A Glossary of Dependency Management Terms
Here are definitions of project dependency management terms. I put these together because although I had seen several references to software dependency management, there wasn’t anything like as much information out there on project dependencies.
In trying to keep these definitions focused on terms related to project planning, scheduling and execution I have had to decide what to include and what to exclude. For example, I have included some stakeholder management terms and definitions, but only where they play a significant role in the management of dependencies. Rather than have a page that never ends I will instead create a separate page for stakeholder management terms.
- Activity
- Work performed during a project to achieve its objectives, typically using people, resources, assets, and processes to create specific project artefacts.
- Artefact
- A tangible item produced by a project, or required by it, to perform activities. Also sometimes referred to as a Product.
- Asset
- Items required to perform project work that are limited in availability, controlled centrally, or supplied to the project by others.
- Budget
- The amount of funding, either calculated or assigned, that represents the planned expenditure for a project or activity.
- Baseline
- One or more snapshots representing a comparison point to be used to compare actual progress for project reporting.
- Critical Path
- The sequence of activities in a project network that represents the earliest possible completion of a project.
- Deadline
- A time limit or date by which one or more project activities must be completed.
- Deliverable
- A significant artefact which is created by the project to achieve one or more project outcomes. Sometimes referred to as an End Product. (See End Product, Deliverable.)
- Dependencies List
- A list of items, people, assets, resources, and / or artefacts that will be required to achieve the project’s objectives.
- Dependency
- A relationship between activities or tasks, where the latter task cannot be completed without something from the former.
- Dependency Log
- A document that contains details of project dependencies, including the dependency identifier, description, status, and latest update.
- Dependency Management
- The process of managing project dependencies to coordinate related project activities, optimise the project’s schedule, and avoid unnecessary delays.
- Dependency Management Process
- A set of related activities for identifying, validating, managing, and communicating project dependencies.
- Dependency Map
- A document showing a project’s main interdependencies (both inbound and outbound), along with the parties responsible for managing them.
- Estimate
- An assessment of the amount of effort, resource and / or time needed to complete a task, activity, or project.
- External Dependency
- A dependency on a resource, artefact, asset, or factor outside of the control of a project.
- Finish-to-Finish (FF) relationship
- A task relationship, where the finish date of the successor task is dependent on the finish date of the predecessor task.
- Finish-to-Start (FS) relationship
- A task relationship, where the start date of the successor task is dependent on the finish date of the predecessor task.
- Gantt Chart
- A graphical representation of a project schedule, with activities and tasks represented by bars and including durations, start- and finish dates, key milestones, links between related activities and resources. (See schedule.)
- Inbound Dependency
- A relationship between a project activity or tasks and an external predecessor.
- Internal Dependency
- A dependency on a resource, artefact, asset, or factor inside the control of a project.
- Intra-project Dependencies
- Dependencies between projects, whether internal or external to an organisation.
- Lag
- A planned delay between the expected start or finish of a task or activity and the commencement of its successor.
- Lead
- A planned start of a successor activity before the start or finish of its predecessor.
- Link
- A relationship between two or more tasks. Sometimes referred to as a Logical Dependency. (See Logical Dependency.)
- Logical Dependency
- A relationship between two or more tasks. Sometimes referred to as a Link. (See Link.)
- Milestone
- A significant event or point in the life of a project. Milestones have no duration, they are instead achieved or not achieved and often mark the commencement or completion of other activities.
- Outbound Dependency
- A dependency between a project activity and an external successor.
- Predecessor
- A task that precedes another task.
- Preference Dependency
- A dependency that has two or more schedule options for completion. The choice of option will often come down to team experience.
- Prerequisite
- Something required by a task or activity before it can commence.
- Product
- A tangible result of an activity or task, sometimes referred to as an artefact. Products may be Project Products or End Products. (See End Product, Project Product.)
- Product Breakdown Structure
- A hierarchical breakdown of the project’s main products into smaller sub-products. Each lower level may be broken down further until there are no further sub-products. Often used in conjunction with a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that describe the activities and tasks needed to complete each product.
- Product-Based Planning
- An approach to planning projects based on identifying products and the relationship between them. Often used with Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) modelling. (See Work Breakdown Structure.)
- Product Estimation Template
- A template used to record task estimates, including likely effort, duration, resources required and prerequisites.
- Product Flow Modelling
- Part of the Product-based Planning approach. Used to identify the logical dependencies between project products.
- RACI Matrix
- An approach to clarifying roles and responsibilities for an activity and ensuring that all project products are assigned to a person, team, or entity. RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed, the four roles that any project participant may have. (See Responsibility Assignment Matrix.)
- Relationship
- A state that exists where two or more tasks, activities, products, parties are linked in some way. (See Dependency.)
- Request for Information (RfI)
- An invitation from an organisation to potential vendors which may be used for vendor qualification, evaluation, or shortlisting purposes.
- Request for Proposal (RfP)
- An invitation to suitably qualified vendors for proposals to provide products and / or services to a project or sub-project.
- Resource
- An asset, artefact or object required to achieve project objectives. Resources include people, funding, equipment, materials, facilities, and products.
- Resource Levelling
- The process of smoothing out the over- and under allocation of people who are assigned to a project, so that a project maintains an even use of resources.
- Resource Manager
- A person or team responsible for allocating resources to projects. Resource managers are accountable for managing resource demand and supply, including resource acquisition, availability, suitability, assignment, utilisation, and support. (See Resources.)
- Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)
- An approach to clarifying roles and responsibilities for an activity and ensuring that all project products are assigned to a person, team, or entity. (See RACI Matrix.)
- Schedule
- A project management artefact showing the proposed activities, tasks, milestones, and deliverables in a project. Includes start and end dates as well as project interdependencies. (See Gantt Chart.)
- Slippage
- The effect of delays in task completion on a project schedule which, if not recovered, may lead to eventual schedule and / or cost overrun, impact on project deliverables and outputs.
- Start-to-Finish (SF) relationship
- A task relationship, where the finish date of the successor task is dependent on the start date of the predecessor task.
- Start-to-Start (SS) relationship
- A task relationship, where the start date of the successor task is dependent on the start date of the predecessor task.
- Statement of Work (SoW)
- A document that describes a project or sub-project to be completed by a third-party sub-contractor. A SoW will typically include a summary of the work to be completed, required deliverables, schedule and milestones, payment terms and acceptance criteria.
- Sub-contractor
- An individual or group external to the project providing services to a project. Typically, sub-contractors are third-party vendors, but people and teams inside an organisation can also be described as sub-contractors, especially if they receive funding for, or charge for their work. (See Vendor.)
- Successor
- A task that is follows another task.
- Subject Matter Expert (SME)
- A person who possesses a high level of knowledge or information on a subject, activity, process, or domain relevant to a project.
- Supplier
- A party that provides something to a project.
- Task
- An element of work that is carried out in support of a project and requiring resources. A task is typically the lowest level described in a project schedule, but it may be excluded from the schedule and contained in a separate task list, procedure guide or checklist.
- Task Dependency
- A dependency that a task has on another task. (See Logical Dependency.)
- Three-point Estimate
- An estimating approach that uses three individual estimates (best-case, worst-case and most-likely-case) to produce different views of potential schedules and timelines. Also used to identify and highlight potential project risks and/or constraints through examination of differences between best-case and worst-case estimates.
- Variance
- The difference between desired and actual results, including planned and actual costs, effort, schedule, and / or benefits.
- Vendor
- A person or party that sells something of value to a project. (See Sub-contractor.)
- Waterfall
- Approach A project management approach in which project stages are linear and are completed one after the other. Deliverables are produced at the end of the project and scope changes must be agreed and the impact assessed on the project’s products, schedule, costs, benefits, and risks.
- What-if Analysis
- The technique of assessing the impact on a project of a change to any of its current parameters, including tasks, activities, dependencies, resources, funding and / or benefits.
- Work Breakdown Structure
- A hierarchical breakdown of the work to be performed on a project, dividing the project into smaller and smaller units of work, so that it can be grouped and assigned to one or more project participants.
- Work Package
- An element of project work that can be assigned to a single person, team, or party. A work package description may be included with a Statement of Work to provide a detailed description of the activities and tasks to be completed. (See Statement of Work.)
- Workstream
- The highest level sub-project breakdown, consisting of milestones, products, activities, and tasks that together lead to the creation of project outputs and deliverables. A workstream will be managed by a workstream lead, who will be accountable for its delivery. (See Workstream Lead)
- Workstream Lead
- A person, team, or party accountable for the delivery of a project workstream. (See Workstream.)
About Bryan
Bryan Barrow helps technology companies reduce project delivery costs by 10 – 20% while reducing risk of late delivery. Bryan is a business consultant and the author of several books on Project Management, including ‘Stakeholder Management’ and ‘The Project Planning Workshop Handbook’.
Bryan’s latest book is for people who are struggling to deliver projects on time because they are not sure how to manage dependencies. It is due out in 2021. To join the list to be notified when the book launches, click here.