| Benefits |
The returns or payback expected to be obtained from the successful completion of the project. Benefits can be tangible or intangible. Tangible benefits include reduced or avoided costs for existing procedures and increased revenue from new or improved products. Intangible benefits may include improved service to clients or improved competitive position. |
| Constraint |
Any known restrictions or limitations that may impact on the project, eg. insufficient funding, immovable implementation date etc. |
| Critical Path |
The sequence of inter-dependent tasks that aggregate to determine the minimum duration of the project. A delay in any task on the critical path can have a significant impact on the project deadline. |
| Critical Task |
A task on the project's critical path. |
| Deadline |
The expected date upon which the project must have completed the development and implementation of the required outcomes. |
| Deliverable |
An output produced at the end of a task. Examples of deliverables are plans, reports, computer programs, policies and procedures etc. |
| Estimate |
An informed prediction based on formal or documented experience or metrics. In the project context, estimates are made of effort (people's time), costs and benefits. |
| GANTT Chart |
A chart that shows the duration of tasks against the project time-frame. It usually highlights milestones, dependencies and resources associated with particular tasks. |
| Milestone |
A major checkpoint in a project. Examples of milestones are 'Design Phase Completed ', 'User documentation completed', 'Hardware configured'. Milestones often require sign-offs from the Project Sponsor or Steering Committee before proceeding. |
| Objectives |
A statement of what the project is designed to achieve within the scope. They should be specific, measurable and identify business problems that are being solved. They should be stated with some benefit or end result in mind. |
| PERT Chart |
A chart that displays the sequence of tasks that form the project schedule. PERT charts are particularly useful for highlighting a project's critical path. |
| Post-Implementation Review |
An evaluation of the project's goals and activity achievement as measured against the project plan, budget, timelines, quality of deliverables, specifications and client satisfaction. The objective of the PIR is to identify the lessons learnt from the project and to share the information to improve the performance of future projects. |
| Project |
A group of tasks that are inter-related and are designed to change existing organisation structure, procedures, policy, systems or environment. |
| Project Approach |
The approach to the way a project will be conducted eg. fast-track (minimum set of activities undertaken to implement the project quickly), concurrent development (breaking the project down into sub tasks that are developed in parallel). |
| Project Charter |
A formal document that summarises the business, management and financial aspects of a project. It includes scope, objectives, benefits, costs, risks and plans. It is the basis of project change control and serves as a 'contract' between the Project Manager and Project Sponsor. |
