Glossary - Construction Project Scheduling and Control - page 472

resource requirements and maintaining the total resource usage within the set
limits. With such restrictions, the project may have a longer duration than
originally planned, and the project start may have to occur before the scheduled
date.
Bar chart —A graphical representation of project activities shown in a time-scaled
bar line, with no links shown between activities. Originally developed by Henry
L. Gantt in 1917. Also called a Gantt chart .
Baseline —The original approved plan for a project, including approved changes. It
usually includes Baseline Budget and Baseline Schedule . It is used as a benchmark
for comparison with actual performance (see Project Control ).
Baseline Budget —The project's original approved budget, including any approved
changes.
Baseline Schedule —A schedule prepared by the contractor before the start of the
project—and usually approved by the owner—typically used for performance
comparison.
Beginning-of-Day Convention —When any date mentioned for an activity means
the start of the day. Usually used only by computer software for start dates.
Beneficial Occupancy —The use of premises (or a portion of it) for its intended
purpose, even though the project work may not be complete. This term is
almostthesameas Substantial Completion .Seealso Certificate of Substantial
Completion .
Beta Distribution —A continuous probability, with a probability distribution
function defined on the interval [0, 1]. It is used in PERT with three time
estimates for the completion of an activity: the optimistic duration, the most
likely duration, and the pessimistic duration. Using these three durations, the
beta distribution allows the calculation of the means and variances of activity
completion times. The beta distribution also has an advantage over the normal
distribution in that it can be skewed right (toward the pessimistic duration) or
left (toward the optimistic duration), or it can be symmetrical.
Bill of Quantity (BOQ) —In the United States, this term may mean a list of all
materials and their corresponding quantities that are required in a project. In the
United Kingdom, this term is equivalent to Schedule of Values .
BIM —See Building Information Modeling .
Biparameter Contracting Method —See A + B Contracting Method .
Budget at Completion (BAC) —The sum of the total budgets throughout the
completion of work on an activity, a group of activities, or the entire project.
Budgeted Cost for Work Performed (BCWP) —The sum of the approved cost
estimates (including any overhead allocation) for activities (or portions of
activities) completed during a given period (usually project-to-date). See also
Earned Value (EV) .
Budgeted Cost for Work Scheduled (BCWS) —The sum of the approved cost
estimates (including any overhead allocation) for activities (or portions of
activities) scheduled to be performed during a given period (usually
project-to-date).