5th Edition Glossary - Association for Project Management

Glossary of project management termsBaseline* The reference levels againstwhich the project is monitored andcontrolled.Baseline cost(s) The amount ofmoney a project or activity wasintended to cost when the project planwas baselined.Baseline date(s) The original plannedstart and finish dates for a project or anactivity when the schedule wasbaselined.Baseline plan The fixed project plan.It is the standard by which performanceagainst the project plan is measured.Baseline schedule The fixed projectschedule. It is the standard by whichproject schedule performance ismeasured.Behavioural characteristics The elementsthat separate and describe aperson’s preferred way of acting,interacting and reacting in a variety ofsituations.Benchmarking A review of whatother organisations are doing in thesame area. For those organisations whoappear to be particularly successful inwhat they do and how they do it and aretaken to be examples to be emulated, i.e.used as benchmarks.Benefit The quantifiable and measurableimprovement resulting from completionof project deliverables that isperceived as positive by a stakeholder.It will normally have a tangible value,expressed in monetary terms, that willjustify the investment.Benefits framework An outline of theexpected benefits of the project (orprogramme), the business operationsaffected and current and target performancemeasures. The totality of plansand arrangements to enable the organisationto realise the defined benefitsfrom a project or programme ofprojects.Benefits management The identificationof the benefits (of a project orprogramme) at an organisational leveland the tracking and realisation of thosebenefits.Benefits management plan A plan thatspecifies who is responsible for achievingthe benefits set out in the benefitsprofiles and how achievement of thebenefits is to be measured, managed andmonitored.Benefits profile A representation ofwhen the benefits are planned to berealised.Benefits realisation The practice ofensuring that the outcome of a projectproduces the projected benefits.Benefits realisation review A reviewundertaken after a period of operationsof the project deliverables. It isintended to establish that projectbenefits have or are being realised.Bid A tender, quotation or any offer toenter into a contract.Bid analysistenders.An analysis of bids orBidding The process of preparing andsubmitting a bid or tender.Bid list A list of contractors or suppliersinvited to submit bids for goodsor services.Blueprint A document defining anddescribing what a programme isdesigned to achieve in terms of the businessvision and the operational vision.Body of Knowledge An inclusive termthat describes the sum of knowledgewithin the profession of project management.As with other professions,such as law and medicine, the body of127