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When breaking into your Eagle Project, it’s easy to get confused with all the lingo that gets thrown around. ’Walking the walk’ can be easier when you can first ‘talk the talk’. Using proper Eagle Project Manager vocabulary displays 1) that you know what you’re talking about 2) that you’re intelligent and people should listen and 3) that you are being efficient in communicating.
Below I’ve put together an exhaustive list of terms and phrases that are used in the planning and building stages of an Eagle Project.
Definitions
Assumption – An estimate of the unknown that can influence a project positively or negatively and are usually outside the control of a project team.
Best Practice – The most efficient and effective method, process, or technique for delivering a particular outcome.
Bill of Materials (BOM) – A complete listing of a project’s materials and associated costs.
Bottleneck – A point in a process where resources are unavailable temporarily resulting in limited throughput.
Budget – A financial document that accounts for cost of a project.
Buffered Estimate – A rough method used for estimating anything relating to a project’s schedule, cost range, or resource requirements.
Constraint – A mechanism that prevents something from achieving more of its goal (typically referring to the cost, time, resources, and proposed work for the project.)
Criticality – The importance of an assumption and how it can affect the rest of the project should the assumption prove to be false.
Current State (Present Condition) – A perspective before a project is conducted that is to be used for comparisons and requirements building.
Deliverable – A promised obligation that is tangible or intangible, resulting from the efforts of a project team in order to provide value and reach the goals of an organization.
Eagle Project Management Approach (EAGLE) – The proprietary Eagle Project Solutions™ methodical approach which examines the five phases of Eagle Project Management: Embark, Arrange, Guide, Log, and Evaluate.
End State – The final framed perspective of a resulting project (found in the Eagle Project Management Workbook™ section: Evaluate.)
Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) – A measure of time for something that is expected to arrive at a predetermined place.
Expert Estimate – A method used for estimating anything relating to a project’s schedule, cost range, or resource requirements that often relying heavily on experts and seasoned professionals.
Future State (Vision) – A perspective after a project is conducted that is to be used for comparisons and requirements building (found in the Eagle Project Management Workbook™ section: Embark.)
Hypothesis – An educated explanation to an observation.
Implementation – The execution of a plan.
Leverage – The application of a small amount of effort or resources in the right way to obtain a desired effect that could not have been achieved as efficiently or effectively otherwise.
Logistics – The management of the flow and storage of resources with an emphasis on time and location preferences.
Methodology – A systematic set of procedures.
Phone Tree – A rapid communication method where individuals and their phone numbers are linked in a pyramid structure to receive and send messages.
Process – A set of sequential steps used to obtain a desired outcome.
Procrastination – The deferment of doing something until a later time.
Project Dependency – A relationship between two project elements whereby one subject relies on another’s actions before it can proceed in process.
Project Management – The process of managing scarce resources in a way to obtain something of value.
Proposal – A written offer outlining a solicited solution.
Prototype – A model built in the product development stage to prove design concepts and test usability, scalability, and functionality against requirements.
Requirement – The documented need for a solution.
Resource Allocation – The process of distributing resources in a strategic way.
Reusable Asset – A valuable resource that can be used continuously.
Risk – The likelihood an action will affect the achievement of objectives.
Risk Mitigation Strategy – A plan used to lessen the effect and likelihood of risk.
S.M.A.R.T. Objectives – Planned efforts used to assess the goals of a project team. These efforts must be: Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timed.
Schedule – A planning document used to account for the time spent planning and implementing actions on a project.
Scope – The extent of agreed upon deliverables to satisfy a project’s list of requirements.
Solution – 1. An answer to a problem being solved. 2. The culmination of project requirements being realized. 3. The project’s End State.
Stakeholder – Anyone that has an interest, influence, expectation, or requirement in the successful completion of a project.
Subject Matter Expert (SME) – A person who has technical expertise in a topic that can be used to review, improve, guide, approve and teach on matters relating to the success of a project.
Task Distribution Matrix – An organized grid that depicts the actions of assigned personnel at specified times that is used to plan the time of volunteers more efficiently and effectively.
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About the Author: Eric Chrabot is a business strategy consultant to the federal sector and a member of the Project Management Institute in Washington, D.C. In 2004, he received the rank of Eagle Scout from Troop 401 (Tidewater Council) after leading a team to create five park benches for a local retirement organization. Eric holds a lifetime membership status in the National Eagle Scout Association and a Business Economics degree from Virginia Tech.
For more information on how you can manage your project more effectively and efficiently, please see our Eagle Project Solutions Products page.
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