Magazine/Articles/Collin%20Powell%2018_lessons.pdf.

Harbert, Tam. 2015. “Building Relationships to Win Government Contracts: How a Houston-Based Company Found Success in Government Contracting by Creating and Nurturing Important Business Relationships.” AmericanExpress.com. January 6. https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/building-relationships-big-government-contracts/.

Harrin, Elizabeth. n.d. “How to Save a Failing Project.” LiquidPlanner . https://www.liquidplanner.com/explore/resources/how-to-save-a-failing-project/.

—. 2017. “Learn What a Project Milestone Is.” The Balance Careers. October 13. https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-a-project-milestone-3990338.

Hartney, Jon. 2019. “The 6 Steps of Resource Allocation.” ProjectEngineer . July 5. https://www.projectengineer.net/the-6-steps-of-resource-allocation/.

Harvard Business Review. 2017. “Negotiation: You Can Have Too Many Options.” Harvard Business Review , September-October: 30.

Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. 2006. Managing Projects Large and Small: The Fundamental Skills for Delivering on Budget and on Time. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.

Head, George L. 2005. “Expert Commentary: Why Link Risk Management and Ethics?” IRMI. February 4. http://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/why-link-risk-management-and-ethics.

Heifetz, Ronald A., Marty Linsky, and Alexander Grashow. 2009. The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World. Boston: Harvard Business Press.

Hemp, Paul. 2009. “Death by Information Overload.” Harvard Business Review , September. https://hbr.org/2009/09/death-by-information-overload.

Hill, Andrew. 2016. How to Avoid Idea Averaging: Let only the best ideas through. January 4. http://andrewxhill.com/blog/2016/01/04/idea-averaging/.

Hillson, David. 2009. Managing Risk in Projects. Burlington: Gower Publishing Limited.

Hoffman, Bryce G. 2017. “Red Teaming.” Bryce G. Hoffman . https://brycehoffman.com/books/red-teaming/.

Holmberg, Ingalill, and Mats Tyrstrup. 2012. “Chapter 3: Managerial Leadership as Event-Driven Imrovisation.” In The Work of Managers: Towards a Theory of Management , by Stefan Tengblad, 47-68. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hopp, Wallace J., and Mark L. Spearman. 2004. “To Pull or Not to Pull: What is the Question?” Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 133-148.

Hosey, Lance. 2005. “More Constructive Ways to Build a City.” The Washington Post , January 9. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57855-2005Jan7.html.

Huber, Bob, and Paul Reiser. 2003. The Marriage of CPM and Lean Construction. The Boldt Company.

Hunt, Vivian, Dennis Layton, and Sara Prince. 2015. “Why Diversity Matters.” McKinsey.com. January. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters.

Inman, R. Anthony. 2015. “Purchasing and Procurement.” Reference for Business. June 29. http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Pr-Sa/Purchasing-and-Procurement.html.

Institute for Healthcare Improvement. n.d. “Use Pull Systems to Improve Flow.” ihi.org. Accessed July 1, 2018. http://www.ihi.org/resources/Pages/Changes/UsePullSystems.aspx.

Institute for Public Procurement. 2010. “Transparency in Government; Transparency in Government Procurement.” NIGP. https://www.nigp.org/docs/default-source/New-Site/position-papers/nigpposttranspaper.pdf?sfvrsn=2.

International Organization for Standardization. n.d. “Members.” International Organization for Standardization. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://www.iso.org/members.html.

Investing Answers. n.d. “General and Administrative Expense (G&A).” Investing Answers. Accessed May 1, 2018. http://www.investinganswers.com/financial-dictionary/businesses-corporations/general-and-administrative-expense-ga-6674.

Investopedia. (n.d.). Investopedia . Retrieved August 12, 2016, from http://www.investopedia.com

—. n.d. “deliverables.” Investopedia. Accessed June 15, 2018. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/deliverables.asp.

—. n.d. “externality.” Investopedia. Accessed June 15, 2018. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/externality.asp.

ITtoolkit. n.d. “How to Use Resource Leveling for Project Planning and Scheduling.” IT Toolkit. Right Track Associates, Inc. Accessed July 15, 2018. https://www.ittoolkit.com/articles/resource-leveling.

Jones, Tegan. 2014. “2014 PMI Project of the Year Winner: Built to Scale.” PM Network , November 11: 45-51. http://www.pmnetwork-digital.com/pmnetwork/november_2014#pg45.

Jordan, Andy. 2012. “The 9 Secrets of Successful Project Initiation.” ProjectManagement.com. March. http://www.projectmanagement.com/pdf/attaskinitiation.pdf.

Kahn, Jennifer. 2013. “Can Emotional Intelligence Be Taught?” New York Times Magazine , September 11. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/magazine/can-emotional-intelligence-be-taught.html?pagewanted=all.

Kanari, N., J.L. Pineau, and S. Shallari. 2003. “End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling in the European Union.” Journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society , August. Accessed June 9, 2015. http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/0308/kanari-0308.html.

Kanter, James. 2009. “In Finland, Nuclear Renaissance Runs Into Trouble.” The New York Times , May 28. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/business/energy-environment/29nuke.html?_r=0.

Katzenbach, Jon R., and Douglas K. Smith. 1993. Wisdom of Teams. New York: McKinsey & Company.

Kenny & Company. 2012. “Warning Signs of Project Failure and Resolution Methods.” Kenny & Company . July 23. https://michaelskenny.com/points-of-view/warning-signs-of-project-failure-and-resolution-methods/.

Kenton, Will. 2020. “Cost-Benefit Analysis.” Investopedia. Accessed August 20, 2020. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cost-benefitanalysis.asp.

Kerzner, H., & Kerzner, H. R. (2013). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

Kerzner, Harold. 2013. Project Management Metrics, KPIs, and Dashboards: A Guide to Measuring and Monitoring Project Performance, Second Edition. Hoboken: Wiley.

Kim, Daniel H. 1993. “The Link between Individual and Organizational Learning.” MITSloan Management Review Fall 1993. http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-link-between-individual-and-organizational-learning/?use_credit=98b418276d571e623651fc1d471c7811.

King, William R. 2009. “Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning.” Edited by William R. King. Annals of Information Systems (Springer) 4: 3-14.

Kjöllerström, Mónica. 2008. “Public Procurement as a tool for promoting more Sustainable Consumption and Production patterns.” Sustainable Development Innovation Briefs. August. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/no5.pdf.

Klein , Gary. 2009. Streetlights and Shadows: Searching for the Keys to Adaptive Decision Making. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Knee, Jonathan A. 2015. “In ‘Misbehaving,’ an Economics Professor Isn’t Afraid to Attack His Own.” New York Times , May 5. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/06/business/dealbook/book-review-misbehaving-by-richard-thaler.html?_r=1.

Larson, Erik W., and Clifford F. Gray. 2011. Project Management: The Managerial Process, Sixth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Laufer, Alexander, Edward J. Hoffman, Jeffrey S. Russell, and Scott W. Cameron. 2015. “What Successful Project Managers Do.” MIT Sloan Management Review , Spring: 43-51. http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/what-successful-project-managers-do/.

Laufer, Alexander, Terry Little, Jeffrey Russell, and Bruce Maas. 2018. Becoming a Project Leader: Blending Planning, Agility, Resilience, and Collaboration to Deliver Successful Projects. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Laufer, Alexander. 2012. Mastering the Leadership Role in Project Management: Practices that Deliver Remarkable Results. Upper Saddle River: FT Press.

Law, Jonathan, ed. 2016. A Dictionary of Business and Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://books.google.com/books?id=w3owCwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.

Lean Construction Institute. n.d. “Glossary.” Lean Construction Institute. Accessed July 1, 2018. http://www.leanconstruction.org/training/glossary/#l.

—. n.d. “The Last Planner.” Lean Construction Institute. Accessed July 1, 2018. http://www.leanconstruction.org/training/the-last-planner/.

Lean Enterprise Institute. 2014. Lean Lexicon, Fifth Edition. Edited by Chet Marchwinski. Cambridge, MA: Lean Enterprise Institute.

Lean Manufacturing Tools. n.d. “Waste of Defects; causes, symptoms, examples and solutions.” Lean Manufacturing Tools. Accessed November 11, 2017. http://leanmanufacturingtools.org/129/waste-of-defects-causes-symptoms-examples-and-solutions/.

—. n.d. “Waste of Overproduction; causes, symptoms, examples and solutions.” Lean Manufacturing Tools. Accessed November 11, 2017. http://leanmanufacturingtools.org/114/waste-of-overproduction-causes-symptoms-examples-and-solutions/.

LeanKit. n.d. “What is Continuous Improvement?” LeanKit. Accessed July 1, 2018. https://leankit.com/learn/kanban/continuous-improvement/.

Lee, Se Young. 2016. “Samsung scraps Galaxy Note 7 over fire concerns.” Reuters , October 10. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-smartphones/samsung-scraps-galaxy-note-7-over-fire-concerns-idUSKCN12A2JH.

Leitch, Rebecca. 2017. “The Five Warning Signs of Strategic Project Failure – And How to Avoid Them.” Strategy Execution . July 27. https://www.strategyex.co.uk/blog/pmoperspectives/the-five-warning-signs-of-strategic-project-failure-and-how-to-avoid-them.

Lemke, Klaus. 2016. “3 Simple Rues for Effective Pull Planning.” LeanProject. December 15. http://www.leanproject.com/news/3-simple-rules-for-effective-pull-planning/.

Levy, F. K., G. L. Thompson, and J. D. Wiest. 1963. “The ABCs of the Critical Path.” Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/1963/09/the-abcs-of-the-critical-path-method.

Liberto, Daniel. 2019. “Taguchi Method of Quality Control.” Investopedia . August 26. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taguchi-method-of-quality-control.asp.

Liker, Jeffrey K., and Gary L. Convis. 2012. The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership: Achieving and Sustaining Excellence Through Leadership Development. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Linanne, Ciara. 2019. “Revlon Shares Slide 6.9% After Report of Material Weakness in Financial Controls.” MarketWatch . March 24. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/revlon-shares-slide-65-after-report-of-material-weakness-in-financial-controls-2019-03-19.

Little, D. (2011, January 30). Herbert Simon’s Satisficing Life . Retrieved from Understanding Society: Innovative Thinking about a Global World: http://understandingsociety.blogspot.com/2011/01/herbert-simons-satisficing-life.html

Little, Terry. 2004. “Meaningful Mentorship.” Ask Magazine , 20-21.

Lloyd, Gary. 2015. “Understanding Lean Project Management.” Project-Management.com. May 7. http://project-management.com/understanding-lean-project-management/.

Lloyd-Walker, Beverly, Anthony Mills, and Derek Walker. 2014. “Enabling Construction Innovation: The Role of a No-Blame Culture as a Collaboration Behavioural Driver in Project Alliances.” Construction Management and Economics. 32 (3). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262576462_Enabling_construction_innovation_The_role_of_a_no-blame_culture_as_a_collaboration_behavioural_driver_in_project_alliances.

Lojeski, Karen Sobel, and Richard R. Reilly. 2008. Uniting the Virtual Workforce: Transforming Leadership and Innovation in the Globally Integrated Enterprise. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Lovallo, Dan & Kahneman, Daniel. 2003. “Delusions of Success: How Optimism Undermines Executives’ Decisions.” Harvard Business Review. (June.) https://hbr.org/2003/07/delusions-of-success-how-optimism-undermines-executives-decisions.

Lowers & Associates. 2013. “The Risk Management Blog.” Lowers Risk. August 8. http://blog.lowersrisk.com/human-capital-risk/.

MacBeth, Douglas, Terry Williams, Stuart Humby, and Ken James. 2012. Procurement and Supply in Projects: Misunderstood and Under-Researched. Newton Square: Project Management Institute. www.pmi.org.

Macomber, Hal, and John Barberio. 2007. “Target-Value Design: Nine Foundational Practices for Delivering Surprising Client Value.” Lean Construction Institute. http://www.leanconstruction.org/media/docs/3-Target-Value-Design-LPC.pdf.

Macomber, Hal. 2010. “Securing Reliable Promises on Projects: A Guide to Developing a New Practice.” LeanProject. https://www.leanproject.com/wp-content/uploads/Securing-Reliable-Promises-on-Projects-v-3.11.pdf.

Makela, Ray. n.d. “How to Partner and Build a Long-Lasting Procurement Relationship.” SalesReadinessGroup.com. Accessed July 1, 2018. https://www.salesreadinessgroup.com/blog/how-to-partner-and-build-long-lasting-procurement-relationship.

Mandell, Paul. 2016. “The 3 Relationships Procurement Executives Must Build to Support Cost Reduction Efforts.” Supply Chain Management Review , April 11. http://www.scmr.com/article/the_3_relationships_procurement_executives_must_build_to_support_cost_reduc.

March, James G., and Thierry Weil. 2005. On Leadership. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Marshall, Aarian. 2018. “Ford Finally Makes Its Move Into Electric Cars.” Wired , January 17. https://www.wired.com/story/ford-electric-cars-plan-mach-1-suv/.

Martinez, Michael. 2016. “Ford unveils10-year plan to transform Dearborn campus.” The Detroit News , April 12. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/ford/2016/04/12/ford-transform-campus/82935594/.

—. n.d. Project Management Scope. Accessed June 16, 2018. https://www.project-management-skills.com/project-management-scope.html.

Mays Business School. n.d. “What is Supply Chain Management?” Mays Business School, Texas A&M University. Accessed July 1, 2018. http://mays.tamu.edu/department-of-information-and-operations-management/what-is-supply-chain-management/.

McChrystal, General Stanley, Tantum Collins, David Silverman, and Chris Fussell. 2015. Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World. New York: Penguin Publishing Group.

McConnell, Steve. 1996. Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press.

McCracken, Harry. 2013. “This Dumb Year: The 47 Lamest Moments in Tech 2013.” Time , December 31. http://techland.time.com/2013/12/31/this-dumb-year-the-47-lamest-moments-in-tech-2013/.

McMenamin, Edward. 2017. “A Fresh Look at Cost of Quality.” Quality Magazine . November 6. https://www.qualitymag.com/articles/94337-a-fresh-look-at-cost-of-quality.

McGinley, Bill. 2016. “How to Determine When to Use Push or Pull Production Scheduling.” Carpedia. October 24. http://carpedia.com/blog/determine-use-push-pull-production-scheduling/.

McGrath, John, and Philip Martin. n.d. “Project Failure: A Catalyst for Success.” Project Times . Accessed April 25, 2020. https://www.projecttimes.com/articles/project-failure-a-catalyst-for-success.html.

Meißner, M., and L. Blessing. 2006. “Defining an Adaptive Product Development Methodology.” Proceedings of the DESIGN 2006 International Design Conference. Dubrovnik, Croatia: Design Society. 69-78.

Merrill, Robert, interview by Ann Shaffer. 2017. Senior Business Analyst, University of Wisconsin-Madison (October 2).

Merrow, Edward W. 2011. Industrial Megaprojects: Concepts, Strategies, and Practices for Success. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Messenger, Ben. 2017. “HZI Secures Contract for 28 MW Waste to Energy Plant in Perth, Australia.” Waste Management World , February 10. https://waste-management-world.com/a/hzi-secures-contract-for-28-mw-waste-to-energy-plant-in-perth-australia.

Meyer, Erin. 2010. “The Four Keys To Success With Virtual Teams.” Forbes , August 19. http://www.forbes.com/2010/08/19/virtual-teams-meetings-leadership-managing-cooperation.html.

—. 2014. The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business. New York: Public Affairs.

MICA. 2014. “5 Ways Top Project Managers Allocate Their Resources.” ResourceGuru Blog. December 11. https://blog.resourceguruapp.com/5-ways-top-project-managers-allocate-their-resources/.

Mieritz, Lars. 2012. “Gartner Survey Shows Why Projects Fail.” This Is What Good Looks Like. June 10. https://thisiswhatgoodlookslike.com/2012/06/10/gartner-survey-shows-why-projects-fail/.

Mind Tools. n.d. “Bridges’ Transition Model: Guiding People Through Change.” MindTools. Accessed July 1, 2018. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/bridges-transition-model.htm.

MindsMapped, 2018. “Quality Assurance vs. Quality Control.” MindsMapped , March 31. https://www.mindsmapped.com/quality-assurance-vs-quality-control/.

Mittal, Nitin. 2013. “Self-Organizing Teams: What and How.” Scrum Alliance. January 7. https://scrumalliance.org/community/articles/2013/january/self-organizing-teams-what-and-how.

Monnappa, Avantika. 2017. “Project Management Learning Series: Fast Tracking versus Crashing.” Simplilearn. December 19. https://www.simplilearn.com/fast-tracking-vs-crashing-article.

Morgan W. McCall, Jr. 1998. High Flyers: Developing the Next Generation of Leaders. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Morgan, M., Levitt, R. E., & Malek, W. A. (2007). Executing Your Strategy: How to Break It Down and Get It Done. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.

Mossman, Alan, Glenn Ballard, and Christine Pasquire. 2013. “Appendix A: Lean Project Delivery–Innovation in Integrated Design & Delivery.” In Design Manager’s Handbook , by John Eynon, 165-190. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118486184.app1/pdf.

Mucha, Michael, interview by Ann Shaffer. 2017. Technical and Adaptive Problems (December 11).

Muelaner, Jody. 2020. “The Seven Basic Tools of Quality.” Engineering.com . January 28. https://new.engineering.com/story/the-seven-basic-tools-of-quality.

Muirhead, Brian and William L. Simon. 1999. High Velocity Leadership: The Mars Pathfinder Approach to Faster, Better, Cheaper. New York, NY: Harper Business.

Naughton, Keith, and Christoph Rauwald. 2018. “Ford Weighs Halting F-150 Output After Supplier Fire.” Bloomberg , May 9. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-08/ford-is-said-to-weigh-halting-f-150-output-after-supplier-fire.

NDMA. n.d. “SLAs and Internal Contracts: Forming Clear Agreements for Services and Projects, the Basis for Accountability, Teamwork, and Resource Management.” NDMA. Accessed July 1, 2018. http://ndma.com/resources/ndm13318.htm.

National Highway Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). 2019. “Highway Accident Report: Pedestrian Bridge Collapse Over SW 8th Street, Miami, Florida, March 15, 2018.” NTSB . https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/HAR1902.pdf.

Nelson, John. 2017. “Conceptual Planning and Cost Management, Parts 1 and 2.” Lecture for CEE 498, Construction Project Management, University of Wisconsin-Madison. February 1.

—. 2020. Interview by Ann Shaffer and Mary Pat Shaffer. (July 29).

—. 2017. “Lecture on reliable promising for EPD612: Technical Project Management, University of Wisconsin-Madison .” October 4.

—. 2017. “Motivators and Demotivators for Teams.” Lecture for EPD612: Technical Project Management, University of Wisconsin-Madison. October 4.

—. 2017. “Strategies for Ensuring Critical Resouces are Available When Needed.” Lecture for EPD612: Technical Project Management, University of Wisconsin-Madison,. November 8.

—. 2019. “Lecture on reliable promising for EPD612: Technical Project Management, University of Wisconsin-Madison .” October 3.

Network for Business Sustainability. 2013. “Three Reasons Job Seekers Prefer Sustainable Companies.” nbs.net. June 7. https://nbs.net/p/three-reasons-job-seekers-prefer-sustainable-companies-6f1780d2-0b1d-4778-aef9-20527ab78895.

Neyfakh, Leaon. 2012. “How to change a culture.” Boston Globe , September 23. https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2012/09/22/how-change-culture/HitMpC95xPFidEjEl2cx9J/story.html.

Ohno, Taiichi. 1988. Toyota Production System: Beyond Large Scale Production. Cambridge, MA: Productivity press.

OptiSol. n.d. “What is Scope Creep in Agile Development?” Optisol Business. Accessed June 17, 2018. https://www.optisolbusiness.com/insight/what-is-scope-creep-in-agile-development.

ORC International: Expert Advisory Services. n.d. Rapid Product Development Experts. Accessed September 9, 2016. http://www.orcexperts.com/experts.asp?strSearchType=all&strQuery=rapid+product+development.

Orwell, George. 1949. “1984: Appendix, The Principles of Newspeak.” George Orwell. Accessed December 11, 2016. http://orwell.ru/library/novels/1984/english/en_app.

Page, Scott E. 2007. The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Pagenkopf, David. 2018. “Email on sustainability and software design.”

Patterson, Thom. 2015. “Rehearsal for Paris Air Show.” cnn.com , June 26. http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/11/travel/boeing-dreamliner-paris-air-show-rehearsal-video/.

Peels, Joris. 2016. “Why Agile Engineering is the Future of Product Design.” FormLabs. March 7. Accessed 5 2017, October. https://formlabs.com/blog/agile-engineering-product-development/.

Peterman, Rebekah. 2016. “Project management Phases: Exploring Phase #4 — Monitoring & Control.” PM. September 12. https://project-management.com/project-management-phases-exploring-phase-4-monitoring-control/.

Peters, Chris. 2011. “An Overview of the RFP Process for Nonprofits, Charities, and Libraries: Some Basic Considerations for Each Phase of the RFP Process.” Tech Soup. May 10. http://www.techsoup.org/support/articles-and-how-tos/overview-of-the-rfp-process.

Pink, Daniel H. 2009. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. New York: Riverhead Books.

Plex. 2017. “Push vs. Pull Manufacturing: Is a Kanban Pull System Right for Your Company?” Industry Week , July 28. http://www.industryweek.com/cloud-computing/push-vs-pull-manufacturing-kanban-pull-system-right-your-company.

PMSolutions. 2012. “What is project management maturity?” PMSolutions. August 16. http://www.pmsolutions.com/resources/view/what-is-project-management-maturity/.

Popova, Maria. n.d. “Debunking the Myth of the 10,000-Hours Rule: What it actually Takes to Reach Genius-Level Excellence.” BrainPickings. Accessed December 22, 2016. https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/22/daniel-goleman-focus-10000-hours-myth/.

Porter, M. E. (1996). What is Strategy? Harvard Business Review  (November-December). Retrieved from https://hbr.org/1996/11/what-is-strategy

—. (2001, November 12). Manager’s Journal: How to Profit From a Downturn. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition .

Porter, Michael E., and Thomas Lee, MD Lee. 2013. “The Strategy That Will Fix Health Care.” Harvard Business Review , October. https://hbr.org/2013/10/the-strategy-that-will-fix-health-care.

Portny, Stanley E. n.d. “What to Include in a Project Scope Statement.” Dummies. Accessed June 15, 2018. http://www.dummies.com/careers/project-management/what-to-include-in-a-project-scope-statement/.

Preactor. 2007. “Batch Scheduling in a Lean Manufacturing World.” Preactor. February. http://www.preactor.com/Batch-Scheduling-in-a-Lean-Manufacturing-World.

Price, Brian, interview by Jeff Russell and Ann Shaffer. 2016. Technical Project Management (September 2).

—. 2007. Lecture slides for Engine Project Management, week 13, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison, May 5.

Pritchard, Carl, and Cesar Abeid. 2013. “006 Risk Management and the Secret Sauce of Carl Pritchard, podcast audio.” PM for the Masses. August 15. http://pmforthemasses.com/risk-management-carl-pritchard/.

Program on Negotiation: Harvard Law School. 2018. “What are the Three Basic Types of Dispute Resolution? What to Know About Mediation, Arbitration, and Litigation.” PON. April 19. http://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/dispute-resolution/what-are-the-three-basic-types-of-dispute-resolution-what-to-know-about-mediation-arbitration-and-litigation/.

Project Management Skills, n.d. “What is Quality Assurance?” Project Management Skills . https://www.project-management-skills.com/what-is-quality-assurance.html.

Project-Management.com. 2016. “PMO and Project Management Dictionary.” PM Project Management.com. December 16. https://project-management.com/pmo-and-project-management-dictionary/.

Purvanova, Radostina K. 2014. “Face-to-face versus virtual teams: What have we really learned?” The Psychologist-Manager Journal 17 (1): 2-29.

Radziwill, Nicole. 2019. “A New Look at Prevention and Appraisal Costs.” Intelex . August 29. https://community.intelex.com/explore/posts/new-look-prevention-and-appraisal-costs.

Ram, Jiwat. 2016. “Compliance Projects: Fragile, Please Handle with Care!” projectmanagement.com. November 7. https://www.projectmanagement.com/articles/351236/Compliance-Projects–Fragile–Please-Handle-with-Care-.

Reference. n.d. “What is a fixed resource and a variable resource?” Reference.com. IAC Publishing, LLC. Accessed July 15, 2018. https://www.reference.com/world-view/fixed-resource-variable-resource-697cdbe590688ff.

Retail Merchandiser Magazine. 2012. “Costco Wholesale.” Retail Merchandiser Magazine , January 9. http://www.retail-merchandiser.com/index.php/featured-reports/511-costco-wholesale.

Retana, Rexter. 2014. “BIM Scope Creep.” BIM ThinkSpace.” August 20. https://www.bimthinkspace.com/2014/08/bim-scope-creep.html#_About_the_author.

Richter, Linda. 2014. “What Is a Project Charter?” Bright Hub Project Management. October 24. http://www.brighthubpm.com/project-planning/5161-what-is-a-project-charter/.

Rife, Matt. 2005. “Pentagon Rebuild is Modern-Day Study in Design-Build Construction Method.” Austin Business Journal , November 13. http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2005/11/14/focus3.html.

Rob. 2019. “Taguchi Loss Function.” Six Sigma Ninja . November 11. https://sixsigmaninja.com/taguchi-loss-function/.

Røberg, Oyvind. 2017. “How What-If Scenario Analysis Improves Project Management.” Safran . September 25. https://www.safran.com/blog/how-what-if-scenario-analysis-improves-project-management.

Rock, David, and Heidi Grant. 2016. “Why Diverse Teams are Smarter.” Harvard Business Review , November 4. https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter.

Rosenthal, Mark. 2009. “First: Define Value.” The Lean Thinker. August 20. http://theleanthinker.com/2009/08/20/first-define-value/.

Rouse, Margaret. 2007. “Capability Maturity Model (CMM).” TechTarget. April. http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/definition/Capability-Maturity-Model.

—. 2015. “Critical Path Method (CPM).” WhatIs.TechTarget.com. January. http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/critical-path-method-CPM.

—. n.d. “Definition: resource allocation.” TechTarget. Accessed July 15, 2018. http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/resource-allocation.

Royce, W.W. 1987. “Managing the development of large software systems: Concepts and Techniques.” ICSE ’87 Proceedings of the 9th international conference on Software Engineering. Monterey: IEEE Computer Society Press. 328-338.

Rubenstone, Jeff. 2016. “Mixing Reality on Site: Hologram Headsets Put 3D Models Front and Center.” Engineering News-Record , November 28/December 5: 20-24.

Salacuse, Jeswald W. 2004. “Negotiating: The Top Ten Ways that Culture Can Affect Your Negotiation.” Ivey Business Journal , September/October. http://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/negotiating-the-top-ten-ways-that-culture-can-affect-your-negotiation/.

Santiago, Jesse, and Desirae Magallon. 2009. “Critical Path Method.” Stanford.edu. February 4. http://web.stanford.edu/class/cee320/CEE320B/CPM.pdf.

Sanvido, Victor. Dec. 4, 2013. “Lean Construction Institute.” Presentation at 11th Henry C. Turner Prize for Construction Innovation, Washington, D.C. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVmz_KsDE08&feature=youtu.be.

Saran, Cliff. 2019 “SAP Disruption Leads to Revlon Class Action Lawsuit.” ComputerWeekly . May 31. https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252464278/SAP-disruption-leads-to-Revlon-class-action-lawsuit.

Saunders, Gareth. 2015. “The challenges of resource management in our Agile team.” Digital Communciations. November 9. http://digitalcommunications.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/2015/11/09/the-challenges-of-resource-management-in-our-agile-team/.

SCDigest Editorial Staff. 2012. “Global Supply Chain News: Toyota Taking Massive Effort to Reduce Its Supply Chain Risk in Japan.” Supply Chain Digest. http://www.scdigest.com/ontarget/12-03-07-2.php?cid=5576.

Scheck, J. (2016, January 14). Oil Route Forces Companies to Delay Decisions on $380 Billion in Projects. Wall Street Journal . Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-rout-forces-companies-to-delay-decisions-on-380-billion-in-projects-1452775590

Schenkelberg, Fred. n.d. “Taguchi’s 3 Fundamental Concepts.” Accendo Reliability . https://accendoreliability.com/taguchis-3-fundamental-concepts/.

Scivicque, Chrissy. 2011. “Creating Your Professional Development Plan: 3 Surprising Truths.” Forbes , July 21. http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2011/06/21/creating-your-professional-development-plan-3-surprising-truths/#5cd14a4627bb.

Scrum.org. n.d. “What is a Sprint Retrospective?” Scrum.org. Accessed July 29, 2018. https://www.scrum.org/resources/what-is-a-sprint-retrospective.

Seador, Gregory. 2019. “Avoiding Construction Project Disputes.” Risk Management . October 1. http://www.rmmagazine.com/2019/10/01/avoiding-construction-project-disputes/.

Secchi, P., ed. 1999. “Proceedings of Alerts and Lessons Learned: An Effective way to Prevent Failures and Problems. Technical Report WPP-167.” Noordwijk, The Netherlands: ESTEC.

Sedgwick, David. 2014. “Airbag Inflator Shortage Plagues Industry: With Tight Capacity, 2 Years Needed for Replacements.” Auto News. November 24. http://www.autonews.com/article/20141124/OEM11/311249954/airbag-inflator-shortage-plagues-industry.

Seeber, J. (2011). Project Selection Criteria: How to Play it Right. Retrieved from International Project Management Association: http://www.ipma-usa.org/articles/SelectionCriteria.pdf

Sehgal, Vivek. 2009. “Push or Pull?” Supply Chain Musings. October 7. http://www.supplychainmusings.com/2009/10/push-or-pull.html.

Select Business Solutions. n.d. “What is the Capability Maturity Model? (CMM).” Select Business Solutions. Accessed July 1, 2018. http://www.selectbs.com/process-maturity/what-is-the-capability-maturity-model.

Serrat, Olivier. 2012. “The Premortem Technique.” DigitalComments@ILR. March. https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1218&context=intl.

Sfeir, Robert. 2015. “Agile is About Risk Mitigation.” Leading Agile. March 12. https://www.leadingagile.com/2015/03/agile-is-risk-mitigation/.

Shapira, Zur. 1995. Risk Taking: A Managerial Perspective. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Sharpe, Paul, and Tom Keelin. 1998. “How SmithKline Beecham Makes Better Resource-Allocation Decisions.” Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/1998/03/how-smithkline-beecham-makes-better-resource-allocation-decisions.

Shell, G. Richard. 2006. Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People, Revised and Updated Edition. New York: Penguin Books.

Siebdrat, Frank, Martin Hoegel, and Holger Ernst. 2009. “How to Manage Virtual Teams.” MIT Sloan Management Review (Summer): 63-68.

Simplilearn. 2020. “Project Quality Management: Perform Quality Assurance Vs Perform Quality Control.” Simplilearn . July 29. https://www.simplilearn.com/project-quality-management-article.

Slater, Robert. 1998. Jack Welch & The G.E. Way: Management Insights and Leadership.

SmartSheet. (n.d.). What Is New Product Development? Retrieved July 25, 2018, from SmartSheet: https://www.smartsheet.com/all-about-new-product-development-process

Smith, E.J. 2019. “The Critical Link Between Requirements and Project Quality.” American Management Association. April 11. https://www.amanet.org/articles/critical-link-between-requirements-and-project-quality/.

Smith, Preston G. 1999. “Managing Risk as Product Development Schedules Shrink.” Strategy2market.com. September-October. http://www.strategy2market.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Managing-Risk-As-Product-Development-Schedules-Shrink.pdf.

Smith, Preston G., and Guy M. Merritt. 2002. Proactive Risk Management. New York: Productivity Press. http://www.petronet.ir/documents/10180/2323250/proactive_risk_management.

Snow, Frank. 2003. “Give it to Chuck.” Ask Magazine , 12-13.

Snowden, David. 2018. “Cynefin® Introduction by Dave Snowden.” Cognitive Edge. http://cognitive-edge.com/videos/cynefin-framework-introduction/.

—. 2019. “Cynefin St David’s Day 2019 (1 of 5).” Cognitive Edge . March 5. https://cognitive-edge.com/blog/cynefin-as-of-st-davids-day-2019/.

Snowden, David J., and Mary E. Boone. 2007. “A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making.” Harvard Business Review . https://hbr.org/2007/11/a-leaders-framework-for-decision-making.

Sopko, Joseph A. 2015. “Organizational Project Management: Why Build and Improve?” Project Management Institute. http://www.pmi.org/~/media/PDF/learning/organizational-project-management-build-improve.ashx.

Stanleigh, Michael. n.d. “Undertaking a Successful Project Audit.” Business Improvement Architects. Accessed June 2, 2018. https://bia.ca/undertaking-a-successful-project-audit/.

State of Michigan: Department of Technology, Management & Budget. 2013. “Project Management Key Terms, Definitions and Acronyms.” August. https://www.michigan.gov/documents/suite/PM_KeyTerms_Defs_Acronyms_080213_431285_7.pdf.

Steinman, Jay. 2017. “Defining and Measuring Project Quality.” Control Engineering . May 5. https://www.controleng.com/articles/defining-and-measuring-project-quality/.

Stout, Martha. 2005. The Sociopath Next Door. New York: Broadway Books.

Symes, Steven. 2018. “Advantages & Disadvantages of a Fixed-Price Contract.” Chron. April 13. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-fixedprice-contract-21066.html.

Taleb, Nassim Nicholas. 2010. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable. New York: Random House.

Tate, Ryan. 2013. “Facebook Home Will be a “Huge Flop” Until It’s Not.” Wired , May 14. http://www.wired.com/2013/05/facebook-home-criticism/.

Techliance. n.d. “Major ERP Failures to Learn from for Better Implementation.” https://techliance.com/blog/erp-failures/.

TechTarget. n.d. “business case.” WhatIs. Accessed June 16, 2018. http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/business-case.

—. n.d. “internet of things (IoT).” TechTarget. Accessed 17 2018, July. https://internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com/definition/Internet-of-Things-IoT.

—. 2017. “Red Teaming.” WhatIs.com . https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/red-teaming.

—. n.d. “service-level agreement (SLA).” SearchITChannel. WhatIs.com. Accessed June 2018. http://searchitchannel.techtarget.com/definition/service-level-agreement.

Thaler, Richard H. 2015. “Unless You Are Spock, Irrelevant things Matter in Economic Behavior.” New York Times , May 8. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/upshot/unless-you-are-spock-irrelevant-things-matter-in-economic-behavior.html?abt=0002&abg=0.

The Economic Times. n.d. “Definition of ‘Monte Carlo Simulation’.” The Economic Times Glossary. Accessed 15 2018, July. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/monte-carlo-simulation.

The Economist. 2009. “Genchi genbutsu.” The Economist , October 13. https://www.economist.com/news/2009/10/13/genchi-genbutsu.

—. 2009. “Triple bottom line.” The Economist , November 17. https://www.economist.com/node/14301663.

The Levin Institute. n.d. “What Is Globalization?” Globalization 101. Accessed July 17, 2018. http://www.globalization101.org/what-is-globalization/.

Thomack, David. 2018. “Introduction to Lean and Project Delivery.” Video Lecture for CEE 498: Construction Management. University of Wisconsin-Madison, College of Engineering, April 20.

Thomas, 2019. “What is the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle?” Thomas . October 8. https://www.thomasnet.com/insights/pdca-cycle/.

Thompson, Leigh. 2015. “Optimizing virtual teams.” Kellog School of Management. July 31. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SzWrazgt7Y&feature=youtu.be.

Thomsen, Chuck, Joel Darrington, Dennis Dunne, and Will Lichtig. n.d. “Managing Integrated Project Delivery.” LeanConstruction.org . Accessed September 26, 2018. https://www.leanconstruction.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/CMAA_Managing_Integrated_Project_Delivery_1.pdf.

Trapp, Roger. 1998. “How to Get What You Really Want.” Independent , April 2. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/how-to-get-what-you-really-want-1153841.html.

Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Science, 185 (4157), 1124-1131.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2013. Guidebook on anti-corruption in public procurement. Vienna, Austria: United Nations. https://www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/Publications/2013/Guidebook_on_anti-corruption_in_public_procurement_and_the_management_of_public_finances.pdf.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. n.d. Design for the Environment Life-Cycle Assessments. Accessed June 16, 2018. https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/design-environment-life-cycle-assessments.

van Doorn, Jenny, Peter C. Verhoef, and Tammo H.A. Bijmolt. 2007. “The importance of non-linear relationships between attitude and behaviour in policy research.” Journal of Consumer Policy 30 (2): 75-90. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10603-007-9028-3.

Viki, Tendayi. 2016. “Why Diverse Teams Are More Creative.” Forbes , December 6. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tendayiviki/2016/12/06/why-diverse-teams-are-more-creative/#f27da2772628.

Virine, Lev, Michael Trumper, and Eugenia Virine. 2018. “Heuristics and Biases in Project Management.” PM World Journal . VII (1): 1-11. https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/pmwj66-Jan2018-Virines-heuristics-and-biases-in-project-management.pdf.

Viscusi, W. Kip. 2005. “Monetizing the Benefits of Risk and Environmental Regulation.” Fordham Urban Law Journal 33 (4): 101-142. http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2199&context=ulj.

Vorne. n.d. “Kaizen.” LeanProduction. Accessed July 1, 2016. http://www.leanproduction.com/kaizen.html.

Vos, Robert O. 2007. “Perspective: Defining sustainability: a conceptual orientation.” Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology 82 (4): 334-339. doi:https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jctb.1675.

Voss, Chris. 2016. “5 Tactics to Win a Negotiation, According to an FBI Agent.” Time , May 25. http://time.com/4326364/negotiation-tactics/.

Wall Street Journal. n.d. “How to Manage Different Generations.” Wall Street Journal. Accessed July 1, 2018. http://guides.wsj.com/management/managing-your-people/how-to-manage-different-generations/.

Wallace, Bill. 2005. Becoming Part of the Solution: The Engineers Guide to Sustainable Development. Washington, D.C.: American Council of Engineering Companies.

Wallace, Willam A. 2018. “Viewpoint: Lead on Climate Change Solutions Before It’s Too Late.” Engineering news-Record. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.enr.com/articles/45689-lead-on-climate-change-solutions-before-its-too-late.

Warcholinski, Matt. n.d. “The Cost of Quality in Software Development – Is the Quality Worth It?” Brainhub. https://brainhub.eu/blog/cost-of-quality-in-software-development/.

—. n.d. “Troubled IT Projects: When to Rescue & When to Abandon.” Brainhub. https://brainhub.eu/blog/troubled-it-projects-when-to-rescue/.

Warrell, M. (2015, September 15). Sunk-Cost Bias: Is It Time To Call It Quits? Forbes . Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2015/09/14/sunk-cost-bias-is-it-time-to-move-on/#129648a860ee

Waytz, Adam, James Dungan, and Liane Young. 2013. “The Whistle-Blower’s Quandary.” New York Times , August 2. Accessed October 5, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/opinion/sunday/the-whistle-blowers-quandary.html.

Weber, Rosina. 2001. “An Intelligent Lessons Learned Process.” ScienceDirect . vol. 20, no.1, pp 17-34. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0957417400000464?via%3Dihub.

Weele, Arjan J. van. 2010. Purchasing & Supply Chain Management: Analysis, Strategy, Planning and Practice. Hampshire, United Kingdom: Cengage.

Wellmon, Chad. 2012. “Why Google Isn’t Making Us Stupid…or Smart.” The Hedgehog Review: Critical Reflections on Contemporary Culture 14 (1 (Spring 2012)). http://www.iasc-culture.org/THR/THR_article_2012_Spring_Wellmon.php.

Wharton School. 2006. “Is Your Team Too Big? Too Small? What’s the Right Number?” Knowledge @ Wharton. June 14. http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/is-your-team-too-big-too-small-whats-the-right-number-2/.

—. 2009. “Saturn: A Wealth of Lessons from Failure.” Knowledge@Wharton. October 28. http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/saturn-a-wealth-of-lessons-from-failure/.

Wheeler, Michael. 2017. “5 Principles of Negotiation to Boost Your Bargaining Skills in Business Situations: How to Use the Principles Behind Negotiation Ethics to Create Win-Win Agreements for You and Your Bargaining Counterpart.” PON. June 7. http://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/negotiation-training-daily/questions-of-ethics-in-negotiation/.

Whitbourne, Susan Krauss. 2013. “Shedding Light on Psychology’s Dark Triad.” Psychology Today. January 26. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201301/shedding-light-psychology-s-dark-triad.

Whited, Gary. 2014. Monitoring and Control. Recorded lecture with PowerPoint Presentation. Madison, September.

Wiegand, John. 2016. “Viewpoint: Construction Project Delivery, Dispelling Lean Myths.” Engineering News-Record , November 15.

Wilbury Stratton. 2012. “Sustainability Risks and Opportunities Report.” January. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/in/Documents/risk/Board%20of%20Directors/in-gc-sustainability-risks-and-opportunities-report-noexp.pdf.

Williams, Patrick. 2013. “Procurement Transformation Blog.” Capgemini Consulting. September 6. Accessed June 29, 2015. https://www.capgemini-consulting.com/blog/procurement-transformation-blog/2013/09/waste-not-want-not-lean-six-sigma-values-for.

Williams, Ray. 2014. “The Biggest Predictor of Career Success? Not Skills or Education—But Emotional Intelligence.” Financial Post , January 1. http://business.financialpost.com/executive/careers/the-biggest-predictor-of-career-success-not-skills-or-education-but-emotional-intelligence.

Williams, Todd C. 2011. Rescue the Problem Project: A Complete Guide to Identifying, Preventing, and Recovering from Project Failure. New York: AMACOM.

Wired Insider. n.d. “Service Level Agreements in the Cloud: Who Cares?” Wired. Accessed July 1, 2018. http://www.wired.com/insights/2011/12/service-level-agreements-in-the-cloud-who-cares/.

Womack, James P., and Daniel T. Jones. 2003. Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation, Revised and Updated. New York: Free Press.

Wrike. n.d. “Project Management Guide/What is a Work Package in Project Management?” Wrike. Accessed June 16, 2018. https://www.wrike.com/project-management-guide/faq/what-is-a-work-package-in-project-management/.

Zorn, Robert L. n.d. Information-Based Bargaining for a New Age. Accessed June 15, 2018. http://www.aasa.org/SchoolAdministratorArticle.aspx?id=8034.

Technical Project Management in Living and Geometric Order Copyright © 2018 by Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

• Contact sales

Start free trial

14 Key Project Management Principles & How to Use Them

Project management is a highly complex field. There are many things that a project manager must understand to be successful such as the methodologies, reports and tools that exist.

To help you simplify things, we’ve listed the top 14 project management principles that any project manager should know. These principles are a great starting point as you go through the journey of becoming a successful project manager.

Once you learn about the key project management principles, you’ll need a robust tool with the features needed to keep track of your project plan, budget and schedule. ProjectManager offers Gantt charts, kanban boards, project calendars and other project management tools to help you and your team achieve more. Get started for free today.

What Are the Principles of Project Management?

These project management principles cover the major areas when managing a project. At ProjectManager, we have tons of project management templates , blogs, tools and other resources to help you manage your projects better.

1. Define a Project Organization Structure

This is the first thing you’ll have to think about when managing a project. The project organization structure is the framework that facilitates the planning, execution and tracking of project activities . To set up your structure, you’ll need to create a project organization chart that specifies the roles and hierarchy of every team member. Then, think about the procedures and guidelines that will be followed by them.

2. Set Clear Project Goals & Objectives

Before you can start the project planning phase, you’ll need to define the main goals and objectives of your project. The project goals define the expected benefits of the project while the project objectives are the steps that you’ll need to take to achieve them. Defining your goals and objectives will set the stage to plan your project scope, schedule and budget.

3. Determine the Feasibility of Projects During the Initiation Phase

The feasibility study takes place during the initiation phase of a project. It will determine if a project is worth the effort and cost. The gathering of information and analyzing that data will evaluate the project’s strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It defines the project, identifies stakeholders and the project team, sets objectives, analyzes requirements, evaluates alternatives and much more.

4. Create a Communication Plan

While reporting to the various participants in the project is key, there must be a primary communication plan to regulate communications between yourself and the project sponsor. This is the only way to ensure those project decisions are properly implemented.

Without having a singular way to disseminate what the sponsor wants to the project manager, you’re not being effective in administrating the project. Even if there are multiple sponsors, they must speak with one voice or risk sending the project into chaos.

You have the responsibility to set this line of communication in place. This entails finding the right person with the right skills, experience, authority and commitment in the executive team to facilitate this important task.

5. Define Roles & Responsibilities

To move forward, a project must have well-defined roles, policies and procedures in place. That means everyone must know what they’re responsible for and to whom they answer. There needs a delegation of authority for any project to function.

It also means that you must know how you’re going to manage the scope of work , maintain the quality of the project, define its schedule and cost, etc. Without these things sorted from the jump, you’re putting the project at risk.

6. Use a Work Breakdown Structure to Define Project Scope

The work breakdown structure (WBS) defines the project scope by taking the large project and breaking it down into smaller, more manageable tasks. The top level of a WBS shows the project’s final deliverable and the lower levels break down the scope into more detailed deliverables and tasks.

7. Make a Resource-Loaded Project Schedule

The resource-loaded project schedule is part of the larger project schedule, which organizes the tasks, resources needed to execute them and the related costs. The resource-loaded schedule helps to understand the resource availability along with project tasks, estimates and deadlines. To make a resource-loaded project schedule, map the tasks on the project timeline and add estimates to each.

8. Identify the Critical Path

Another part of project scheduling is identifying the critical path. The critical path is used in project management to identify the most important project tasks, which helps keep the project on schedule. To identify the critical path, list all tasks and dependencies, calculate the start and finish times and then it will show the critical path is the longest sequence of tasks that must be completed on time for a project to finish successfully.

9. Make a Budget and Monitor Project Costs Throughout the Project

Making a budget requires accurately estimating the cost of all the resources needed to complete the various tasks. This is part of the cost management aspect of project management or the planning, budgeting and reporting to keep the project on budget. Therefore, throughout the execution of the project costs must be monitored to ensure that the actual costs are aligned with the budgeted costs that were initially planned when the project was approved.

10. Define Quality Standards for Project Deliverables

Quality standards are the criteria used to define the expectations and requirements for a project’s deliverables, processes and outcomes. The reason to define quality standards for project deliverables is to ensure that the project meets the needs of the stakeholders, customers and users. They can also help prevent errors and defects as rework can waste time, money and resources.

11. Create a Risk Management Plan

Risk is part of life, and it’s certainly a part of any project. Before the project even starts, figure out the potential risks inherent in the work ahead. Identifying them is not an exact science, of course, but you can use historical data and knowledge from your team and sponsors to uncover where the risk lies. Using a risk register template helps you capture all of this information.

It’s not enough to know that risk might rise at certain points in a project; you also should put in place a plan to resolve the issue before it becomes a problem. That means giving each risk a specific team member who’s responsible for watching for it, identifying it and working towards its resolution.

Naturally, can’t foresee every risk, but hopefully, you’ll have at least identified the big ones. That’s why you must keep an eye out for any irregularities and train your team to keep an eye out for risks.  The sooner you identify a risk, whether expected or not, the faster you can mitigate it and keep the project on track.

12. Set a Project Performance Baseline

As you progress through your project, you’ll need project performance metrics to measure success. This is how you can hold your team and yourself accountable, so you should always have ways to measure the various aspects of your project and determine if the actual figures reported are in line with the ones you planned.

The great thing about accountability in a project is that it gives you the means to identify team members who are top performers and reward them accordingly. Other team members may require more training or direction to improve their performance.

13. Create a Change Management Plan

As a project manager, you’ll need to know that project plans will likely change as your team starts the project execution phase. Delays, issues, and risks might make it necessary to make changes to your project scope, budget or schedule.

Keeping track of these changes and establishing an approval process it’s called change management, a critical facet to project success as it helps to avoid scope creep and other issues. The change management process is simple. You’ll simply need to create a change management plan , a document where you specify how changes will be handled.

This will guarantee that whenever a stakeholder or a member of the project management team wishes to make a change to the project plan, there will be a change management process in place. In most projects, a change request must be created, filed and approved.

14. Focus on Value Delivery

In any project, it’s always important to focus on your clients’ and stakeholders’ expectations and meet their project requirements . As a project manager, you need to make sure that the project goals and objectives are realistic and agreed upon by the project team and project stakeholders.

Then once you’ve reached an agreement with clients and stakeholders you can think about your value chain, supply chain, milestones, deliverables and quality standards and evaluate whether you’re delivering the expected value. During the project life cycle, you’ll be constantly making decisions that could either increase or hinder the value you deliver with your project.

Some examples of decisions that increase value can be creating a quality management plan  or choosing a methodology that allows constant customer feedback and communication for value delivery such as agile or scrum.

More Free Project Management Templates

We have dozens of templates to help you implement the project management principles that we just learned about. Our project management templates will help you at every stage of the project management life cycle, speeding up the process and helping you achieve more.

Project Plan Template

Our project plan template is a great place to start planning your projects. Simply download the file and start putting together your project plan. Then you can start using our many project management features such as our Gantt charts, kanban boards and project calendars to keep track of your project scope, schedule and budget.

Project Budget Template

Your project budget must cover all project costs, otherwise, you won’t be able to execute the work that was planned. It’s important to estimate costs as accurately as possible and document them all. Our project budget template for Excel is the perfect tool for that. However, if you need advanced project budgeting features, give ProjectManager a try.

Gantt Chart Template

Gantt charts are the most versatile project management tools there are. They’re helpful for project planning, scheduling, resource management, task management and more. Our Gantt chart template for Excel is ideal to get familiarized with this tool. Then you can import your data into ProjectManager’s Gantt chart, which allows you to identify the critical path, set task dependencies, set milestones and collaborate with your team in real time.

Put Principles Into Action With ProjectManager

Now that you know the principles, it’s time to get the tools that turn those principles into reality. But the last thing you want is to shuffle through a multitude of apps. ProjectManager is an all-in-one project management software that can help you control projects from initiation to close.

Balance Your Resources

Once the project is executed, it can quickly get out of hand if you don’t have resource planning tools . ProjectManager automates much of your resource management with a workload page that is color-coded, allowing you to see resources at a glance and make adjustments accordingly. There are also task management and collaboration tools to empower teams to work more productively together.

Get Live Progress Updates

Progress is the name of the game, of course, but if you’re not able to track progress as it happens, then you’re behind before you’ve even started. ProjectManager is online software with a real-time dashboard that automatically updates to reflect task progress, costs and other metrics. These numbers are automatically calculated and shown in colorful graphs and charts that make great visuals for stakeholder presentations.

There are more principles to project management. The list might even be endless, but these give you a roadmap to success. But you can’t get there without the right tools for the job. The cloud-based software of ProjectManager has the features you need to implement these principles through every phase of the project’s life cycle. Try it out yourself for free with this 30-day trial, and see how it can help make your job easier and increase project productivity.

Deliver your projects on time and on budget

Start planning your projects.

APA Citation Guide (7th edition) CGS

• Advertisments
• Books & e-Books
• Book Reviews
• Class Notes, Class Lectures and Presentations
• Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
• Generative AI
• Government Documents
• Images, Charts, Graphs, Maps & Tables
• Journal Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Personal Communication (Interviews, Emails)
• Social Media
• Videos & DVDs
• When Creating Digital Assignments
• When Information Is Missing
• Works Cited in Another Source
• Paraphrasing
• Reference List & Sample Writing
• Annotated Bibliography
• Sample Paper and References List

This sample paper includes a title page, sample assignment page and references list in APA format. It can be used as a template to set up your assignment.

• APA Sample Paper Template

If your instructor requires you to use APA style headings and sub-headings, this document will show you how they work.

This sample demonstrates and describes how to use different levels of headings in APA format.

• APA 7 Headings

If you are adding an appendix to your paper there are a few rules to follow that comply with APA guidelines:

• The Appendix appears  after  the References list
• If you have more than one appendix you would name the first appendix Appendix A, the second Appendix B, etc.
• The appendices should appear in the order that the information is mentioned in your essay
• Each appendix begins on a new page
• APA Research with Appendix

Quick Rules for an APA Reference List

Your research paper ends with a list of all the sources cited in the text of the paper. Here are nine quick rules for this Reference list.

• Start a new page for your Reference list. Center the title, References, at the top of the page.
• Double-space the list.
• Start the first line of each reference at the left margin; indent each subsequent line five spaces (a hanging indent).
• Put your list in alphabetical order. Alphabetize the list by the first word in the reference. In most cases, the first word will be the author’s last name. Where the author is unknown, alphabetize by the first word in the title, ignoring the words a, an, the.
• For each author, give the last name followed by a comma and the first (and middle, if listed) initials followed by periods.
• Italicize the titles of these works: books, audiovisual material, internet documents and newspapers, and the title and volume number of journals and magazines.
• Do not italicize titles of most parts of works, such as: articles from newspapers, magazines, or journals / essays, poems, short stories or chapter titles from a book / chapters or sections of an Internet document.
• In titles of non-periodicals (books, videotapes, websites, reports, poems, essays, chapters, etc), capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, and all proper nouns (names of people, places, organizations, nationalities).
• If a web source (not from the library) is not a stable archived version, or you are unsure whether it is stable, include a statement of the accessed date before the link.

Finished your assignment? Use this checklist to be sure you haven't missed any information needed for APA style.

• APA End-of-Paper Checklist
• << Previous: Paraphrasing
• Next: Annotated Bibliography >>
• Last Updated: Jun 7, 2024 9:43 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.uwm.edu/c.php?g=1007936

• Student Support Services
• Subject Guides

Project Management

• Cite Sources
• Online Videos
• Web Resources
• Business Cases
• Avoid Plagiarism
• Research Support - Opens in a new window This link opens in a new window
• FAQs - Opens in a new window This link opens in a new window

Citing and Documenting Sources

Avoid plagiarism by learning the basics about academic integrity and citation.

The following formats are recommended by APA, MLA, IEEE and other citation styles; however, you should format your citations according to your professor’s guidelines.

APA 7th Ed. Resources

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers (Oral Communication)

The following format is recommended by APA guidelines; however, you should always format your papers according to your professor’s guidelines.

• APA Style Manual 2024

Below are a few of the videos created by Humber College libraries explaining how to reference different types of resources in APA format. See all videos in the playlist here

• APA 7th Ed from Purdue University Online Writing Lab This guide will help you learn how to use the American Psychological Association (APA) citation and format style. This section contains resources on in-text citation and the References page, as well as APA sample papers, slide presentations, and the APA classroom poster.
• APA Style Citation Tutorial ebook (7th Edition)
• APA Seventh Edition Tutorial This tutorial is designed by the American Psychological Association for those unfamiliar with this style format.
• Quick Handout from the official APA 7th edition website.
• Style and Grammar Guidelines: APA 7th Ed.

Citing AI-generated Content in Assignments

Can I use generative AI in my assignment?

• Always check with your instructor first! Before starting your assignment, confirm with your instructor that you are permitted to use generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. Unauthorized use of generative software may constitute an academic integrity offence.

Do I need to cite content generated by artificial intelligence?

• Remember to include a citation whenever you incorporate content generated by AI in your assignment. For example, if you paraphrased or quoted text generated by ChatGPT, cite the source in text and in your references list. Neglecting to cite this material may constitute an academic integrity offence. Since your reader can't access the exact AI-generated text, you may also consider including a copy of the text as an appendix, or as part of supplemental materials.

What if I use AI to come up with ideas or an outline for my assignment?

• As part of using artificial intelligence responsibly and ethically, it is important to be transparent and acknowledge how you have used AI in your work. If you used AI to generate ideas or an outline or your assignment, include a statement in your work indicating which AI tools you used and how you used them. Neglecting to include this statement may constitute an academic integrity offence.

Are there risks to using AI content as a source?

• Be aware that there is a possibility that the content AI generates is biased, outdated, or false. Always evaluate the information generated by AI tools. Students are responsible for the accuracy, factuality, and truthfulness of artificial intelligence content used to assist with, and in, assessments.

Text generated by an AI tool (e.g., ChatGPT)

Note: AI-generated content may not be considered as an acceptable source for your course work. Be sure to evaluate the content carefully and check with your instructor if you are permitted to use it as a source. If you're using ChatGPT and other AI tools for coursework, include a description of how you used AI within your work. For example, you can describe in your introduction how you used ChatGPT to generate an outline for your presentation. When citing AI-generated text, remember to include both in-text and references list citations. For more information, see APA Style's How to cite ChatGPT .

Reference List

Developer. (Version Year). Name of generative AI tool (Version number) [Type of AI Model]. URL of tool

Example: OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 23 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com

In-Text Citation (Quote or Paraphrase)

Remember to include the prompt you used whenever you quote or paraphrase text generated by an AI tool. Since your reader can't access the exact AI-generated text, you may also consider including a copy of the text as an appendix or as part of supplemental materials. If you are including a copy of the generated text, you may refer to it in the body of your text, or as part of the in-text citation such as in the example below.

Given the prompt "What are large language models?" the text generated by ChatGPT described them as "artificial intelligence systems that have been trained on vast amounts of text data, with the goal of understanding natural language and generating human-like responses to text-based inputs" (OpenAI, 2023).

When provided with a follow up prompt of "What are examples of large language models?" ChatGPT identified OpenAI's GPT-3, NVIDIA's Megatron, and Google's LaMDA as some of the examples of large language models (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

Image generated by an AI tool (e.g., DALL-E, Midjourney)

Note: AI-generated content may not be considered as an acceptable source for your course work. Be sure to evaluate the content carefully and check with your instructor if you are permitted to use it as a source. The following citation examples are Seneca Libraries' recommendations.

Reproducing the image in your work

If you are inserting the AI-generated image in your coursework, start with a figure number followed by an image title. Beneath the image, include a note with details about the prompt and the source. Remember to include the full citation in your References List.

Reference List Citation

Developer's Name. (Version Year).  Name of AI tool  (Version number) [Type of AI model]. URL of tool

Example:  OpenAI. (2023).  DALL-E  (Version 2) [Large language model].  https://labs.openai.com

Notes: This citation guide is based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). The contents are accurate to the best of our knowledge. Some examples illustrate Seneca Libraries' recommendations and are marked as modifications of the official APA guidelines.

Note : This template should be used when citing oral communication with Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers. If you are citing material authored by an Indigenous person, please follow the appropriate citation template for citing the source. For example, follow the citation template for a book when citing a novel written by an Indigenous author.

Other Citation Resources

• APA 6th Ed.
• Chicago Style
• Other Styles
• Citation Tools
• Plagiarism Checkers
• Annotated Bibs
• Lit Reviews
• Purdue University's Online Writing Lab: MLA Formatting and Style Guide (9th ed.) - Opens in a new window This guide provides information on formatting your paper and referencing both print and electronic sources.
• Simon Fraser University Library MLA Citation Guide (8th ed.) - Opens in a new window This guide includes information on how to cite many sources including Tweets, Canadian government documents and Custom Courseware.
• EasyBib - The Ultimate Guide to MLA Eighth Edition - Opens in a new window This guide provides guidance on how to cite sources according the the eighth edition of MLA.

Books in Our Collection

For spelling reference, IEEE uses  The Merriam-Webster Dictionary . For guidance on grammar and source styles not included in the IEEE Editorial Style Manual, consult  The Chicago Manual of Style , published by the University of Chicago Press.

• IEEE Editorial Style Manual - Opens in a new window
• IEEE Overview Purdue the OWL. This page will introduce you to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) style for formatting research papers and citing sources. IEEE – pronounced “I-triple-E” – is a style widely used among all branches of engineering, computer science, and other technological fields.
• IEEE Referencing Style -University of York - Opens in a new window This guide from the University of York, England, includes guidelines for IEEE style.
• Waterloo University Writing and Communication Centre IEEE Guide - Opens in a new window
• IEEE Citation Guide: Getting started with IEEE referencing This guide is from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. It explains the use of IEEE in very clear terms and even in video. It gives many excellent examples of citations and different resource types.
• IEEE Handout
• Introduction to IEEE Citation (PowerPoint)
• ACOV APA Style Manual 2019 - Opens in a new window

Online Modules

• APA 6 Module 1: Plagiarism
• APA 6 Module 2: Introduction to APA Papers
• APA 6 Module 3: Incorporating Sources
• APA 6 Module 4: General Format
• APA 6 Module 5: Creating an APA Reference Page
• APA Sixth Edition Tutorial - Opens in a new window This tutorial is designed by the American Psychological Association for those unfamiliar with this style format.
• Purdue University Online Writing Lab 6th Ed. - Opens in a new window This guide provides assistance in rephrasing material.

• Purdue Online Writing Lab introduction to Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS). 17th ed. This page will help you learn to use the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) citation and format style.
• Chicago Manual of Style Homepage. 17th ed.
• Simon Fraser - Turabian Style Humanities style Chicago/Turabian (17th ed.)
• BibMe - Opens in a new window This fully automatic bibliography maker is an easy way to generate citations to build a works cited page. Includes APA 6th ed., MLA 7th ed., Chicago 16th ed. and more
• Citation Machine - Opens in a new window Helps students and professionals properly credit the information that they use. Cite sources in APA, MLA, Chicago, or Turabian for free. 7th ed. of MLA, 6th ed. of APA, and 16th ed. of Chicago (8th ed. Turabian).
• Cite This For Me - Opens in a new window A free web tool to generate citations, reference lists and bibliographies!
• EasyBib Citation Generator - Opens in a new window This citation tool from automatically creates citations. Easy Bib can create citations using 7th ed. or 8th ed. of MLA, the 6th ed. of APA, and 16th ed. of Chicago (8th ed. Turabian).
• EduBirdie : IEEE Citation Generator (includes MLA, APA and Chicago) Free and Comprehensive Guide & IEEE Citation Generator
• Knightcite - Opens in a new window This website from Calvin College includes a citation generator that will create citations in APA 6th ed, MLA 7th ed. and 16 ed. of Chicago Style (7th Turabian). (Note: this tool will be updated to reflect the 8th edition of MLA, but will continue supporting 7th ed.)
• Scribbr Citation Generator Scribbr's APA Citation Generator, you can search for your source by title, URL, ISBN, or DOI and generate accurate APA citations in seconds..
• Copyleaks Plagiarism Checker Free software online that can detect AI generated content, verify ownership and empower error-free writing. Sign up is required to see your content report.
• EasyBib Plagiarism Checker This tool allows you to check your writing for passages copied from another source, as well as for grammar errors. The plagiarism checker requires you to sign up for a paid account.
• Grammarly Plagiarism Checker This free tool allows you to upload or copy and paste your writing to check for text that was copied from elsewhere. This tool will also give you feedback on grammar, spelling, and other writing issues.
• Scribbr Plagiarism Checker Using Turnitin.com to compare your document to the world’s largest content database, covering 99.3 billion web pages, 8 million publications and over 20 languages. Scribbr is free but to see the suggestions you have to upgrade (for a fee) to premium.
• Cornell University Library : Annotated Bibliography - Opens in a new window This library guide explains how to create an annotated bibliography.
• How to Write an Annotated Bibliography from Simon Fraser University

The Literature Review is a comprehensive scan of previously published research on a specific topic. Authors use the literature review to provide readers with a current understanding of the topic, and identify existing research gaps. Literature reviews usually investigate peer reviewed literature as these research papers have undergone a thorough review for quality before being selected for publication.

• Literature Review introduction and activity from the Student Learning Portal
• Grammarly: How to write a Stellar Literature Review
• 7 Steps to Writing a Literature Review From Guelph University.
• How to Write a Literature Review Pautasso M. (2013). Ten simple rules for writing a literature review. PLoS computational biology, 9(7), e1003149. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003149
• How to Write a Literature Review for Nursing From Regis College.

Why is Academic Integrity so important?

• Academic Integrity- College Policy AA48: Academic Integrity - Opens in a new wiAvoiding Plagiarism - Algonquin Cndow Algonquin College policy AA48: Academic Integrity. Read this policy to learn about how the College defines plagiarism and its consequences at the College.
• Academic Integrity - The Learning Portal Learn more about the concept of Academic Integrity.
• Academic Integrity Student Resources Find information and resources about Academic Integrity.
• Academic Integrity Faculty Resources Find information about Academic Integrity for Faculty.

What is AI? How do I cite AI? Check out our AI: Generative Artificial Intelligence Guide for more information.

APA 7th Ed. Modules

The modules below cover how to use APA 7 to format your papers and cite your sources. Check with your professors to see which edition of APA they want you to use.

Module 1: Plagiarism

Find out what constitutes plagiarism and how you can avoid plagiarizing in your own work.

Module 2: Introduction to APA Papers

Get an introduction to APA style and find out what to look for when researching for an APA paper.

Module 3: Incorporating Sources

Learn how to incorporate information into your paper using paraphrasing, direct quotes, and in-text citations.

Module 4: General Format

Learn how to format your paper and create a title page using APA guidelines.

Module 5: Creating an APA Reference Page

Learn how to format a reference page and create citations for different types of sources.

Library/SLC Resources

• Coaching (Math, English, etc.)
• Quick Links

Coaching is a free service where you can get help in the fundamentals of subjects such as math, English, and more from knowledgeable coaches. Some subjects offer coaching by appointment, while coaching in other subjects is offered on a drop-in basis. Click on a subject below to view the schedule or register for a session.

• Anatomy/Biology
• English as a Second Language
• Presentation Skills
• Study Skills
• Borrowing from Other Libraries - Opens in a new window
• Requesting an Item - Opens in a new window
• Renewing Books - Opens in a new window
• Video Booking - Opens in a new window

Logging In Off Campus

Library digital resources require you to log in if you are off campus. You will need to log in using your College Network Account credentials.

Library Forms

• Accessible Library Book Request - Opens in a new window
• Audio Visual Loans/Booking - Opens in a new window
• Interlibrary Loan Request - Opens in a new window

Library Information

• Contact Information - Opens in a new window
• Copyright - Opens in a new window
• Hours - Opens in a new window
• Library Account Info - Opens in a new window

Visit the the How To Cite module in The Learning Portal for additional tips and information on citing your sources.

• << Previous: Business Cases
• Next: Avoid Plagiarism >>
• Last Updated: Aug 30, 2024 1:20 PM
• URL: https://algonquincollege.libguides.com/project-management

Have your project planned? Here’s 11 steps to help you manage it like a pro

Whether you’re embarking on your very first management gig or just brushing up on some tips, we’ve got tons of advice to help you shine in your managerial role.

You don’t have to be a full-time project manager to make of these resources.

All of these tips are applicable to any project – big or small.

In Project Central, we operate our projects under three key phases:

1. Plan a project

2. Manage a project

3. Manage across multiple projects.

If you’re here, you’ve probably already visited our ‘ Plan a Project ‘ article. If not, we recommended checking it out here before moving on.

Today we’re talking about phase number two – managing a project . We’re going to show you how even the most complex projects can follow our go-to project management process.

Easily manage projects with Project Central

Project Central helps teams to plan, manage, and collaborate on any project with Microsoft 365.

11 steps to help you manage projects like a pro.

Stage 1: collaborate as a project team.

Steps 1-4 are all about collaboration. Team collaboration is the lifeblood of any project. So, you’ll want to cultivate a strong and communicative team dynamic as son as possible. That means effective idea sharing, decision making, and efficient team management.

Remember, your project team is probably going to include people with different topics of expertise.

Your team members may not even have met each other before – especially if they have been brought in from different departments.

In order to encourage effective collaboration, you’ll want to focus on transparency, engagement, team morale and motivation.

And to do this, a project collaboration and management tool is going to help you out a ton.

If you’re hoping to manage a multifaceted project using Excel, then you might want to think again. Spreadsheets are great for simple, or individual, tasks, but if you want to manage a team successfully, you’ll be much better served with a designated management tool.

Project Central is a simple project tracking tool that can help you plan and structure your projects in the way that’s best for you.

You’ll be able to assign tasks to your teammates, organize due dates, keep track of deadlines, set team priorities, and much more. With all of your project management and collaboration needs under one roof, you’ll be well on your way to hitting those project goals.

So, we know that effective collaboration is essential for successful project management, but what can you actually do as a project manager to ensure healthy collaboration practices in your teams? Here are some ideas to get you started!

Step 1: set up task notifications

First thing’s first, ensure that your team members are notified when they are assigned new tasks or have tasks due soon.

This is a great way to keep your project rolling and motivate team members.

With Project Central you can manage all of your tasks simply and easily in your My Tasks tab.

My Tasks is a simple and visual dashboard displaying all tasks assigned to you across all of your projects. It’s super easy for your team members to access. Each team member will be able to assess their individual tasks and see what needs to get done and when. And that benefits everyone. When individual tasks stay on track, projects stay on track.

Step 2: Update tasks

Update each task with all the relevant details pertaining to it. For example, you could attach all relevant documents needed for the task ahead of time.

Other important details to add, include task instructions (how it needs to be done) and task deliverables (what is expected upon completion).

Next, you’ll want to allocate each task to a team member. In order to do this effectively you should first define everyone’s role.

Once you’ve done this you can try to assign each task to employees based on their respective roles and individual skill sets.

Finally, try to keep workloads realistic. Setting too many tasks in too short a period of time is going to be counterproductive to end results (not to mention team morale).

Setting realistic time frames and project milestones is a super important part of being a project manager. It’s important to keep things moving but always achievable.

Step 3: Monitor project activity

Step three is to keep tabs on your project activity. Project management isn’t a ‘launch and be done with it’ kind of role.

The most successful project managers will regularly monitor and assess how their project is going. Are you meeting your goals? Are you managing to maintain the schedule?

Are there any adjustments needed? Monitoring your project activity isn’t just about bathing in the glory of your success.

Sometimes initial timescales and ideas don’t go to plan. And that’s fine. The important thing is that you’re keeping tabs on day-to-day progress so that you can make those necessary adjustments in a timely manner – before any more serious damage is done.

Step 4: Work in tasks on other projects

Just because you’ve taken on the role of project manager, doesn’t mean all of your other responsibilities go out of the window.

And the same goes for your team members.

When you find yourself with multiple projects on-the-go, in tandem, organization is even more important than ever.

Make sure to consider all project responsibilities when drawing up your project management plan.

When setting goals and timings, remember to factor in any deadlines or important tasks required for your adjacent projects.

A great way to do this is to unify all of your projects under one project management environment. That way you’ll have seamless visibility across all of your projects.

Stage 2: Track and adjust the project

Stage one is complete. You’ve set yourself up for a project based on amazing team collaboration.

Now it’s time to track and adjust your project after lift-off. As we already touched on, tracking your progress is key to maintain a manageable workload and successful outcome in managing your project.

So, without further ado, Steps 5 – 9 are all about tracking!

Here are our Project Central top-tips for tracking and adjusting projects as you go!

Step 5: resolve flagged tasks

At the beginning of your project, it’s a good idea to ask your team members to flag any tasks that require extra attention along the way.

This is inevitable. Not every task is going to go to plan first time around.

The important thing is being able to locate and troubleshoot the issue early on. As you conduct your reviews, ensure that you take note of a flagged tasks and rectify any issues.

Step 6: Review project structure and tasks

Even the seemingly most perfect plans can go askew.

When your plan starts to be delivered in reality, its inevitable that some timings are going to need adjustment.

Every so often it’s a good idea to review the project structure (phases, tasks, project sections) to ensure that it’s still fit for purpose.

For example, imagine you’re managing a marketing project. According to your initial plan, your team was supposed to deliver a marketing video by day 15 of the project. However, due to a delay caused by a third-party error, your team was set back. What should you do?

In a case like this, visit your project planning tool and shift around your project tasks to ensure a new, more manageable, timeline without sacrificing on your completion date.

If you planned your project timeline using a Gantt chart , this will be super easy.

Simply drag-and-drop you projects to adjust as needed and view your entire project timeframe at a glance.

Step 7: Update task status

Here’s a quick reminder. Whatever management tool you’re using make sure to keep it updated.

More complex projects with a lot of tasks can become confusing if the status of individual tasks is unclear. It could result in missed (or duplicated) tasks as a result of mismanagement and miscommunication.

To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, make sure all tasks are marketed as in-progress or complete as necessary.

Step 8: Update project schedule

As we’ve already alluded to, sometimes timelines don’t go 100% according to plan.

In most cases, you’ll be able to reassign and reshuffle tasks to accommodate the necessary changes and keep your project on track.

But sometimes you’ll need to adjust your completion date.

Step 9: Update project dashboard

Whatever happens during your project, whether it’s going ahead of schedule, falling behind, or in need of major intervention, it’s important to keep your team members and stakeholders in-the-know.

It’s good practice to regularly update your management dashboard with progress updates.

This should outline the current status of the project and give an overall project health indicator.

Stage 3: Close out the project

You’ve almost made it to project completion. It’s time to close out your project.

This is the time when you’ll be making those final updates and rounding off all those edges. Don’t treat your project like a hit and run. It’s really important that you close-out your projects appropriately.

You need to finalize all activities, transfer all completed or cancelled project information to the relevant parties, and remove access to the project.

This is also a time to sit down with your team and reflect. Talk about what went well and what could be done better next time.

Steps 10 and 11 are all about closing out gracefully.

Step 10: Close your project

It’s time to close your project for good. Make any final updates to the project dashboard and update your project status to complete. Once you’ve done this you can officially close-out the project.

Step 11: Save your project as a template

Your project is over, but it’s important to keep a record of it for future reference. Successfully projects can be kept as a reference for future project management assignments. If a project plan has worked well, hold onto it. Save the project as a template for you and your team. This will become a valuable resource that you can refer to for proven project management best practices.

Manage in style

You’re ready to go!

It’s time to manage your projects in style.

You’ve planned you project and now you’re ready to manage it like a pro.

Follow these 11 steps and you’ll be the occasional project manager of the year in no time.

Looking for some more inspiration? Check out our free downloadable template to get you off on the right foot.

Get Started With Project Central

Sign-up for your free 14-day trial and see how Project Central can help your teams to plan, manage, and collaborate with Microsoft 365.

Project Central is a safe and secure environment as it uses your existing Microsoft username and password.

In some cases you need permissions from your IT team to start your free 14 day trial. Reach out to us for more information:

• Phone Number *
• Site Area Home Page Blog Pop-up Pricing
• Phone This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By clicking ‘Contact Support’, I agree to the Project Central Privacy Policy  and  Terms of Service .

Please use your Microsoft work email address to sign up to Project Central.

By clicking sign up, I agree to the Project Central  Privacy Policy  and  Terms of Service .

• Comments This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

2. Project Management Overview

Adrienne Watt; Project Management Open Resources; and TAP-a-PM

Click play on the following audio player to listen along as you read this section.

The starting point in discussing how projects should be properly managed is to first understand what a project is and, just as importantly     , what it is not.

People have been undertaking projects since the earliest days of organized human activity. The hunting parties of our prehistoric ancestors were projects, for example; they were temporary undertakings directed at the goal of obtaining meat for the community. Large complex projects have also been with us for a long time. The pyramids and the Great Wall of China were in their day of roughly the same dimensions as the Apollo project to send men to the moon. We use the term “project” frequently in our daily conversations. A husband, for example may tell his wife, “My main project for this weekend is to straighten out the garage.” Going hunting, building pyramids, and fixing faucets all share certain features that make them projects.

Project Attributes

A project has distinctive attributes that distinguish it from ongoing work or business operations. Projects are temporary in nature. They are not an everyday business process and have definitive start dates and end dates. This characteristic is important because a large part of the project effort is dedicated to ensuring that the project is completed at the appointed time. To do this, schedules are created showing when tasks should begin and end. Projects can last minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years.

Projects exist to bring about a product or service that hasn’t existed before. In this sense, a project is unique. Unique means that this is new; this has never been done before. Maybe it’s been done in a very similar fashion before but never exactly in this way. For example, Ford Motor Company is in the business of designing and assembling cars. Each model that Ford designs and produces can be considered a project. The models differ from each other in their features and are marketed to people with various needs. An SUV serves a different purpose and clientele than a luxury car. The design and marketing of these two models are unique projects. However, the actual assembly of the cars is considered an operation (i.e., a repetitive process that is followed for most makes and models).

In contrast with projects, operations are ongoing and repetitive. They involve work that is continuous without an ending date and with the same processes repeated to produce the same results. The purpose of operations is to keep the organization functioning while the purpose of a project is to meet its goals and conclude. Therefore, operations are ongoing while projects are unique and temporary.

A project is completed when its goals and objectives are accomplished. It is these goals that drive the project, and all the planning and implementation efforts undertaken to achieve them. Sometimes projects end when it is determined that the goals and objectives cannot be accomplished or when the product or service of the project is no longer needed and the project is cancelled.

Definition of a Project

There are many written definitions of a project. All of them contain the key elements described above. For those looking for a formal definition of a project, the Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a project as a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. The temporary nature of projects indicates a definite beginning and end. The end is reached when the project’s objectives have been achieved or when the project is terminated because its objectives will not or cannot be met, or when the need for the project no longer exists.

Project Characteristics

When considering whether or not you have a project on your hands, there are some things to keep in mind. First, is it a project or an ongoing operation? Second, if it is a project, who are the stakeholders? And third, what characteristics distinguish this endeavor as a project?

Projects have several characteristics:

• Projects are unique.
• Projects are temporary in nature and have a definite beginning and ending date.
• Projects are completed when the project goals are achieved or it’s determined the project is no longer viable.

A successful project is one that meets or exceeds the expectations of the stakeholders.

Consider the following scenario: The vice-president (VP) of marketing approaches you with a fabulous idea. (Obviously it must be “fabulous” because he thought of it.) He wants to set up kiosks in local grocery stores as mini-offices. These offices will offer customers the ability to sign up for car and home insurance services as well as make their bill payments. He believes that the exposure in grocery stores will increase awareness of the company’s offerings. He told you that senior management has already cleared the project, and he’ll dedicate as many resources to this as he can. He wants the new kiosks in place in 12 selected stores in a major city by the end of the year. Finally, he has assigned you to head up this project.

Your first question should be, “Is it a project?” This may seem elementary, but confusing projects with ongoing operations happens often. Projects are temporary in nature, have definite start and end dates, result in the creation of a unique product or service, and are completed when their goals and objectives have been met and signed off by the stakeholders.

Using these criteria, let’s examine the assignment from the VP of marketing to determine if it is a project:

• Is it unique? Yes, because the kiosks don’t exist in the local grocery stores. This is a new way of offering the company’s services to its customer base. While the service the company is offering isn’t new, the way it is presenting its services is.
• Does the product have a limited timeframe? Yes, the start date of this project is today, and the end date is the end of next year. It is a temporary endeavor.
• Is there a way to determine when the project is completed? Yes, the kiosks will be installed and the services will be offered from them. Once all the kiosks are installed and operating, the project will come to a close.
• Is there a way to determine stakeholder satisfaction? Yes, the expectations of the stakeholders will be documented in the form of requirements during the planning processes. These requirements will be compared to the finished product to determine if it meets the expectations of the stakeholder.

If the answer is yes to all these questions, then we have a project.

The Process of Project Management

You’ve determined that you have a project. What now? The notes you scribbled down on the back of the napkin at lunch are a start, but not exactly good project management practice. Too often, organizations follow Nike’s advice when it comes to managing projects when they “just do it.” An assignment is made, and the project team members jump directly into the development of the product or service requested. In the end, the delivered product doesn’t meet the expectations of the customer. Unfortunately, many projects follow this poorly constructed path, and that is a primary contributor to a large percentage of projects not meeting their original objectives, as defined by performance, schedule, and budget.

In the United States, more than $250 billion is spent each year on information technology (IT) application development in approximately 175,000 projects. The Standish Group (a Boston-based leader in project and value performance research) released the summary version of their 2009 CHAOS Report that tracks project failure rates across a broad range of companies and industries (Figure 2.1).

Jim Johnson, chairman of the Standish Group, has stated that “this year’s results show a marked decrease in project success rates, with 32% of all projects succeeding which are delivered on time, on budget, with required features and functions, 44% were challenged-which are late, over budget, and/or with less than the required features and functions and 24% failed which are cancelled prior to completion or delivered and never used.”

When are companies going to stop wasting billions of dollars on failed projects? The vast majority of this waste is completely avoidable: simply get the right business needs (requirements) understood early in the process and ensure that project management techniques are applied and followed, and the project activities are monitored.

Applying good project management discipline is the way to help reduce the risks. Having good project management skills does not completely eliminate problems, risks, or surprises. The value of good project management is that you have standard processes in place to deal with all contingencies.

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques applied to project activities in order to meet the project requirements. Project management is a process that includes planning, putting the project plan into action, and measuring progress and performance.

Managing a project includes identifying your project’s requirements and writing down what everyone needs from the project. What are the objectives for your project? When everyone understands the goal, it’s much easier to keep them all on the right path. Make sure you set goals that everyone agrees on to avoid team conflicts later on. Understanding and addressing the needs of everyone affected by the project means the end result of your project is far more likely to satisfy your stakeholders. Last but not least, as project manager, you will also be balancing the many competing project constraints.

On any project, you will have a number of project constraints that are competing for your attention. They are cost, scope, quality, risk, resources, and time.

• Cost is the budget approved for the project including all necessary expenses needed to deliver the project. Within organizations, project managers have to balance between not running out of money and not underspending because many projects receive funds or grants that have contract clauses with a “use it or lose it” approach to project funds. Poorly executed budget plans can result in a last-minute rush to spend the allocated funds. For virtually all projects, cost is ultimately a limiting constraint; few projects can go over budget without eventually requiring a corrective action.
• Scope is what the project is trying to achieve. It entails all the work involved in delivering the project outcomes and the processes used to produce them. It is the reason and the purpose of the project.
• Quality is a combination of the standards and criteria to which the project’s products must be delivered for them to perform effectively. The product must perform to provide the functionality expected, solve the identified problem, and deliver the benefit and value expected. It must also meet other performance requirements, or service levels, such as availability, reliability, and maintainability, and have acceptable finish and polish. Quality on a project is controlled through quality assurance (QA), which is the process of evaluating overall project performance on a regular basis to provide confidence that the project will satisfy the relevant quality standards.
• Risk is defined by potential external events that will have a negative impact on your project if they occur. Risk refers to the combination of the probability the event will occur and the impact on the project if the event occurs. If the combination of the probability of the occurrence and the impact on the project is too high, you should identify the potential event as a risk and put a proactive plan in place to manage the risk.
• Resources are required to carry out the project tasks. They can be people, equipment, facilities, funding, or anything else capable of definition (usually other than labour) required for the completion of a project activity.
• Time is defined as the time to complete the project. Time is often the most frequent project oversight in developing projects. This is reflected in missed deadlines and incomplete deliverables. Proper control of the schedule requires the careful identification of tasks to be performed and accurate estimations of their durations, the sequence in which they are going to be done, and how people and other resources are to be allocated. Any schedule should take into account vacations and holidays.

You may have heard of the term “triple constraint,” which traditionally consisted of only time, cost, and scope. These are the primary competing project constraints that you have to be most aware of. The triple constraint is illustrated in the form of a triangle to visualize the project work and see the relationship between the scope/quality, schedule/time, and cost/resource (Figure 2.2). In this triangle, each side represents one of the constraints (or related constraints) wherein any changes to any one side cause a change in the other sides. The best projects have a perfectly balanced triangle. Maintaining this balance is difficult because projects are prone to change. For example, if scope increases, cost and time may increase disproportionately. Alternatively, if the amount of money you have for your project decreases, you may be able to do as much, but your time may increase.

Your project may have additional constraints that you must face, and as the project manager, you have to balance the needs of these constraints against the needs of the stakeholders and your project goals. For instance, if your sponsor wants to add functionality to the original scope, you will very likely need more money to finish the project, or if they cut the budget, you will have to reduce the quality of your scope, and if you don’t get the appropriate resources to work on your project tasks, you will have to extend your schedule because the resources you have take much longer to finish the work.

You get the idea; the constraints are all dependent on each other. Think of all of these constraints as the classic carnival game of Whac-a-mole (Figure 2.3). Each time you try to push one mole back in the hole, another one pops out. The best advice is to rely on your project team to keep these moles in place.

Here is an example of a project that cut quality because the project costs were fixed. The P-36 oil platform (Figure 2.4) was the largest footing production platform in the world capable of processing 180,000 barrels of oil per day and 5.2 million cubic metres of gas per day. Located in the Roncador Field, Campos Basin, Brazil, the P-36 was operated by Petrobras.

In March 2001, the P-36 was producing around 84,000 barrels of oil and 1.3 million cubic metres of gas per day when it became destabilized by two explosions and subsequently sank in 3,900 feet of water with 1,650 short tons of crude oil remaining on board, killing 11 people. The sinking is attributed to a complete failure in quality assurance, and pressure for increased production led to corners being cut on safety procedures. It is listed as one of the most expensive accidents with a price tag of $515,000,000.

The following quotes are from a Petrobras executive, citing the benefits of cutting quality assurance and inspection costs on the project.

“Petrobras has established new global benchmarks for the generation of exceptional share­holder wealth through an aggressive and innovative program of cost cutting on its P36 production facility.” “Conventional constraints have been successfully challenged and replaced with new paradigms appropriate to the globalized corporate market place.” “Elimination of these unnecessary straitjackets has empowered the project’s suppliers and contractors to propose highly economical solutions, with the win-win bonus of enhanced profitability margins for themselves.” “The P36 platform shows the shape of things to come in the unregulated global market economy of the 21st century.”

The dynamic trade-offs between the project constraint values have been humorously and accurately described in Figure 2.5.

Project Management Expertise

In order for you, as the project manager, to manage the competing project constraints and the project as a whole, there are some areas of expertise you should bring to the project team (Figure 2.11). They are knowledge of the application area and the standards and regulations in your industry, understanding of the project environment, general management knowledge and skills, and interpersonal skills. It should be noted that industry expertise is not in a certain field but the expertise to run the project. So while knowledge of the type of industry is important, you will have a project team supporting you in this endeavor. For example, if you are managing a project that is building an oil platform, you would not be expected to have a detailed understanding of the engineering since your team will have mechanical and civil engineers who will provide the appropriate expertise; however, it would definitely help if you understood this type of work.

Let’s take a look at each of these areas in more detail.

Application knowledge

By standards, we mean guidelines or preferred approaches that are not necessarily mandatory. In contrast, when referring to regulations we mean mandatory rules that must be followed, such as government-imposed requirements through laws. It should go without saying that as a professional, you’re required to follow all applicable laws and rules that apply to your industry, organization, or project. Every industry has standards and regulations. Knowing which ones affect your project before you begin work will not only help the project to unfold smoothly, but will also allow for effective risk analysis.

Some projects require specific skills in certain application areas. Application areas are made up of categories of projects that have common elements. They can be defined by industry group (pharmaceutical, financial, etc.), department (accounting, marketing, legal, etc.), technology (software development, engineering, etc), or management specialties (procurement, research and development, etc.). These application areas are usually concerned with disciplines, regulations, and the specific needs of the project, the customer, or the industry. For example, most government agencies have specific procurement rules that apply to their projects that wouldn’t be applicable in the construction industry. The pharmaceutical industry is interested in regulations set forth by government regulators, whereas the automotive industry has little or no concern for either of these types of regulations. You need to stay up-to-date regarding your industry so that you can apply your knowledge effectively. Today’s fast-paced advances can leave you behind fairly quickly if you don’t stay abreast of current trends.

Having some level of experience in the application area you’re working in will give you an advantage when it comes to project management. While you can call in experts who have the application area knowledge, it doesn’t hurt for you to understand the specific aspects of the application areas of your project.

Understanding the Project Environment

There are many factors that need to be understood within your project environment (Figure 2.7). At one level, you need to think in terms of the cultural and social environments (i.e., people, demographics, and education). The international and political environment is where you need to understand about different countries’ cultural influences. Then we move to the physical environment; here we think about time zones. Think about different countries and how differently your project will be executed whether it is just in your country or if it involves an international project team that is distributed throughout the world in five different countries.

Of all the factors, the physical ones are the easiest to understand, and it is the cultural and international factors that are often misunderstood or ignored. How we deal with clients, customers, or project members from other countries can be critical to the success of the project. For example, the culture of the United States values accomplishments and individualism. Americans tend to be informal and call each other by first names, even if having just met. Europeans tend to be more formal, using surnames instead of first names in a business setting, even if they know each other well. In addition, their communication style is more formal than in the United States, and while they tend to value individualism, they also value history, hierarchy, and loyalty. The Japanese, on the other hand, tend to communicate indirectly and consider themselves part of a group, not as individuals. The Japanese value hard work and success, as most of us do.

How a product is received can be very dependent on the international cultural differences. For example, in the 1990s, when many large American and European telecommunications companies were cultivating new markets in Asia, their customer’s cultural differences often produced unexpected situations. Western companies planned their telephone systems to work the same way in Asia as they did in Europe and the United States. But the protocol of conversation was different. Call-waiting, a popular feature in the West, is considered impolite in some parts of Asia. This cultural blunder could have been avoided had the team captured the project environment requirements and involved the customer.

It is often the simplest things that can cause trouble since, unsurprisingly, in different countries, people do things differently. One of the most notorious examples of this is also one of the most simple: date formats. What day and month is 2/8/2009? Of course it depends where you come from; in North America it is February 8th while in Europe (and much of the rest of the world) it is 2nd August. Clearly, when schedules and deadlines are being defined it is important that everyone is clear on the format used.

The diversity of practices and cultures and its impact on products in general and on software in particular goes well beyond the date issue. You may be managing a project to create a new website for a company that sells products worldwide. There are language and presentation style issues to take into consideration; converting the site into different languages isn’t enough. It is obvious that you need to ensure the translation is correct; however, the presentation layer will have its own set of requirements for different cultures. The left side of a website may be the first focus of attention for a Canadian; the right side would be the initial focus for anyone from the Middle East, as both Arabic and Hebrew are written from right to left. Colors also have different meanings in different cultures. White, which is a sign of purity in North America (e.g., a bride’s wedding dress), and thus would be a favoured background colour in North America, signifies death in Japan (e.g., a burial shroud). Table 2.1 summarizes different meanings of common colours.

Project managers in multicultural projects must appreciate the culture dimensions and try to learn relevant customs, courtesies, and business protocols before taking responsibility for managing an international project. A project manager must take into consideration these various cultural influences and how they may affect the project’s completion, schedule, scope, and cost.

Management Knowledge and Skills

As the project manager, you have to rely on your project management knowledge and your general manage­ment skills. Here, we are thinking of items like your ability to plan the project, execute it properly, and of course control it and bring it to a successful conclusion, along with your ability to guide the project team to achieve project objectives and balance project constraints.

There is more to project management than just getting the work done. Inherent in the process of project management are the general management skills that allow the project manager to complete the project with some level of efficiency and control. In some respects, managing a project is similar to running a business: there are risk and rewards, finance and accounting activities, human resource issues, time management, stress management, and a purpose for the project to exist. General management skills are needed in every project.

Interpersonal Skills

Last but not least you also have to bring the ability into the project to manage personal relationships and deal with personnel issues as they arise. Here were talking about your interpersonal skills as shown in Figure 2.8.

Communication

Project managers spend 90% of their time communicating. Therefore they must be good communicators, promoting clear, unambiguous exchange of information. As a project manager, it is your job to keep a number of people well informed. It is essential that your project staff know what is expected of them: what they have to do, when they have to do it, and what budget and time constraints and quality specifications they are working toward. If project staff members do not know what their tasks are, or how to accomplish them, then the entire project will grind to a halt. If you do not know what the project staff is (or often is not) doing, then you will be unable to monitor project progress. Finally, if you are uncertain of what the customer expects of you, then the project will not even get off the ground. Project communication can thus be summed up as knowing “who needs what information and when” and making sure they have it.

All projects require sound communication plans, but not all projects will have the same types of commu­nication or the same methods for distributing the information. For example, will information be distributed via mail or email, is there a shared website, or are face-to-face meetings required? The communication management plan documents how the communication needs of the stakeholders will be met, including the types of information that will be communicated, who will communicate them, and who will receive them; the methods used to communicate; the timing and frequency of communication; the method for updating the plan as the project progresses, including the escalation process; and a glossary of common terms.

Project management is about getting things done. Every organization is different in its policies, modes of operations, and underlying culture. There are political alliances, differing motivations, conflicting interests, and power struggles. A project manager must understand all of the unspoken influences at work within an organization.

Leadership is the ability to motivate and inspire individuals to work toward expected results. Leaders inspire vision and rally people around common goals. A good project manager can motivate and inspire the project team to see the vision and value of the project. The project manager as a leader can inspire the project team to find a solution to overcome perceived obstacles to get the work done.

Motivation helps people work more efficiently and produce better results. Motivation is a constant process that the project manager must guide to help the team move toward completion with passion and a profound reason to complete the work. Motivating the team is accomplished by using a variety of team-building techniques and exercises. Team building is simply getting a diverse group of people to work together in the most efficient and effective manner possible. This may involve management events as well as individual actions designed to improve team performance.

Recognition and rewards are an important part of team motivations. They are formal ways of recognizing and promoting desirable behaviour and are most effective when carried out by the management team and the project manager. Consider individual preferences and cultural differences when using rewards and recognition. Some people don’t like to be recognized in front of a group; others thrive on it.

Negotiation

Project managers must negotiate for the good of the project. In any project, the project manager, the project sponsor, and the project team will have to negotiate with stakeholders, vendors, and customers to reach a level of agreement acceptable to all parties involved in the negotiation process.

Problem Solving

Problem solving is the ability to understand the heart of a problem, look for a viable solution, and then make a decision to implement that solution. The starting point for problem solving is problem definition. Problem definition is the ability to understand the cause and effect of the problem; this centres on root-cause analysis. If a project manager treats only the symptoms of a problem rather than its cause, the symptoms will perpetuate and continue through the project life. Even worse, treating a symptom may result in a greater problem. For example, increasing the ampere rating of a fuse in your car because the old one keeps blowing does not solve the problem of an electrical short that could result in a fire. Root-cause analysis looks beyond the immediate symptoms to the cause of the symptoms, which then affords opportunities for solutions. Once the root of a problem has been identified, a decision must be made to effectively address the problem.

Solutions can be presented from vendors, the project team, the project manager, or various stakeholders. A viable solution focuses on more than just the problem; it looks at the cause and effect of the solution itself. In addition, a timely decision is needed or the window of opportunity may pass and then a new decision will be needed to address the problem. As in most cases, the worst thing you can do is nothing.

All of these interpersonal skills will be used in all areas of project management. Start practicing now because it’s guaranteed that you’ll need these skills on your next project.

Image Descriptions

Figure 2.5 image description: The sign says, “We can do good, quick, and cheap work. You can have any two but not all three. 1. Good, quick work won’t be cheap. 2. Good, cheap work won’t be quick. 3. Quick, cheap work won’t be good.” [Return to Figure 2.5]

Text Attributions

This chapter was adapted and remixed by Adrienne Watt from the following sources:

• Text under “Project Attributes,” “Project Characteristics,” “Process of Project Management,” and “Project Management Expertise,” were adapted from “What is a Project?,” “Project Characteristics,” “What is Project Management,” and “Project Management Areas of Expertise” in Project Management for Skills for All Careers by Project Management Open Resources and TAP-a-PM. Licensed under a CC BY 3.0 licence .
• Table 2.1 was adapted by Merrie Barron and Andrew R. Barron from P. Russo and S. Boor, How Fluent is Your Interface? Designing for International Users , Proceedings of the INTERACT ’93 and CHI ’93, Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. (1993). The table is from “ Project Management Areas of Expertise ” in Project Management. Licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence .

Media Attributions

• Chaosreport2009 © Merrie Barron & Andrew R. Barron is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license
• Triple constraint triangle © John M. Kennedy T is licensed under a CC BY-SA (Attribution ShareAlike) license
• Whac a mole © sakura is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license
• Petrobras sinking © Richard Collinson is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives) license
• Good-quick-cheap © Barron & Barron Project Management for Scientists and Engineers. is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license
• Areas of expertise © Barron & Barron Project Management for Scientists and Engineers is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license
• Project environment © Barron & Barron Project Management for Scientists and Engineers, is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license
• Interpersonal skills © Barron & Barron Project Management for Scientists and Engineers is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license

2. Project Management Overview Copyright © 2014 by Adrienne Watt; Project Management Open Resources; and TAP-a-PM is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Project Management: Reference Sources

• Reference Sources
• Internet sites
• Video Clips
• Free Apps for Research This link opens in a new window
• Theses and Dissertations
• Research Support
• Referencing

Quick Links

Britannica Academic Online

Encyclopedia.com

Print resources on the reference shelves have to be consulted in the library. 

Copies of chapters or entries can be made in the photocopy section on level 4 of the library.

Clarification and Definitions of Concepts

Extracts from some e-reference sources explaining the relevant concepts. Further information can be found by searching the e-reference databases.

• Project management
• Project cost management and control
• Work breakdown structures
• Project leadership
• Project risk management
• Project stakeholders
• Project trade-offs

Print References Sources

E-reference sources.

Main e-Reference sources for further browsing

• Wiley Encyclopedia of Management Online, 3rd ed., 2015 This link opens in a new window Comprehensive encyclopedia in management covering digital technologies; ethics and governance-related issues; innovation; emerging markets; organizational networks; and new avenues of sustainable business growth
• Sage Knowledge: all Sage ebooks, reference and handbooks titles This link opens in a new window Books, handbooks, reference sources, business cases, in the social sciences.
• Oxford Reference Online Premium This link opens in a new window A premier online reference product, spanning 25 different subject areas, bringing together 2 million digitized entries across OUP's Dictionaries, Companions and Encyclopedias.

Library Catalogue

• << Previous: Articles
• Next: Internet sites >>
• Last Updated: Jul 3, 2024 9:21 AM
• URL: https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/Project_Management