Acceptance criteria
The conditions a deliverable, product or piece of work must meet before it can be accepted by the sponsor, customer or governance forum.
Resource library
PMO glossary
Plain-English PMO terms for project managers working with governance, reporting, risk and delivery controls.
A
Action log
A record of actions, owners and due dates. It keeps meeting outcomes and follow-up work visible until each item is closed.
Actual cost
The cost already incurred by the project. It is compared with budget and forecast cost to understand financial performance.
Actual finish date
The date an activity, milestone or deliverable actually finished, rather than the date that was originally planned or forecast.
Actual start date
The date an activity, milestone or deliverable actually started, rather than the date that was originally planned or forecast.
Assumption
Something the project is treating as true for planning purposes until it can be confirmed. Good assumptions have an owner and a review date.
Assurance
Checks that give sponsors and stakeholders confidence that the project is being governed, controlled and delivered in the right way.
B
Baseline
The agreed version of scope, schedule, cost or benefits that later performance and changes are compared against.
Baseline schedule
The approved version of the project schedule used to compare planned dates with current forecast and actual progress.
Benefit
A measurable improvement or value outcome expected from the project or programme, such as cost reduction, risk reduction, service improvement or revenue growth.
Benefits management plan
A plan that explains how benefits will be defined, owned, measured, reported and followed through after project delivery.
Benefits realisation
The work of defining, measuring and following up the value a project or programme is expected to deliver after outputs are complete.
Business case
The document or decision evidence that explains why a project should proceed, including options, benefits, costs, risks and recommended approach.
Business readiness
The level of preparation in the business to receive, use and sustain the project outcome, including people, process, data and support readiness.
C
Change authority
The person or forum with delegated authority to approve, reject or defer change requests within agreed limits.
Change control
The process for assessing and approving changes to scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk or benefits before the agreed baseline changes.
Change impact assessment
A review of how a proposed change affects people, process, systems, scope, cost, schedule, quality, risk or benefits.
Change request
A formal request to alter an agreed baseline, deliverable, requirement or control. It should include impact, options and a recommendation.
Closeout
The work of formally ending a project, confirming completion, handing over outputs, closing actions and preserving useful records.
Communications plan
A plan that defines who needs project information, what they need, when they need it, how it will be shared and who owns each communication.
Contingency
Time, budget or another allowance set aside to respond to known uncertainty or approved risk responses.
Critical path
The sequence of activities that determines the shortest possible project duration. Delay on the critical path usually delays the project finish date.
D
Decision log
A record of important decisions, including the decision required, options considered, owner, date, outcome and follow-up actions.
Deliverable
A defined output the project must produce, such as a document, system change, process, report, workshop, handover pack or implemented capability.
Dependency
A relationship where one task, team, supplier, project or decision relies on another before it can proceed safely.
Dependency owner
The person accountable for coordinating, monitoring or resolving a dependency so it does not create unmanaged delivery risk.
E
Escalation
Raising a risk, issue or decision to the person or forum with the authority to act when the project team cannot resolve it alone.
Exception report
A report used when delivery is outside agreed tolerance and a sponsor or governance forum needs to approve recovery action.
F
Forecast
The current expected cost, date, effort or outcome based on what is now known, rather than the original baseline alone.
G
Gate review
A formal checkpoint used to decide whether a project should continue, pause, change direction or move to the next phase.
Go-live
The point where a change, product, service or process becomes available for real use by the intended users or business area.
Governance
The decision-making structure, roles, forums, controls and evidence used to keep project delivery accountable and proportionate.
H
Handover
The transfer of a deliverable, service, document set or ongoing responsibility from the project team to the receiving owner or business area.
I
Impact
The effect a risk, issue, change or decision could have on delivery, benefits, cost, schedule, quality, scope, people or operations.
Implementation plan
A plan that explains how the project output will be deployed, adopted, supported and stabilised in the business.
Issue
Something that is happening now and needs action. This is different from a risk, which is uncertain and may or may not occur.
Issue log
A register that records active issues, owners, impacts, actions, due dates and escalation status until each issue is resolved.
K
Kick-off meeting
An early project meeting used to align the team and stakeholders on purpose, scope, roles, governance, ways of working and immediate next steps.
L
Lessons learned
Evidence from delivery that is reviewed and turned into practical improvement actions for future projects or teams.
M
Milestone
A significant point in the schedule, often used to show approval, delivery, readiness, implementation or closure progress.
Milestone dependency
A dependency tied to a key date or decision point, where delay may affect a major project checkpoint or external commitment.
Minimum viable governance
The lightest set of project controls that still gives sponsors enough evidence to make decisions and manage risk responsibly.
O
Out of scope
Work, outputs or responsibilities that are explicitly excluded from the project so expectations and change control stay clear.
Outcome
The business or operational change expected from using the project outputs, not just the outputs themselves.
P
Phase
A distinct part of the project life cycle, such as initiation, planning, execution, implementation or closure.
PMO
A project, programme or portfolio management office. A PMO helps teams use consistent controls, reporting, governance and delivery practices.
Portfolio
A collection of projects, programmes or initiatives managed together so investment, capacity, risk and strategic priorities can be balanced.
Post-implementation review
A review after implementation that checks whether the change is working, benefits are likely to be realised and lessons can be captured.
Probability
The likelihood that a risk or opportunity will occur. It is usually considered alongside impact to decide priority.
Procurement management plan
A plan that explains how external goods or services will be sourced, contracted, managed and governed during the project.
Programme
A coordinated group of related projects and activities managed together to deliver outcomes, benefits or strategic change.
Programme brief
An early control document that explains the programme purpose, outcomes, component projects, governance, benefits and delivery approach.
Project charter
An initiation document that authorises the project, confirms the sponsor, summarises scope and sets the starting governance expectations.
Project management plan
The integrated plan describing how the project will be delivered, controlled, reported and governed across scope, schedule, quality, risk, communications and resources.
Q
Quality assurance
Planned checks that give confidence the project is using the right processes and controls to meet quality expectations.
Quality control
Inspection, testing or review of outputs to confirm they meet the agreed quality criteria before they are accepted or used.
R
RAG status
A red, amber or green status indicator used to summarise delivery health. It should be supported by evidence, not used as a standalone judgement.
RAID
A combined view of risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies. It helps teams coordinate uncertainty, active problems and cross-project links.
RAID log
A register that tracks risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies in one place so the team can manage uncertainty and active delivery problems.
Readiness
The state of being prepared to move into a decision, phase, implementation, handover or operational use.
Residual risk
The risk that remains after agreed controls or treatment actions have been applied.
Resource plan
A plan that identifies the people, roles, skills, time, equipment or supplier capacity needed to deliver the work.
Risk
An uncertain event or condition that could affect delivery if it occurs. A useful risk record states cause, impact, owner and treatment.
Risk appetite
The amount and type of risk an organisation or sponsor is willing to accept in pursuit of an objective.
Risk owner
The person accountable for monitoring a risk and making sure agreed treatment actions are progressed.
Risk response
The chosen action for handling a risk, such as avoid, reduce, transfer, accept, exploit or monitor.
S
Schedule baseline
The approved project schedule used as the reference point for measuring schedule variance and forecast movement.
Scope
The agreed work, outputs, inclusions and exclusions that define what the project will and will not deliver.
Scope statement
A document that defines the project scope, deliverables, exclusions, assumptions, constraints and acceptance basis.
Sponsor
The accountable business leader who supports the project, makes or owns key decisions and helps remove barriers to delivery.
Sponsor approval
The sponsor’s formal agreement to a project decision, document, change, funding step or governance checkpoint.
Stakeholder
A person, team or organisation that can affect, be affected by or have an interest in the project or its outcomes.
Stakeholder engagement
The planned work of understanding, involving and communicating with stakeholders so the project can make decisions and land change effectively.
Stakeholder register
A record of stakeholders, their role or interest, influence, engagement needs and communication considerations.
Status report
A regular report that summarises project health, progress, risks, issues, decisions, milestones, budget and support needed.
Steering committee
A governance forum that reviews progress, risks, decisions and escalations, usually with sponsor and senior stakeholder involvement.
T
Tolerance
The agreed limit for variation in scope, cost, schedule, quality, risk or benefits before escalation or sponsor approval is needed.
Transition plan
A plan that explains how a project output will move into business use, including readiness, cutover, support, ownership and communications.
U
UAT
User acceptance testing. It checks whether users can accept the solution or output against agreed business requirements and acceptance criteria.
V
Variance
The difference between planned and actual or forecast performance, commonly used for schedule, cost, scope or benefits.
W
Work breakdown structure
A structured breakdown of project scope into smaller deliverables or work packages so the team can plan and control the work.
Work package
A manageable piece of project work with defined scope, owner, outputs, timing and acceptance expectations.