Glossary

Project Controls Glossary

Clear definitions of the terms that recur across planning, schedule assurance, delay analysis and claims — each linked to the relevant area of expertise.

A B C D E F G L M N O P R S W

Activity: A discrete unit of work in a schedule, with a duration, logic links and usually resources — the building block of a programme. More →
Actual CostAC: The cost actually incurred for work performed to date; compared with earned value to measure cost performance. More →
As-Built Programme: A schedule reconstructed from records to show how the works were actually carried out — central to retrospective delay analysis. More →
Baseline: The approved, fixed version of a programme against which actual progress, cost and delay are measured; the contractual measure of record. More →
Baseline Execution IndexBEI: A DCMA metric comparing tasks completed against those baselined to be complete — a read on whether the plan is being executed to schedule. More →
Budget at CompletionBAC: The total planned budget for the scope of work — the sum of all planned value. More →
Change Control: The disciplined process of assessing, approving and incorporating changes to scope, time or cost so their impact is understood and recorded. More →
Concurrent Delay: Where an employer-risk and a contractor-risk event each independently affect the completion date over the same period — materially affecting entitlement. More →
Constraint: A date imposed on an activity that overrides logic. Unjustified hard constraints are a common source of hidden float and misleading critical paths. More →
Cost Performance IndexCPI: Earned value divided by actual cost. Below 1.0 indicates cost overrun; above 1.0, underrun. More →
Critical Path: The sequence of activities with the least total float that controls the completion date. More →
Critical Path Length IndexCPLI: A DCMA metric measuring how much the critical path must be accelerated to meet the finish date; below 1.0 signals the finish is at risk. More →
Critical Path MethodCPM: The scheduling technique that calculates activity dates and float from durations and logic, identifying the critical path. More →
DCMA 14-Point Assessment: A widely used set of fourteen checks on schedule quality — logic, leads, lags, relationship types, constraints, float, duration, dates, resources, missed tasks, the critical-path test, CPLI and BEI. More →
Delay Analysis: The forensic assessment of how events affected the completion date, to establish entitlement to an Extension of Time. More →
Disruption: Loss of productivity — work becoming less efficient than it should have been — which may cause cost without necessarily delaying completion. More →
Earned Schedule: A refinement of EVM that expresses schedule performance in time units rather than cost, giving a more reliable late-project indicator. More →
Earned ValueEV: The budgeted value of work actually completed to date — the anchor of earned value management. More →
Earned Value ManagementEVM: A technique integrating scope, schedule and cost to measure performance and forecast outcomes using planned value, earned value and actual cost. More →
Estimate at CompletionEAC: A forecast of total cost at completion based on performance to date. More →
Extension of TimeEOT: A contractual adjustment of the completion date reflecting delay for which the contractor is entitled to more time. More →
Float: Total float is how long an activity can slip without delaying completion; free float is how long it can slip without delaying its successor. More →
Forensic Schedule Analysis: The detailed, evidence-based examination of schedules and records to establish cause, effect and entitlement in delay disputes. More →
Gantt Chart: A bar-chart view of a schedule showing activities against time — the familiar visual layer over the underlying CPM network. More →
Lag / Lead: A lag is a delay imposed on a logic link; a lead (negative lag) is an overlap. Excessive lags or leads can distort a schedule and mask real logic. More →
Longest Path: The continuous chain of driving activities to completion, traced through each activity's driving predecessor regardless of float. More →
Milestone: A zero-duration marker of a significant point or contractual date in a programme. More →
Mitigation: Reasonable steps taken to reduce the effect of a delay — distinct from acceleration, and relevant to entitlement. More →
Negative Float: A signal that, as logic and constraints stand, a required date cannot be met — work is already behind where it needs to be. More →
Open End: An activity missing a predecessor or successor, breaking the network so delay does not flow through correctly. A quality schedule has essentially none. More →
Planned ValuePV: The budgeted value of work scheduled to be complete by a given date — the baseline for earned value comparison. More →
PMO: Programme or project management office — the function that sets the operating model, standards and governance under which delivery happens. More →
Primavera P6: Oracle's enterprise planning and scheduling tool, widely used for large construction and infrastructure programmes. More →
Programme: The time model of a project — activities, logic, durations and dates. In UK and GCC usage, 'programme' is the schedule. More →
Recovery Programme: A re-planned schedule intended to bring a delayed project back toward its completion date — credible only if genuinely achievable. More →
Risk Register: The live record of identified risks with likelihood, impact, ownership and mitigation. More →
Schedule Assurance: The independent validation that a programme is technically sound and reliable before it is trusted or accepted. More →
Schedule Performance IndexSPI: Earned value divided by planned value. Below 1.0 indicates behind schedule; above 1.0, ahead. More →
Stage Gate: A defined decision point between programme phases where progress, cost, risk and readiness are reviewed before authorising the next stage. More →
Window Analysis: A delay-analysis method that examines the schedule in time slices, assessing the impact of events within each window against the programme then current. More →
Work Breakdown StructureWBS: The hierarchical decomposition of scope into manageable packages — the backbone of how a programme is structured and reported. More →