A New Goal for Our Glossary
It would be nice if everyone could agree and understand the same meaning for a given term and its context. But language is a living lexicon leading to changes by general consensus over time and, in any case, experts, authors and users are entitled to define terms in their own way to suit their particular purpose. Language serves us much better this way. Unfortunately, the inappropriate application of copyright to terminology can also lead to numerous attempts to say the same thing, but using different words to get around copyright infringement. Clearly this practice is not helpful.
So, as indicated in our introduction, we have set a new goal. That is to produce a set of separate and much more relevant Glossaries each of which are trimmed down to be more relevant, focused, and succinct. Accordingly, we have conducted a thorough review of our master collection, removed a number of definitions that we now consider obsolete, and added many new definitions. At the same time, we have undertaken the arduous task of examining each and every definition and flagging it according to its evident usage.
The result is a collection that is extensive but which reflects different "dialects" according to the type of outcome or product, the technology involved, and even the whims of the sponsoring organization associated with each individual term. The background of many of the terms in these collections can be determined by their source. However, the selection of many terms for a given grouping has been subjective based on our research of publications, or on our personal experience.
Accordingly, we decided to divide our list of definitions into two broad categories: The first is the Project Management Domain, i.e. focused on management of the project, and the second is the Area of Project Management Application, i.e. focused on the development of the product. The following table shows the glossaries chosen, together with referencing used, and a brief description of type and hierarchical level.
|
Domain |
Glossary Name |
Ref** |
Type |
Level in Group hierarchy and Comments |
|
Project
Management
|
GoVernance |
V |
Corporate Policy |
Overarching all PM activities |
|
PortFolio |
F |
PPfM Discipline |
Level 1-Incl. relevant T&T |
High |
|
ProGram |
G |
PgM Discipline |
Level 2-Ditto |
|
ProJect |
J |
SPM Discipline |
Level 3-Ditto |
|
Tools & TechNiques |
N |
PM Processes |
Level 4-All T&T only |
Low |
|
Industry/Product Sector (Area of PM Application) |
Construction |
C |
Tangible‑Craft |
Group Category 1 |
Low |
|
Healthcare (Administration) |
H |
Intangible‑Craft |
Group Category 2 |
|
Manufacturing |
M |
Tangible‑Intellect |
Group Category 3 |
|
Info Technology (& High Tech work) |
T |
Intangible‑Intellect |
Group Category 4 |
High |
|
Combo |
PM Gov + PPfM |
V + F |
Both in one |
See entries above |
|
Combo |
SPM + T&T |
J + N |
Both in one |
See above for details |
|
Single Doc |
Entire Listing |
SD |
One single vertical file, no links |
Prints to about 400 pages |
Note (See Ref** col.): The reference letters shown are primarily used to allocate terms to different Glossaries. However, they also serve to show if the term appears in related Glossaries. This latter provides an indication of the degree of universality of the term in question.
|
Background
