IBM Rational Project
Conductor glossary
This glossary includes terms and definitions for IBM Rational Project
Conductor.
The following cross-references are used in this glossary:
- See refers the reader from a term to a preferred synonym,
or from an acronym or abbreviation to the defined full form.
- See also refers the reader to a related or contrasting
term.
To view glossaries for other IBM® products,
go to www.ibm.com/software/globalization/terminology.
activity sequencing
A planning process that is used to identify dependencies
among the activities in a project schedule.
actual
The project data such as costs, dates, and work that have
occurred, as opposed to those that are scheduled, or planned.
aggregate level
A work breakdown structure (WBS) element that shows the
aggregated or rolled-up total of their child elements.
assign
To appoint or designate a profile or resource to an activity
that is to be completed within a specified period.
baseline
A snapshot of the approved project plan that is used for
comparison over the course of a project.
billable
An indication of whether the task assignment generates revenue.
change request
A request to change some aspect of the project, project
plan, activity definition, or document.
charge code
An accounting code that is used to register and categorize
costs against project budgets.
competency
A work-related role or field that is used to identify resources,
for example, Manager, Programmer, Network Technician.
consequence cost
The impact on cost if a risk is not addressed.
contour
A map of scheduled work and its distribution over time,
for example, 4 hours per day, every second day for 2 weeks.
cost
The sum of the labor and non-labor capital outlay that is
required to perform a project.
critical path
A series of activities that determines the earliest completion
of a project; the critical path changes as activities or tasks are
completed ahead or behind the original schedule estimates.
critical path method
A technique that is used to identify and predict project
duration by analyzing which sequence of activities has the least amount
of scheduling flexibility.
defect
A project element that allows a project manager to track
bugs and bug fixes.
dependency
A link between interrelated projects activities. Activities
with these links depend on the start and finish dates of at least
one other element and therefore cannot be completed without taking
the other into consideration.
duration
A period of time during which a project element continues.
It is calculated as the finish time minus the start time.
effort
The estimated hours of work required for an activity. Effort
is calculated based on the specified duration (in days) of the activity,
and the number of working hours per day specified in the project calendar.
See also
work.
finish-to-start
A dependency type between to project elements where the
predecessor element must finish before the successor element can start.
Gantt chart
A graphical representation of a project timeline and duration.
issue
An element that is created during the execution phase of
a project to communicate the nature of impending or actual problems
for which no concrete solution has been proposed.
Labor Cost
The cost rate of the resource required for a project, it
is used to calculate the forecast and actual cost.
Labor Revenue
The selling rate of the resource required for a project,
it is used to calculate the forecast and actual cost.
mitigation cost
The financial impact of lessening risk by lowering its chances
of occurring or by reducing its effect if it does occur.
participant
An individual who has an interest in the project but does
not perform an active role, for example, a sponsor or a stakeholder.
percent complete
The extent of completion of a specific project activity
expressed as a percentage of the estimated total effort or duration
for the activity, entered by a team member or project manager according
to their judgement.
percent duration complete
The extent of completion of a specific project activity
expressed as a percentage of the estimated total duration for the
activity. Applicable only for duration-based projects.
percent effort complete
The extent of completion of a specific project activity
expressed as a percentage of the estimated effort or work for the
activity. Applicable only for effort-based projects.
predecessor
An activity in a dependency relationship that logically
precedes another.
proficiency
A ranking of the ability or experience of a resource to
operate within a certain competency or to perform a particular skill.
profile
A set of attributes, such as skills and competencies that
serves as a template for project profiles.
program
A group of related projects managed in a coordinated way.
Programs usually include an element of ongoing activity.
project
A temporary endeavor or initiative created and managed to
achieve an organization's objectives.
project artifact
A project-related document, such as a presentation, spreadsheet,
text file, and graphic.
project calendar
A calendar selected from the base calendars and associated
to a project during project creation. The project calendar is the
reference for all time-based aspects of the project, including the
schedule, timesheets, and resource allocation. The project calendar
includes all the information of the base calendar, and it can be further
customized to meet project-specific requirements, such as adding additional
non-working days.
resource
A person who can be assigned to work breakdown structure
(WBS) elements.
resource calendar
A calendar selected from a base calendar and associated
to a resource, used to represent the resource availability. A resource
calendar can be modified to record the non-working days of the resource.
risk
An ongoing or upcoming concern that has a significant probability
of adversely affecting the success of major milestones.
schedule constraint
A limit to set controls on the start and finish dates on
project tasks. Available constraints are as soon as possible and finish-no-later-than.
skill
An attribute that is used to identify what a resource knows,
for example, C++.
stakeholder
An individual or organization that is involved in or may
be affected by project activities.
start date
A point in time associated with the start of work and usually
qualified as actual, planned, estimated, and scheduled. Start date
combined with duration and dependencies permits the calculation of
finish date.
summary task
A container element that comprises a series of tasks.
task
A scheduled project activity to which a resource can be
assigned to perform work.
time code
A code that is used by resources in the timesheet module
to classify reported time.
work
An assignment to tasks with estimated or planned hours.
See also
effort.
work breakdown structure (WBS)
A grouping of project elements, organized in a hierarchical
tree structure. It defines the total scope of the project at the highest
level in the tree and each descending level provides an increasingly
granular definition of each element.