📑 Project Management Keywords

Keyword Definition (Simple & Clear) Case Example

Project A temporary effort to create a unique Developing a new drug
product, service, or result with a defined formulation.
beginning and end.
Program A collection of related projects managed A “Vaccine Program” with
together to gain benefits not available if R&D, clinical trials, and
managed separately. supply chain projects.
Portfolio A set of projects and programs aligned A pharma company’s overall
with organizational strategy. R&D portfolio.
Project The series of phases a project passes Building a manufacturing
Lifecycle through: Initiation → Planning → plant.
Execution → Monitoring → Closure.
Scope Defines the boundaries of a project— Upgrade only the purification
what is included and excluded. line, not packaging.
Deliverable A tangible or intangible product/result Approved SOP (Standard
that must be produced. Operating Procedure).
Milestone A significant event or checkpoint in the “Equipment installation
project schedule. completed.”
Baseline The approved scope, schedule, and cost Comparing actual costs vs.
plan used to track project performance. baseline.
Stakeholder Anyone affected by the project, Regulatory authorities, QA
positively or negatively. team, customers.
PMO Project Management Office-sets Centralized PMO in a biotech
standards, processes, and governance for company.
projects.
📅 Planning & Scheduling
WBS Work Breakdown Structure— Breaking “plant construction”
hierarchical decomposition of project into site prep, utilities,
into smaller, manageable tasks. equipment.
Critical Path Longest sequence of dependent tasks Delay in validation delays
that determines minimum project entire project.
duration.
Gantt Chart Bar chart showing tasks against time, Used to track lab automation
with dependencies and progress. rollout.
PERT Chart Network diagram using optimistic, Estimating clinical trial
pessimistic, and most likely durations to duration.
estimate timelines.
Float/Slack Extra time a task can take without Documentation has 5 days
delaying project completion. float.
Dependencies Logical relationships between tasks QC testing must finish before
(Finish-to-Start, etc.). product release.
Lead & Lag Lead = overlap between tasks; Lag = Packaging can start 2 days
intentional delay between tasks. before filling ends (lead).
Resource Assigning people, equipment, and Assigning 3 engineers to
Allocation budget to tasks. validation.
Timeboxing Fixing a time period for a task, Daily 15-min Scrum meeting.
regardless of scope.
Rolling Wave Planning in detail for near-term work, Pharma trials—Phase 1
Planning broadly for long-term. detailed, Phase 3 high-level.
💰 Cost & Risk
Budget Total planned cost to complete a $5M allocated for facility
project. expansion.
Cost Baseline Time-phased budget used as a reference Monthly tracking against
for monitoring expenses. baseline.
EVM Earned Value Management—integrates Project 60% complete but
cost, schedule, and scope to measure spent 80% of budget.
performance.
CPI Cost Performance Index = Earned CPI = 0.9 → over budget.
Value ÷ Actual Cost. >1 means under
budget.
SPI Schedule Performance Index = Earned SPI = 1.1 → ahead of
Value ÷ Planned Value. >1 means schedule.
ahead of schedule.
Risk An uncertain event that could positively Regulatory changes delay
or negatively affect objectives. approval.
Issue A problem that has already occurred Equipment breakdown in
(unlike risk). GMP area.
Risk Mitigation Action to reduce risk probability or Secondary supplier for raw
impact. materials.
Contingency Extra budget/time kept aside for 10% cost buffer for supply
Reserve uncertainties. delays.
Change Formal proposal to modify scope, cost, Request to add new
Request or schedule. validation steps.
🚀 Execution & Monitoring
KPI Key Performance Indicator— Batch yield > 95%.
quantifiable measure of project success.
Quality Processes to prevent defects by GMP audits.
Assurance (QA) focusing on standards and compliance.
Quality Control Processes to detect defects by testing QC release testing.
(QC) deliverables.
Baseline Difference between actual and planned Cost variance = $200k over
Variance values for scope/schedule/cost. budget.
Dashboard Visual tool for real-time monitoring of MS Project dashboard.
project status.
RACI Matrix Defines roles: Responsible, R = Engineer, A = Project
Accountable, Consulted, Informed. Manager.
Communication Defines how, when, and to whom Weekly sponsor updates.
Plan project information will be shared.
Escalation Raising unresolved issue to higher Delay reported to Steering
management for decision. Committee.
CCB Change Control Board—approves or CCB rejects scope change
rejects change requests. due to cost impact.
Performance Formal evaluation of team/project Monthly sponsor review
Review progress against objectives. meeting.
✅ Closure & Learning
Lessons Knowledge gained from project Poor vendor management
Learned successes/failures, documented for noted.
future.
Closure Report Formal document confirming project Submitted after FDA
completion. approval.
Handover Transfer of deliverables to Manufacturing line handed to
operations/clients for long-term use. operations.
Retrospective Team reflection session to improve Sprint retrospective identifies
processes (common in Agile). testing gaps.
Post-Mortem In-depth analysis of project failure or Investigating failed tech
major issues. transfer.
⚡ Agile & Modern PM
Agile Iterative, flexible project approach focused on Used in software
collaboration, adaptability, and customer development for quick
feedback. releases.
Scrum Agile framework with roles (Scrum Master, Daily standups for biotech
Product Owner), ceremonies, and sprints. software tool.
Sprint Time-boxed development cycle (usually 2–4 Sprint 1: Set up data pipeline.
weeks).
Kanban Visual workflow management with “To Do → Lab automation tasks tracked
In Progress → Done” columns. on Kanban board.
MVP Minimum Viable Product—first working Launching a basic mobile app
version with core features. for clinical data capture.