- Bill of Quantities
-
  A listing of various measures, i.e. quantities, of all the work items required to complete a part or an entire construction project, including the description of each item. The listing is typically prepared by a cost professional known in the UK as a quantity surveyor and is used for applying unit prices for arriving at the total cost of the works. The quantities are typically estimates and the work items are subject to re-measurement after the work is completed. [D05904]
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RMW |
- Project costing calculation completed before using a WBS and based on a per-component or per-project cost. Used widely in the construction industry. [D05905]
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PMTWG |
- Bills of Materials
- The formal documentation of the complete set of physical elements required to build a product, which is used by the project manager or purchasing department to order any material or supplies that are required. [D00159]
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OTOB p271-4 |
- Binding Arbitration
- A decision process by a third party arbitrator in which all parties are bound by the outcome. [D05266]
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MFC |
- Blanket Purchase Agreement ("BPA")
- A simplified method of filling anticipated repetitive needs for supplies or services by establishing charge accounts with qualified sources of supply. [D03456]
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GAT |
- Blueprint
- The section of the program definition statement which sets out the vision for the program. The blueprint will include business models, operational performance measures, organization, information systems and support service requirements.
Editor's Note: The word "blueprint" comes from the color of copies that used to be made of large engineering drawings in the middle of the last century. [D04929]
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KSI |
- A model of the future business environment needed to achieve a vision. [D05906]
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BRM |
- Board
- A committee with authority and ability to make decisions or strong recommendations. [D02418]
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RMW |
- Boiler Plate
- Essential contract terminology and clauses that are not subject to frequent change.
Editor's Note: Take care not to overlook the requirements of "Boiler Plate" clauses when preparing a tender submission. That could be costly! [D04007]
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CSM |
- Bona Fide
- Genuine. Made honestly and in good faith. [D03459]
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GAT |
- Bond
- A written instrument executed by a bidder or contractor (the principal), and a second party (the surety or sureties), to assure fulfillment of the principal’s obligations to a third party (the obligee or agent identified in the bond. If the principal’s obligations are not met, the bond assures payment, to the extent stipulated, of any loss sustained by the obligee. [D03457]
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GAT |
- Bonus
- An added benefit. A sum paid to an employee over and above his/her regular pay. [D02419]
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RMW |
- Bonus Schemes
- A scheme by which the work force will receive extra pay or other rewards if certain targets or objectives are achieved. The targets are usually expressed as a certain quantity in a certain time, including completing a project by a fixed date. The scheme must be carefully thought out if it is to benefit both owner and work force. The work force must perceive that the extra reward is worth the extra effort. The approach has limited application because frequent use can become a normal expectation or even abused or hence counter productive. It does, however, have particular application near the end of a project to gain earlier completion. See also Break-Even Charts. [D03063]
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CCCP |
- Booking Rates
- Rates used to record estimated actual indirect costs to a project. The overhead booking rates are applied to direct labor, materials and other direct costs. [D04615]
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QWF |
- BOOT
- See Build, Own, Operate, Transfer
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- Bottleneck
- A process constraint that determines the capacity or capability of a system and restricts the rate, volume, or flow of a process. [D05907]
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PMTWG |
- Bottom Up
- Viewing integration, cost or time estimating from the lowest level and working up to the highest level [D05267]
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RMW |
- Bottom Up Cost Estimate
- An estimate derived by summing detailed cost estimates of individual work packages (labor and materials) and applying appropriate cost burdens. [D04008]
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CSM |
- Bottom Up Cost Estimating
- The preparation of detailed estimates for every task in the work breakdown structure and summing them up to provide a total project cost estimate or cost plan. [D00161]
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CCCP |
- The approach to making a cost estimate or plan in which detailed estimates are made for every task shown in the work breakdown structure and then summed to provide a total cost estimate or plan for the project. [D00160]
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SPM p304-9 |
- Bottom Up Estimating
- Overall estimates for the project are built up from the detailed level and aggregated to give totals for the project as a whole. The opposite of Top Down. [D03597]
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PNG |
- Boundary
- Literally a limit line. Typically used to indicate some form of constraint. [D02420]
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RMW |
- BPA
- See Blanket Purchase Agreement
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- BPR
- See Business Process Reengineering
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- Brainstorming
- The unstructured generation of ideas by a group of people. [D00162]
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WST |
- A technique to develop alternative solutions through an unrestrained exchange of ideas. [D03460]
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GAT |
- A group of people, selected for their creativity and knowledge, are brought together to seek solutions to particular problems or simply to find better ways of meeting objectives. Suggestions, however outlandish, are encouraged and pursued during a creativity session. From this, many ideas, some entirely new, are brought forward for analysis and ranking. Brainstorming is an essential part of the Value Management technique. [D03048]
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CCCP |
- The unstructured and dynamic generation of ideas by a group of people where anything and everything is acceptable (more or less!) Particularly useful in generating a list of potential project risks. [D03803]
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PNG |
- Branching Logic
- Conditional logic. Alternative paths in a probabilistic network. Breakdown Structure
[D04386]
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APM
BS |
- Breach of Contract
- Failure by either the owner or the contractor, without legal excuses to perform any work or duty to the other. [D04930]
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PDG |
- Unequivocal, distinct, and absolute refusal to perform under contract. [D05908]
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PMTWG |
- Breadboarding
- The creation of an experimental device to determine the feasibility of an idea, to develop it technically or demonstrate its usefulness, usually under laboratory conditions. [D02421]
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RMW |
- Break Even
- A situation that exists when cost and revenue are equal. Profit is zero. [D03461]
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GAT |
- Breakdown
- Identification of the smallest activities or task in a job according to a defined procedure. [D00163]
|
PMK87 |
- Breakdown Structure
- A hierarchical structure by which project elements are broken down, or decomposed. See also Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS) and Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). [D00164]
|
WST |
- Break-Even Chart
- A graphic representation of the relation between total value earned and total costs for various levels of productivity. [D00165]
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PMK87 |
- Often it is possible to draw a graph showing the relation between the increased cost of accelerating project progress and the cost benefit of reduced project overhead and earlier cash flow from product sales. When IDC is factored in near the end of a commercial project almost any cost that results in greater progress can be justified, provided that the benefit is actually realized. This is why many projects end up working heavy overtime close to completion. The charts can be used to show how the cost of better planning can be justified to produce the same result at less total cost. [D03049]
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CCCP |
- Break-Even Point
- The productivity point at which value earned equals total cost. [D00166]
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PMK87 |
- In decision-making such as "make versus buy", "lease versus buy", etc, it is the point of indifference, meaning that level which results in the same overall cost. These types of decisions typically involve assumptions about each option, such as the number of units involved. [D02280]
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DSMC |
- Bribe
- A price, reward or gift with intent to change a decision or course of action in one's favor.
Editor's Note: Normally considered a corrupt practice in the West, bribery is viewed with varying degrees of latitude in different cultures. [D02422]
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RMW |
- BRM
- See Benefits Realization Management
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- BSA
- See Balanced Scorecard Approach
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- Buck Passing
- Avoiding responsibility for a decision or action by pointing to governing regulations, policies or procedures. [D02427]
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RMW |
- Budget
- When unqualified, usually refers to an estimate of funds planned to cover a fiscal period. (See Project Budget.) Also a planned allocation of resources. [D00169]
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PMK87 |
- The amount of money allotted for a specific use. [D00167]
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NPMT |
- The planned cost for an activity or project. [D00168]
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WST |
- If unqualified, it is better to reserve the term "budget" for annual or fiscal financial allocations of the organization. This should include a capital budget for on-going and proposed construction projects. The acceptance or approval of a capital budget is not necessarily authority to proceed. An appropriation must be obtained before commitments can be made. See also feasibility budget and project budget. [D00170]
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CCCP |
- Quantification of resources needed to achieve a task by a set time, within which the task owners are required to work.
Note: A budget consists of a financial and/or quantitative statement, prepared and approved prior to a defined period, for the purpose of attaining a given objective for that period. The planned cost for an activity or project.
Editor's Note: In this context the term "Budget" should be referred to as "Project Budget". [D04387]
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APM
BS |
- A fiscal plan of operations for a given period. [D04616]
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QWF |
- An approved estimate of cost for a defined piece of work. [D06343]
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RMW |
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Definitions for page B03: 50
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