Effective Listening~the ability to recognize the importance of verbal and nonverbal listening behaviors including body language. Configuration Management~the management of change to project deliverables and conformance to requirements Statement of Work (SOW)~ the portion of the product to be contracted. Brainstorming~A general creativity technique that can be used to identify risks using a group of team members or subject-matter experts. Privity of Contract~The legal relationship between the parties to a contract that allows either party to enforce and remedy directly from the other party Schedule Variance (SV)~ Any difference between the scheduled completion of an activity and the actual completion of that activity. Planned Value (PV)~The physical work scheduled, plus the authorized budget to accomplish the scheduled work. Pareto's Law~a principle that a relatively small number of causes will typically produce a large majority of the problems or defects also known as the 80/20 rule. Quality Assurance~The process of evaluating project performance to provide confidence that the project will meet the relevant standards. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)~An event-oriented network analysis technique used to estimate program duration. Crashing~a technique in which cost and schedule tradeoffs are analyzed to determine how to obtain the greatest amount of compression for the least extra cost. Cost Estimate~an assessment of the costs of the resources required to complete project activities. Decision Tree Analysis~A diagram that describes a decision under consideration and the implications of choosing one or another of the available alternatives. Communication Barrier~any impediment to communication such as noise, cultural differences, organizational climate, perceptions and limited information. Impact Analysis~The mathematical examination of the nature of individual risks on the project Precedence Diagram Method (PDM)~A network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by nodes. Concurrent Engineering~An approach to project staffing that calls for implementers to be involved in the design phase. Critical Path~A sequence of activities which determines the earliest possible completion of the project. Project Scope~A concise and accurate description of the end products or deliverables of the project and that meet agreed stakeholder requirements. Backward Pass~The calculation of late finish and start dates for the uncompleted portions of all network activities. Filtering~ when a large portion of the message is lost from the sender to the receiver. Project Management Team~The members of the project team who are directly involved in project management activities. Feasibility Study~an analysis to determine if a course of action is possible within the terms of reference of the project Conception Phase~The phase that triggers and captures new ideas and identifies potential candidates for further development in the feasibility phase. Project Closeout~The full completion of a project signed off by all responsible parties and the finalization of all paperwork. Authoritarian~A form of Leadership where activities are directed from a position of power and without consideration of the views of those being lead Risk Management Plan~a document of the procedures that will be used to manage risk throughout the project Coercive~Type of power that refers to negative consequences that a person can inflict on others. Network~The logical order of tasks that defines the sequence of work in a project. Make-or-Buy~A decision to produce the product in-house or to purchase from outside sources Expectancy Theory~The view that we expect that we can perform the task at hand and that we expect to obtain rewards for our performance Reserve~A provision in the project plan to mitigate cost and/or schedule risk. Payback Period~The number of time periods up to the point that the project has turned a profit Active Listening~a method to facilitate the development of mutual trust, respect, and good working relationships. Functional Organization~An organizational structure in which staff are grouped hierarchically by specialty. Control Charts~A graphic display of the results of a process. The charts are used to determine if the process is in need of adjustment Chart of Accounts~Any system used to monitor project costs by category (e.g., labor, supplies, materials). Project Charter~A formal document explains the purpose of the project including the business need and the resulting product. Benchmarking~the process where an organization will compare its processes, products, performance against other organizations. Probability~The likelihood of occurrence. Project Risk Management~ the process concerned with identifying, analyzing, and responding to project risk Assumption~a factor that for planning purposes are considered to be true, real, or certain. Contract~A legal document of purchase or sale which is binding on both parties.