Easy Project Management Definition Series
I’ve been thinking a lot about how to help you, especially if you are new to project management.
Frustrated By Project Management? - by albbyy via Flickr
You may have contacted me to express your frustration with trying to learn about project management. You go to read something educational and find that half the terms used are unfamiliar. One project management definition relies on another.
Even more telling is the general tone I sense from the masses of email I get daily. You may not have asked these questions…perhaps you were too uncomfortable to raise your hand. Instead, you may be banging your head against a wall trying to collect bits and pieces of information and work them into a whole picture.
You keep following the trail back further into the rabbit hole until finally, you find out what those 15 pieces of lingo mean (kind of).
But by now you forgot what you were trying to learn in the first place.
It’s My Fault
I didn’t mean to do it, honest!
Everyone tends to take knowledge for granted once they have gained it. I am no exception. The “Curse of Knowledge” strikes again!
Let’s address the problem head-on, shall we?
Learning About Project Management Doesn’t Have to Suck
No, really! I mean it.
This kicks off a series of short posts. In this series, I will throw out commonly-used terms in project management and tell you what they mean to me. This will NOT be an academic exercise.
My goal is to offer definitions in light-hearted, everyday language. I’ll avoid the “replacement for sleeping pills” drone you find most places. I will avoid using unfamiliar project management terms to explain unfamiliar project management terms.
Do you have a project management term you would like to see added to the series? Connect with me and let me know.
>>>>> Let’s Get Started <<<<<
For Those “Academic” Types
If you already know the lingo and want an academic definition, see the Wideman Comparative Glossary of Project Management Terms. It is excellent as a reference, but not if you are brand new to project management.
You will drown in acronym soup and sleep for 75 years. Seriously.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Max and what he does. I use his website all the time. I’ve met him in person, and he’s an all-around wonderful guy. Max’s glossary is for people who are diving into advanced subjects and want a sense for what the “proper” way to define something might be among many options. His target audience consists of reasonably experienced project managers though…not newbies.
>>>>> Let’s Get Started <<<<<
Easy PM Definitions
- Easy Project Management Definition Series
- What Is A Project?
- What Are Requirements?
- What Are Stakeholders?
Jul 7th, 2009 at 8:09 am
Wow Josh,
I think you have the proverbial tiger by the tail with this topic!!
To start with another quote from my PhD dissertation:
“The following statement by the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAB) (which is the Computing Accreditation Commission member of ABET) has relevance when it states: Any discussion of names of the computing sciences professions must recognize the semantic imprecision and confusion that plagues practically every aspect of computers, computer studies, and the range of traditional academic disciplines that increasingly use computers in instruction and in academic research. (CSAB, 1997, online)”
Because project management is nothing more than a process and that process is embedded in virtually every profession and trade, then doesn’t it make sense that the terminology would be influenced by that trade or profession?
For instance, for a Medical Doctor, a “project” would be each operation or procedure; For an accountant, their “project” would be each client’s fiscal year; For a pilot, their project is each flight from point A to point B; For an electrician, each “project” would be each contract; A lawyer, each case; On and on ad infinitum…….
A group of us at GAPPS spent 2 years off and on researching a definition of “Program” and at the end of that period, came up with this- http://www.globalpmstandards.org/downloads/program-manager-standards/GAPPS_Program_Types.pdf
The conclusion we reached that there was no one single definition of “Program” and that even the 4 “buckets” or categories we came up with were not totally complete and worse yet, there was no one who was willing to “give up” their cherished definition and accept a “standard” definition.
Bottom line on this- BEST OF LUCK!! But certainly the subject of some interesting exchanges, I am sure!!
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta
Reply
Jul 7th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Thanks Dr. Paul, I’m sure it will be interesting!
My goal is not to provide the best singular technical definition of these terms.
My goal is to walk people through some basic terminology, step by step, to at least get a foot hold they can use to reach further into project management with.
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Jul 7th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
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Jul 9th, 2009 at 1:49 am
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Easy Project Management Definitions [link to post]
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