Glossary - Construction Project Scheduling and Control - page 485

Program —A program is a group of related projects and/or services intended to
meet a common objective and usually managed by one entity. A program can
also indicate a large and complex project that is divided into several projects
for more effective management. The PMI defines a program as a group of
related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control
that is not available by managing them individually. Programs may include
elements of related work outside the scope of the discrete projects in the
program.
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) —An event-oriented
network analysis technique that is used to estimate a project's duration when
there is a high degree of uncertainty with individual activity duration estimates.
PERT applies the critical path method to a weighted average duration estimate.
PERT is considered a probabilistic, or stochastic, method. The name “PERT
Diagram” is incorrectly used in the construction industry sometimes to denote a
Logic Network .
Progress Override —An option used in Primavera scheduling software to ignore a
logic relationship between two activities after actual work has violated this logic.
For example, if activity A is a predecessor (with FS relationship) to activity B but
activity B has started before activity A is completed, this option allows the
remainder of B to proceed without regard to the completion of A. See also
Retained Logic .
Progress Payments —Periodic (usually monthly) payments made by the owner to
the general contractor (and by the general contractor to the subcontractors)
upon the approval of the Payment Request . Owners usually retain a portion of
the Progress Payment (5-10%, typically) until the successful completion of the
project.
Progressive Elaboration —The continuous evolution of the project design
documents along with its impact on the project's cost estimate and schedule.
Unlike Scope Creep , progressive elaboration is not considered a negative practice
since it represents the changing in project's attributes (cost, schedule) as the
project scope becomes clarified as a result of the development of the design
documents.
Project —A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or
result (PMI, 2008).
Project Breakdown Structure (PBS) —A task-oriented family tree of activities that
organizes, defines, and displays the work to be accomplished. See Work
Breakdown Structure .
Project Charter —Project charter is a statement of the scope, objectives, and
participants in a project. It provides a preliminary delineation of roles and
responsibilities, outlines the project objectives, identifies the main stakeholders,
and defines the authority of the project manager. It serves as a reference of
authority for the future of the project ( Wikipedia online).
Project Closeout —The full completion of a project signed off on by all responsible
parties, and the finalization of all paperwork and payments.