10 Basic Project Management Terms

As a beginner in the field of Project Management, you should know some of the basic terms. These are the 10 terms that you can start your project management journey with –

1. Project

A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. The temporary nature of projects indicates a beginning and an end date of the project work or a phase of the project work. Projects can be stand alone or be part of a program or a portfolio.

2. Project Management

The application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. Project teams can achieve the outcomes using a broad range of approaches like predictive, adaptive and hybrid. Basically, project management is all about guiding the project work to deliver intended outcomes.

3. Project Team

A set of individuals performing the project work to achieve its objectives.

4. Project Manager

The person assigned by the ‘performing’ organization to lead the project team that is responsible for achieving the project objectives. Project Managers perform several functions like facilitating the project team work to achieve intended outcomes, managing the delivery processes etc.

5. Program

Related projects, sub-programs and program specific activities that are managed in a coordinated manner. Helps in obtaining benefits that are not available from managing these individually.

6. Portfolio

Projects, programs, sub-portfolios and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives.

7. Product

A quantifiable artifact that is produced through the project. A product can either be an end item in itself or a component item.

8. Outcome

An end result or a consequence of a project or a process. Outcomes include artifacts, outputs but have a broader intent by focusing on the benefits and value that the project was undertaken to deliver.

9. Value

The worth, importance or usefulness of something is its value. Different stakeholders perceive value in different ways,

• Customers may define value as the ability to use specific features or functions of a product
• Organizations can focus on business value as determined with financial metrics
• Societal value can include the contribution to groups of people, communities or the environment

10. System for Value Delivery

A collection of strategic business activities aimed at,

• Building
• Sustaining
• And/or advancing an organization

Portfolios, programs, projects, products and operations can all be part of an organization’s system for value delivery.

Check more articles on The Standard for Project Management