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:
  1. See refers the reader from a term to a preferred synonym, or from an acronym or abbreviation to the defined full form.
  2. 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.

user

WBS

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.

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