National Academies Press: OpenBook
« Previous: Appendix E Committee Meetings and Activities
Suggested Citation:"Glossary." National Research Council. 1999. Improving Project Management in the Department of Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9627.
×

Glossary

B

Baseline.

A quantitative expression of projected costs, schedule, and technical requirements; the established plan against which the status of resources and the progress of a project are measured.

Baseline change proposal.

The instrument/document describing a proposed change and its impacts on project baselines.

Benchmarking.

An improvement process in which an organization or agency or company measures its performance against that of best-in-class organizations or agencies or companies, determines how they achieved their performance levels, and uses the information to improve its own performance; benchmarking can be used to compare strategies, operations, processes, and procedures.

C

Characterization.

The identification of the quality or delineation of properties. For DOE it is often the determination of waste composition and properties, whether by a review of processes, nondestructive examination or assay, or sampling and analysis, to determine appropriate storage, treatment, handling, transportation, and disposal requirements.

Conceptual design.

The activities required to evaluate project design alternatives and to develop sufficient detail to establish a baseline scope, cost, and schedule for project authorization.

Suggested Citation:"Glossary." National Research Council. 1999. Improving Project Management in the Department of Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9627.
×

Construction manager.

The individual or firm responsible to DOE or its contractor for the supervision and administration of a construction project.

Construction project.

The full scope of activities required on a work site to fulfill the requirements of the construction acquisition documents; activities performed in support of, or as part of maintenance, manufacturing, decontamination and decommissioning, or environmental restoration or remediation.

Contingency.

The amount budgeted to cover costs that may result from incomplete design, unforeseen and unpredictable conditions, or uncertainties; the amount of the contingency depends on the status of design, procurement, and construction and the complexity and uncertainty of the component parts of the project; contingency does not eliminate the need for an accurate assessment of expected cost.

Critical Decision.

A formal DOE determination at a specific point in a project (prior to commencement of conceptual design, commencement of execution, and prior to turnover) that allows the project to proceed.

E

Earned value.

A management technique comparing the value of work performed to actual costs and relating resource planning to schedules and technical performance requirements; work is planned, budgeted, and scheduled using specific time increments to set measurable performance baselines; comparisons of planned values to actual performed (earned) values, provides an objective assessment of cost performance.

F

Facility.

The buildings, utilities, structures, and other improvements associated with an operation or service and dedicated to a common function.

G

Graded approach.

The depth of detail required and the magnitude of resources expended for a particular management element to be commensurate with the element's relative importance to safety, environmental compliance, safeguards and security, programmatic importance, magnitude of the hazard, financial impact, and/or other facility-specific requirements.

I

ISO 9000.

A quality improvement methodology sanctioned by the International Standards Organization for assessing the quality of professional services; in its simplest application, the ISO 9000 process requires that an organization seeking certification, define what it does, how it will do it, what records will be kept, and who the responsible parties are for all operations; the organization must show that its policies and procedures, etc. are (1) consistent with its purpose; (2) universally applied, understood, and followed; and (3) continued as the basis of doing business.

Suggested Citation:"Glossary." National Research Council. 1999. Improving Project Management in the Department of Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9627.
×

L

Life cycle.

The life of an asset from planning through acquisition, maintenance, operation, and disposition.

Life-cycle cost.

The total price of a system, building, or other product, computed over its useful life, including all direct, indirect, recurring, nonrecurring, and other costs involved in acquiring, owning, operating, maintaining, and disposing of the system or product over a specified period of time, including environmental and energy costs; the net life-cycle costs savings is determined by subtracting the cost of performing the value function over the life of the activity or product from the value of total savings generated by the value function.

Line-item project.

Separately identified project activities submitted for funding, reviewed, and approved or disapproved by Congress.

M

Management and operating contractor.

A contractor conducting work pursuant to a management and operating contract.

P

Performance criteria.

A condition or set of conditions that, when satisfied, indicate successful completion of the performance objective.

Performance measures.

Any evaluation, comparison, or judgment toward meeting the performance objective.

Performance objectives.

A statement of wants, needs, and expectations of customers that sets the direction for the contract effort.

Preliminary design.

A continuation of the conceptual design and the project design criteria as a basis for project development; preliminary design develops fiscal, engineering, and other information to determine the requirements and criteria that govern the definitive design; tasks include preparation of preliminary planning and engineering studies, preliminary drawings and outline specifications, life-cycle cost analysis, preliminary cost estimates, and scheduling for project completion; preliminary design identifies long lead procurement items and analyzes risks associated with continued project development.

Program office.

A DOE headquarters organization responsible for program management and for assisting and supporting field elements in safety and health, administrative, management, and technical areas.

Project.

A unique effort that supports a program mission with defined start-up and completion end points, undertaken to create a product, facility, or system with interdependent activities planned to meet a common objective/mission; projects include planning and execution of construction, renovation,

Suggested Citation:"Glossary." National Research Council. 1999. Improving Project Management in the Department of Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9627.
×

modification, environmental restoration, or decontamination and decommissioning, and large capital equipment or technology development activities; tasks that do not include these elements, such as basic research, grants, and operations and maintenance of facilities, are not considered projects.

Project design criteria.

Technical data and other project information developed during the project identification, conceptual design, and/or preliminary design phases, that define the project scope, construction features and requirements, and design parameters; applicable design codes, standards, and regulations; applicable health, safety, fire protection, safeguards, security, energy conservation, and quality assurance requirements, and other requirements.

Project manager.

An official who has been assigned responsibility for closely related efforts to achieve stated or designated objectives, defined tasks, or other related activities on a schedule for performing the work funded as part of the project; the person responsible for planning, controlling, and reporting on a project.

Project risk.

A factor, element, constraint, or course of action that introduces an uncertainty of outcome and the possibility of technical deficiencies, inadequate performance, schedule delays, or cost overruns that could impact a DOE mission; evaluation of project risk must include its potential impact and probability of occurrence.

S

Stovepipe.

A system procured and developed to solve a specific problem characterized by a limited focus and functionality; a system that contains data that cannot be easily shared with other systems.

Strategic system.

A special type of line-item project(s), a stand-alone system within a program mission area that is a primary means of advancing DOE's strategic goals; designation of a strategic system is determined by the secretary of energy based on cost, risk factors, international implications, stakeholder interest, and/or national security.

T

Total estimated cost.

An estimate of the total cost of a task, demonstration, or program; unlike a planning estimate, total estimated cost is based on definitive information regarding technical scope, contracting methods, schedule, and resource requirements; once a task is approved, total estimated cost becomes a baseline figure and is subject to change control procedures.

Total project cost.

All costs specific to a project incurred through the start-up of a facility but prior to the operation of a facility; total project cost includes, but is not limited to, design and construction activities, contingency, economic

Suggested Citation:"Glossary." National Research Council. 1999. Improving Project Management in the Department of Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9627.
×

escalation, pre-engineering activities, feasibility and maintenance studies, onetime start-up costs, initial operator training, and commissioning costs.

Training.

The process of providing for and making available to an employee(s) and placing or enrolling an employee(s) in a planned, prepared, and coordinated program, course, curriculum, system, or routine of instruction or education in fiscal, administrative, management, individual development, or other fields to improve individual and organizational performance and further the agency's mission and performance goals.

V

Value engineering.

An organized effort directed by a person trained in techniques to analyze the functions of systems, equipment, facilities, services, and supplies to determine the essential functions at the lowest life-cycle cost consistent with performance, reliability, availability, quality, and safety requirements.

W

Waste management.

The planning, coordination, and direction of functions related to the generation, handling, treatment, storage, transportation, and disposal of waste, as well as associated surveillance and maintenance.

Work breakdown structure.

The result of project/program planning establishing the physical work packages or elements that completely define a project; the work breakdown structure organizes the physical work packages into levels that can be developed into a summary.

Suggested Citation:"Glossary." National Research Council. 1999. Improving Project Management in the Department of Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9627.
×
Page 130
Suggested Citation:"Glossary." National Research Council. 1999. Improving Project Management in the Department of Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9627.
×
Page 131
Suggested Citation:"Glossary." National Research Council. 1999. Improving Project Management in the Department of Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9627.
×
Page 132
Suggested Citation:"Glossary." National Research Council. 1999. Improving Project Management in the Department of Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9627.
×
Page 133
Suggested Citation:"Glossary." National Research Council. 1999. Improving Project Management in the Department of Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9627.
×
Page 134
Next: Acronyms »
Improving Project Management in the Department of Energy Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $65.00 Buy Ebook | $54.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

The U.S. Department of Energy has been at the center of many of the greatest achievements in science and engineering in this century. DOE spends billions of dollars funding projects—and plans to keep on spending at this rate. But, documentation shows that DOE's construction and environmental remediation projects take much longer and cost 50% more than comparable projects undertaken by other federal agencies, calling into question DOE's procedures and project management. What are the root causes for these problems?

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!