Key Terms

Acceptance Criteria : A set of conditions that is required to be met before deliverables are accepted.

Activity / Activity Identifier (Activity ID) : A distinct, scheduled portion of work performed during the course of a project. Represented in the schedule with an activity identifier (Activity ID).

Activity Description : The activity description for a particular schedule activity typically consists of a brief phrase or label that is assigned to that schedule activity to assist in the differentiation of that particular schedule activity from all others. These activity descriptions are typically used in conjunction with an activity identifier to further assist in their differentiation. It is always a good practice to include a verb in the description as well as make each description unique to improve reporting.

Activity Phrase : All projects have a beginning and an end. Within Dash360 interim phases can be defined. Typically there are phases for conceptual design, preliminary design, final design, procurement, fabrication, factory acceptance testing, site acceptance testing, installation, integration and testing, and commissioning.

Actual Cost : The realized cost incurred for the work performed on an activity during a specific time period.

Allowance : May be used when the level of project definition may not enable certain costs to be estimated definitively or times when it is simply not cost effective to quantify and cost every small item included with the WBS element, but reliable correlations are available.

Analogous Estimating : A technique for estimating the duration or cost of an activity or a project, using historical data from a similar activity or project.

Apportioned Effort : (Note) Apportioned effort is one of three earned value management [EVM] types of activities used to measure work performance.

Approval : The act of officially accepting an idea, action, or plan.

Assistance : The act of giving support or help; making it easier for someone to do something or for something to happen.

Assumption : A factor in the planning process that is considered to be true, real, or certain, without proof or demonstration.

Assurance : To give a strong and/or definite statement that something will happen or that something is true; to give confidence to.

Award Instrument : An agreement between NSF and a Recipient with the terms and conditions set forth in (cooperative agreements, contracts, etc.).

Backward Pass : A critical path method technique for calculating the late start and late finish dates by working backward through the schedule model from the project end date.

Baseline : Once a baseline has been approved, is under change control, and is used as the basis for Earned Value Measurement comparison, it is referred to as the Performance Measurement Baseline.

Baseline Definition : Any contingency amounts, cost and time, are added to the baseline to establish the Recipient managed TPC.

Basis Codes (a.k.a Estimate Type) : A code that indicates the methodology used to determine the estimate; DH - Direct Historical Data, CP - Catalog Price, VQ - Vendor Quote, EE - Engineering Estimate, CER - Cost Estimating Relationship.

Basis of Estimate (BOE) : Supporting documentation outlining the details used in establishing project estimates such as assumptions, constraints, level of detail, ranges, and confidence levels. Provide a thorough description and all details relevant to the estimate that were used to create the estimate. Answer the question “What is this estimate based on?”, Engineering judgment, Vendor Quotes (name vendors), comparable projects etc…

Bottom-up Estimating : A method of estimating project duration or cost by aggregating the estimates of the lower-level components of the work breakdown structure (WBS).

Budget at Completion (BAC) : The sum of all the budgets established for the work to be performed on a project or a work breakdown structure component or a schedule activity. The total planned value for the project.

Change Control : A process whereby modifications to documents, deliverables, or baselines associated with the project are identified, documented, approved, or rejected.

Change Control Board (CCB) : A formally chartered group responsible for reviewing, evaluating, approving, delaying, or rejecting changes to the project, and for recording and communicating such decisions.

Change Control System : A set of procedures that describes how modifications to the project deliverables and documentation are managed and controlled.

Change Request (CR) : A formal proposal to modify any document, deliverable, or baseline.

Closeout : The process by which the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity determines that all applicable administrative actions and all required work of the Federal award have been completed.

Code of Accounts : A numbering system used to uniquely identify each component of the work breakdown structure.

Comments : Add any general comments.

Conceptual Design Phase : The first phase of the Design Stage, after passing the gate from the Development Stage, that advances the definition of the scope and requirements, determines feasibility, and produces updated drafts of most elements of the Project Execution Plan, including parametric cost and schedule range estimates and a preliminary risk analysis.

Constraint : A limiting factor that affects the execution of a project, program, portfolio, or process.

Construction Stage : This stage ends with the start of the Operations Stage.

Contingency : Budget contingency is called out separately as part of the Total Project Cost estimate and obligated to the project for the Recipient to manage based on need.

Contingency Percent (%) : The percentage of contingency that is needed for the work package and subsequently the project.

Contingency Report Table : A table containing a list of change control actions and allocations, with ties to associated WBS elements and identified risk events, for all Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) changes that impact the use of contingency.

Contract : A legally binding agreement between two parties.

Control Account (CA) : A management control point where scope, budget, actual cost, and schedule are integrated and compared to earned value for performance measurement.

Corrective Action : An intentional activity that realigns the performance of the project work with the project management plan.

Control Account Manager : The Control Account Manager or CAM is responsible for the planning, coordination and achievement of all work within a Control Account and provides a single authority for all scope, technical and cost issues for the CA.

Cost Book : A compilation of Cost Book Sheets, typically used to present baseline or total project cost, but may be used to present rolled-up costs for smaller elements or sub-elements.

Cost Book Sheet : A compilation of related information from the Cost Model Data Set, used to define and present the cost estimate for a particular element or sub-element of a deliverable-based work breakdown structure for construction or a functional, activity, and/or deliverable based work breakdown structure for operations.

Cost Estimating Plan : A plan to establish and communicate how the preparation, development, review and approval of the estimate will be completed.

Cost Model Data Set : The cost data used as input to software tools and/or project reports to organize, correlate, and calculate different project management information.

Cost Multiplier : The multiplier used to multiply the Cost Risk Factor; 1.00% Material cost or labor rate concern, 2.00% Material and labor rate concern.

Cost Performance Index : A measure of the cost efficiency of budgeted resources expressed as the ratio of earned value to actual cost.

Cost Risk Factor : The cost factor listing that can be used for calculating contingency using the Sander's Method. The cost factor listing that can be used for calculating contingency using the Sander's Method.

1 - Off-the-shelf or catalog item

2 - Vendor quote from established drawings

3 - Vendor quote with some design sketches

4 - In-house estimate for item within current production line

6 - In-house estimate for item with minimal company experience but related to existing capabilities

8 - In-house estimate for item with minimal company experience and minimal in-house capability

10 - Top down estimate from analogous programs

15 - Engineering judgment

Cost Variance : The amount of budget deficit or surplus at a given point in time, expressed as the difference between the earned value and the actual cost.

Crashing : A technique used to shorten the schedule duration for the least incremental cost by adding resources.

Critical Chain Method : A schedule method that allows the project team to place buffers on any project schedule path to account for limited resources and project uncertainties.

Critical Path : The sequence of activities that represents the longest path through a project, which determines the shortest possible duration.

Critical Path Activity : Any activity on the critical path in a project schedule.

Critical Path Method : A method used to estimate the minimum project duration and determine the amount of scheduling flexibility on the logical network paths within the schedule model.

Current Plan : The project cost and schedule plan reflecting the status of progress to date and updated estimates for completing remaining work that is compared to the approved Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB), as part of Earned Value Management.

Data Date : A point in time when the status of the project is recorded.

Decision Tree Analysis : A diagramming and calculation technique for evaluating the implications of a chain of multiple options in the presence of uncertainty.

Decomposition : A technique used for dividing and subdividing the project scope and project deliverables into smaller, more manageable parts.

Defect Repair : An intentional activity to modify a nonconforming product or product component.

Deliverable : Any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability to perform a service that is required to be produced to complete a process, phase, or project.

De-Scoping Options (Plan) : See Scope Management Plan.

Design Stage : It is divided into the Conceptual, Preliminary, and Final Design Phases; with a formal and rigorous review gate at the end of each phase to show readiness for advancement to a higher level of refinement with regard to scope, cost, and schedule.

Development Stage : The Facility Life Cycle stage in which initial high-level ideas are developed and a consensus built for the potential long-term need, priorities, and general requirements for a large research facility of interest to NSF and the broader research community.

Discrete Effort : Discrete effort is one of three earned value management [EVM] types of activities used to measure work performance.

Divestment Stage : Decommissioning may include complete removal of the infrastructure and site restoration.

Early Finish Date (EF) : In the critical path method, the earliest possible point in time when the uncompleted portions of a schedule activity can finish based on the schedule network logic, the data date, and any schedule constraints.

Early Start Date (ES) : In the critical path method, the earliest possible point in time when the uncompleted portions of a schedule activity can start based on the schedule network logic, the data date, and any schedule constraints.

Earned Value : The measure of work performed expressed in terms of the budget authorized for that work.

Earned Value Management (EVM) : A methodology that combines scope, schedule, and resource measurements to assess project performance and progress.

Earned Value Technique (EVT) :

Effort : The number of labor units required to complete a schedule activity or work breakdown structure component, often expressed in hours, days, or weeks.

eJacket : An electronic Web portal for NSF staff to perform essential business functions related to proposal and award processing and to access associated documents.

Enterprise Environmental Factors : Conditions, not under the immediate control of the team, that influence, constrain, or direct the project, program, or portfolio.

Escalation (Rate Set) :

Estimate at Completion : For NSF projects, contingency amounts are not included in the ETC, EAC, BAC, or PMB due to the NSF requirement that contingency is held and managed separately from the baseline.

Estimate to Complete : For NSF projects, contingency amounts are not included in the ETC, EAC, BAC, or PMB due to the NSF requirement that contingency is held and managed separately from the baseline.

Estimate Type (a.k.a Basis Code) : A code that indicates the methodology used to determine the estimate; DH - Direct Historical Data, CP - Catalog Price, VQ - Vendor Quote, EE - Engineering Estimate, CER - Cost Estimating Relationship

Estimator(s) : List all direct staff member(s) responsible for assembling estimate.

Facility : Shared-use infrastructure, equipment, or instrument - or an integrated network and/or collection of the same – that is either acquired or constructed to collect, analyze, and provide necessary data and information in support of research having a major impact on a broad segment of a scientific or engineering discipline.

Facility Life Cycle : For NSF, the stages are Development, Design, Construction, Operations, and Divestment.

Fast Tracking : A schedule compression technique in which activities or phases normally done in sequence are performed in parallel for at least a portion of their duration.

FastLane : Other web portals used by Recipients to submit proposal and reporting actions include Grants.gov and Research.gov.

Final Design Phase : The Final Design phase ends in a potential NSF approval to obligate construction funds.

Finish Date : Indicate this task/deliverable will be completed.

Finish Milestone : Finish Milestone is a zero duration activity that only has a finish date. It is used to mark the completion of a phase or an important event.

Finish-to-Finish : A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor activity has finished.

Finish-to-Start : A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has finished.

Forward Pass : A critical path method technique for calculating the early start and early finish dates by working forward through the schedule model from the project start date or a given point in time.

Free Float : The amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of any successor or violating a schedule constraint.

Fringe Benefits : An extra benefit supplementing an employee's salary, for example, a company car, subsidized meals, health insurance, etc.

Gantt Chart : A bar chart of schedule information where activities are listed on the vertical axis, dates are shown on the horizontal axis, and activity durations are shown as horizontal bars placed according to start and finish dates.

General & Administrative (G&A) : General and administrative expenses are costs incurred in the day to day operations of a project, and are typically expenses for support functions and include things like overhead, rent, accounting fees, legal fees, utilities, and insurance.

Hours : Hours is a unit of measure for estimating labor. Typically, only productive hours to accomplish the task are entered.

Independent Cost Estimate Review : An Independent Cost Estimate (ICE) is one of the eight types.

Indirects : A form of G&A that can include G&A expenses, as well as apportioned fees for procurement, Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) and corporate management fees.

Internal Management Plan : The internal document that defines NSF strategy for conducting project oversight and assurance, managing NSF risk, and providing project funding.

Labor : A type of resource in Dash360 including direct project staff.

Lag : The amount of time whereby a successor activity is required to be delayed with respect to a predecessor activity.

Late Finish Date : In the critical path method, the latest possible point in time when the uncompleted portions of a schedule activity can finish based on the schedule network logic, the project completion date, and any schedule constraints.

Late Start Date : In the critical path method, the latest possible point in time when the uncompleted portions of a schedule activity can start based on the schedule network logic, the project completion date, and any schedule constraints.

Lead : The amount of time whereby a successor activity can be advanced with respect to a predecessor activity.

Lessons Learned : The knowledge gained during a project which shows how project events were addressed or should be addressed in the future for the purpose of improving future performance.

Level of Effort : Level of effort is one of three earned value management [EVM] types of activities used to measure work performance.

Liens List : A list of expected adjustments to project scope, budget, and schedule contingency amounts that are waiting for implementation, including formal change control actions for planned baseline modifications, scope contingency options held for decision, and coverage of variances.

Link Display Name : The description associated with the file that is linked to.

Link URL : When adding an external link, the external link provides the path to the document.

Major Facility : Construction costs for major facilities typically range between $70M and $800M.

Management : The act of controlling and making decisions about an operation, organization or project; the act or process of deciding how to use something; the judicious use of means to accomplish an end.

Management Reserve : Similar “reserves” are not allowable in Recipient estimates per the Uniform Guidance.

Milestone : A significant point or event in a project, program, or portfolio.

Monte Carlo : The use of random sampling techniques and often the use of computer simulation to obtain approximate solutions to mathematical or physical problems especially in terms of a range of values each of which has a calculated probability of being the solution.

Most Likely Duration : An estimate of the most probable activity duration that considers all of the known variables that could affect performance.

No Cost Overrun Policy : However, NSF conducts its oversight of projects against the Total Project Cost authorized by the NSB following Final Design Review (FDR).

Operations Stage : Operations may also include activities to transition from construction to operations, replacement or upgrade activities, technology research and development, and activities that support planning and staging for the Divestment Stage.

Opportunity : A risk that would have a positive effect on one or more project objectives.

Optimistic Duration : An estimate of the shortest activity duration that considers all of the known variables that could affect performance.

Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS) : A hierarchical representation of the project organization, which illustrates the relationship between project activities and the organizational units that will perform those activities.

Organizational Project Management Maturity : The level of an organization's ability to deliver the desired strategic outcomes in a predictable, controllable, and reliable manner.

Oversight : Watchful and responsible care of something or some activity; regulatory supervision.

Parametric Estimating : An estimating technique in which an algorithm is used to calculate cost or duration based on historical data and project parameters.

Path Convergence : A relationship in which a schedule activity has more than one predecessor.

Path Divergence : A relationship in which a schedule activity has more than one successor.

Percent Complete : An estimate expressed as a percent of the amount of work that has been completed on an activity or a work breakdown structure component.

Performance Measurement Baseline : For NSF projects, contingency amounts are not included in the PMB due to the NSF requirement that contingency is held and managed separately from the baseline.

Pessimistic Duration : An estimate of the longest activity duration, which considers all of the known variables that could affect performance.

Phase Gate : A review at the end of a phase in which a decision is made to continue to the next phase, to continue with modification, or to end a project or program.

Planned Value (PV) : The authorized budget assigned to scheduled work.

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

Portfolio Management : The centralized management of one or more portfolios to achieve strategic objectives.

Precedence Diagramming Method : A technique used for constructing a schedule model in which activities are represented by nodes and are graphically linked by one or more logical relationships to show the sequence in which the activities are to be performed.

Predecessor Activity : An activity that logically comes before a dependent activity in a schedule.

Preliminary Design Phase : It produces a bottom-up scope, cost, schedule, and risk analysis of sufficient maturity to allow determination of the Project Total Cost and Duration for a stated future start date and to establish the construction budget request.

Preventive Action : An intentional activity that ensures the future performance of the project work is aligned with the project management plan.

Probabilistic Risk Assessment : Many commercial probabilistic risk analysis applications employ Monte Carlo simulations of project cost and schedule.

Probability and Impact Matrix : A grid for mapping the probability of each risk occurrence and its impact on project objectives if that risk occurs.

Procurement Management Plan : A component of the project or program management plan that describes how a team will acquire goods and services from outside of the performing organization.

Program : A group of related projects, subprograms, and program activities that are managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually.

Program Management : The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to a program to meet the program requirements and to obtain benefits and control not available by managing projects individually.

Progressive Elaboration : The iterative process of increasing the level of detail in a project management plan as greater amounts of information and more accurate estimates become available.

Project Calendar : A calendar that identifies working days and shifts that are available for scheduled activities.

Project End Date : Note that this date may be earlier than, but no later than, the end date of the award instrument.

Project Execution Plan : The document that describes how the project will be executed,monitored, and controlled.

Project Life Cycle : The series of phases that a project passes through from its initiation to its closure.

Project Management : The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.

Project Management Office : A management structure that standardizes the project-related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies, tools, and techniques.

Project Manager : The person assigned by the performing organization to lead the team that is responsible for achieving the project objectives.

Project Phase : A collection of logically related project activities that culminates in the completion of one or more deliverables.

Project Schedule : An output of a schedule model that presents linked activities with planned dates, durations, milestones, and resources.

Project Scope : The work performed to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions.

Project Scope Statement : The description of the project scope, major deliverables, assumptions, and constraints.

Quality Management Plan : A component of the project or program management plan that describes how an organization's quality policies will be implemented.

Rate Set : Where the rates are defined which are used to calculate costs upon being assigned to resource. The rate set can be in dollars or Euros, or a multiplication factor. The rate set also has a defined date for the rate to be effective.

Rate Table : The table containing rate sets that is referenced to calculate costs.

Re-Baselining : Re-baselining actions require special review and approval by NSF beyond those of the typical change control approval process for re-planning actions.

Re-Planning : Retroactive changes to past performance should not be included in re-planning.

Reporting Period : The period, typically a month, that the data is time stamped.

Requirement : A condition or capability that is required to be present in a product, service, or result to satisfy a contract or other formally imposed specification.

Research Infrastructure : Any combination of facilities, equipment, instrumentation, computational hardware and software, and the necessary supporting human capital.

Resource : In Dash 360, project costs are entered at the resource assignment level for a work package. A resource can be a person within the organization, materials and supplies or other direct costs associated with the project. It is at the resource level where the calculations for the costs are defined.

Resource ID : The unique code assigned to a resource.

Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS) : A hierarchical representation of resources by category and type.

Resource Calendar : A calendar that identifies the working days and shifts upon which each specific resource is available.

Resource Description : The description associated with resource. This could be in the form of a job category, discipline, job title, or a specific employee name, vendor name or inanimate deliverable object.

Resource Leveling : A technique in which start and finish dates are adjusted based on resource constraints with the goal of balancing demand for resources with the available supply.

Resource Type : The category that a given resource is within, typically: Labor, Non-labor (Materials), Travel, and Indirects.

Resource Assignment : The process by which a Resource is allocated to a task and/or work package.

Resource Result : You can create a calculated result for a reporting operation that summarizes specified results. After you create a calculated result, the result becomes available in the Results wizard in the same way as any result defined in a resource calculation.

Responsibility Assignment Matrix : A grid that shows the project resources assigned to each work package.

Review and Recommend : The act of carefully looking at or examining the quality or condition of something AND then suggesting that someone taken action or do something.

Risk : An uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on one or more project objectives.

Risk Acceptance : A risk response strategy whereby the project team decides to acknowledge the risk and not take any action unless the risk occurs.

Risk Avoidance : A risk response strategy whereby the project team acts to eliminate the threat or protect the project from its impact.

Risk Breakdown Structure : A hierarchical representation of risks that is organized according to risk categories.

Risk Category : A group of potential causes of risk.

Risk Exposure : Overall project risk exposure results from an accumulation of individual risk impacts for the work to be completed, typically determined by applying probabilistic analysis to the set of individual risks.

Risk Management Plan : A component of the project, program, or portfolio management plan that describes how risk management activities will be structured and performed.

Risk Mitigation : A risk response strategy whereby the project team acts to reduce the probability of occurrence or impact of a risk.

Risk Register : A document in which the results of risk analysis and risk response planning are recorded.

Risk Transference : A risk response strategy whereby the project team shifts the impact of a threat to a third party, together with ownership of the response.

Rolling Wave Planning : An iterative planning technique in which the work to be accomplished in the near term is planned in detail, while the work in the future is planned at a higher level.

Sander's Method : A methodology to standardized risk analysis which is applied to establish a bottoms up contingency at the work package level. The method is believed to have originated at Lawrence Livermore Labs, but was popularized on big science projects in the early 2000's by Gary Sanders, world renown physicist and Project Manager for the Thirty Meter Telescope.

Schedule Compression : A technique used to shorten the schedule duration without reducing the project scope.

Schedule Management Plan : A component of the project or program management plan that establishes the criteria and the activities for developing, monitoring, and controlling the schedule.

Schedule Model : A representation of the plan for executing the project’s activities, including durations, dependencies, and other planning information, used to produce a project schedule along with other scheduling artifacts.

Schedule Multiplier : The multiplier used to multiply the Schedule Risk Factor; this is always 1%.

Schedule Performance Index : A measure of schedule efficiency expressed as the ratio of earned value to planned value.

Schedule Risk Factor : The Schedule factor listing that can be used for calculating contingency using the Sander's Method.

2 - No schedule impact

4 - Delays completion of non-critical path subsystem item

8 - Delays completion of critical path subsystem item

Schedule Variance : A measure of schedule performance expressed as the difference between the earned value and the planned value.

Scope Baseline : The approved version of a scope statement, work breakdown structure (WBS) and its associated WBS dictionary, which can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison.

Scope Contingency : Identified scope contingency should have a value equal to at least 10% of the baseline budget.

Scope Creep : The uncontrolled expansion to product or project scope without adjustments to time, cost, and resources.

Scope Management Plan : A component document of the Project Execution Plan that describes how scope contingency is determined, monitored, and controlled over the project lifetime. A component of the project or program management plan that describes how the scope will be defined, developed, monitored, controlled, and validated.

Scoping Options : List any alternative ways to accomplishing scope. Example: Leasing a building vs. construction, outsourcing software design vs. in-house etc…

S-Curve Analysis : An earned value management technique used to indicate performance trends by using a graph that displays cumulative costs over a specific time period.

Secondary Risk : A risk that arises as a direct result of implementing a risk response.

Short Description : Provide a representative technical description of this WBS item/phase.

Sponsor : A person or group that provides resources and support for the project, program, or portfolio, and is accountable for enabling success.

Staffing Management Plan : A component of the human resource plan that describes when and how team members will be acquired and how long they will be needed.

Stakeholder : An individual, group, or organization that may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project, program, or portfolio.

Start Date : Indicate the projected start date and/or commitment date.

Start Milestone : Start Milestone is a zero duration activity that only has a start date. It is used to mark the beginning of a phase or an important event.

Start-to-Finish : A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor activity has started.

Start-to-Start : A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has started.

Successor Activity : A dependent activity that logically comes after another activity in a schedule.

Summary Activity : A group of related schedule activities aggregated and displayed as a single activity.

Supporting Documents : Dash360 has Drag & Drop functionality to attach or link documents to a work package.

Technical Multiplier : The multiplier used to multiply the Technical Risk Factor; 2.00% Design or manufacturing concerns only, 4.00% Design and manufacturing concerns.

Technical Risk Factor : The Technical factor listing that can be used for calculating contingency using the Sander's Method.

1 - Existing design and off-the-shelf hardware

2 - Minor modifications to an existing design

3 - Extensive modifications to an existing design

4 - New design within established product line

6 - New design different from established product line. Existing technology.

8 - New design. Requires some R&D development but does not advance the state-of-the-art.

10 - New design. New development of new technology which advances the state-of-the-art.

15 - New design way beyond the current state-of-the-art.

Termination : The ending of a Federal award, in whole or in part at any time prior to the planned end of period of performance.

Threat : A risk that would have a negative effect on one or more project objectives.

Three-Point Estimate : A technique used to estimate cost or duration by applying an average or weighted average of optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely estimates when there is uncertainty with the individual activity estimates.

To-Complete Performance Index : A measure of the cost performance that is required to be achieved with the remaining resources in order to meet a specified management goal, expressed as the ratio of the cost to finish the outstanding work to the remaining budget.

Total Cost (Most Likely) : Number of Units *Unit Cost. This should equal the “Most Likely” expectation of the cost.

Total Float : The amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed or extended from its early start date without delaying the project finish date or violating a schedule constraint.

Total Project Cost : The sum of the baseline budget (including indirect costs), the budget contingency, fee/profit (as applicable), and management reserve (if authorized) for the Construction Stage.

Total Project Duration : The NSB authorized duration is the estimated project duration plus approximately 6 months.

Trigger Condition : An event or situation that indicates that a risk is about to occur.

Unit Cost : Provide the unit cost for the Expense Item and Number of Units estimated.

Units : Enter the number of units of this Expense Item that will be utilized or purchased. Include all production units, spares, and consumable items for which the program will incur cost.

Variance Analysis : A technique for determining the cause and degree of difference between the Performance Measurement Baseline and actual performance.

Variance at Completion : A projection of the amount of budget deficit or surplus, expressed as the difference between the budget at completion and the estimate at completion.

WBS Dictionary : A document that provides detailed deliverable, activity, and scheduling information about each component in the work breakdown structure.

WBS Definition / WBS Element Description : Provide a description of what this WBS item and Includes References to relevant documents.

WBS Summary : WBS Summary compromises a batch of activities that have a common WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) level. Start date of WBS Summary is the earliest start date and finish date is the latest finish date of the activities in the group.

What-If Scenario Analysis : The process of evaluating scenarios in order to predict their effect on project objectives.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) : A hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables.

WBS Element : The WBS Code and Element name within the work breakdown structure.

Work Package : The work defined at the lowest level of the work breakdown structure for which cost and duration can be estimated and managed.

Workaround : A response to a threat that has occurred, for which a prior response had not been planned or was not effective.

Worst Case (Could be cost or %) : Indicate with either a $ amount or % what the worst case cost would be.