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Project Management Terms and Concepts
Project Management Terms and Concepts– PMP/CAPM
This is not just a glossary — it’s your complete toolkit! 
It includes everything you need to pass the PMP exam on your first attempt. Understand key concepts, decode tricky terms, and speak the language of real project leaders.
Each term is explained in simple, clear words — no jargon, no confusion.
Starting your PMP journey or just stepping into project management? Start here! 
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- The Standard of Project Management and PMBOK 7
- 8 Project Performance Domains by PMI: The Standard for Project Management – PMBOK 7
- 12 Project Management Principles by PMI: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge – PMBOK 7
- System of Value Delivery
- Leadership, Leadership Styles and Factors that influence Leadership Styles
- OSCAR coaching and mentoring model
- What are Models, Artifacts, and Methods
- Important Deliverables
- Strategic Plan
- Organizational Structures
- KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and OKRs (Objectives and Key Results)
- Project Management Office (PMO)
- Organization Project Management (OPM)
- A Project Benefits Management Plan (PBMP)
- Business Case (Video Explanation)
- EEF vs OPA
- MBO (MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES)
- Tailoring
- What is Business Value
- Cost Benefit Analysis
- ADKAR – A Change Management Framework
- Negotiation; A job well done
- Project Compliance
- Payback Period, Sunk Cost and Opportunity Cost
- Present Value (PV) vs Net Present Value (NPV): Formulas, Examples, and Calculations
- Agile Terminologies
- Agile and Waterfall methodologies
- Predictive, Adaptive and Hybrid Approaches
- Agile Adaptive Planning
- Relative Estimation
- Timeboxed Adaptive Development and Continuous Flow Approach
- Epic, Theme, User Stories, Tasks and Features
- Backlog, Product Backlog and Sprint Backlog
- How to get your Product Vision correctly defined
- Value-driven Product development/Product Value
- Agile Project Charter?
- Product Roadmap
- Release and Release Planning
- Agile Project Management
- Definition of Done (DoD) and Definition of Ready (DoR)
- T Shaped and I Shaped Skills
- Impediments, Obstacles, and Blockers
- MVP and MBI
- The Product Box; An Agile Planning
- The XP metaphor
- SPRINT H – HARDENING SPRINT
- Agile Center of Excellence (ACoE) and A Value Delivery Office (VDO)
- Information Radiators
- Storyboarding
- KANO Model
- Story Map, User Story Mapping
- MoSCoW Analysis
- Burn Rate
- Calculate Velocity of the Sprints
- User Stories
- How 49 processes are organized into Process groups and Knowledge areas
- Project Management Process Groups (Video Explanation)
- Initiation Process Group (Video Explanation)
- Planning Process Group(Video Explanation)
- Execution Process Group(Video Explanation)
- Monitoring & Controlling Process Group (Video Explanation)
- Closing Process Group(Video Explanation)
PMP Exam Preparation Checklist
1
Understand the Exam Structure
- Domains: People (42%), Process (50%), Business (8%)
- Question types: Multiple choice, multiple response, matching, hotspot, fill-in-the-blank
2
Check Eligibility
- 35 contact hours of project management education
- Experience: 36 months (with bachelor’s) or 60 months (with diploma)
3
Study Materials
- PMBOK® Guide (latest edition)
- Agile Practice Guide
- Process Groups Practice Guide
- Exam Content Outline (ECO)
- Good PMP prep book (e.g., Rita Mulcahy’s)
4
Choose Study Approach
- Get trained by certified training provider
- Join a study group or online community
- Create a 6–12 week study plan
5
Focus Areas
- Agile and Hybrid concepts
- Predictive project management
- Leadership, communication, stakeholder engagement
- Risk, quality, procurement, schedule, scope, cost
6
Practice & Review
- Take 4–5 full-length mock exams
- Analyze weak areas
- Use flashcards and summary notes
7
Application & Exam
- Create PMI.org account and apply
- Submit application and get approval
- Schedule the exam (center or online)
- Take a rest day before the exam
- Project Management Knowledge Areas
- Project Integration Management Knowledge Area
- Project Scope Management Knowledge Area
- Project Schedule Management Knowledge Area
- Project Cost Management Knowledge Area
- Project Quality Management Knowledge Area
- Project Resource Management Knowledge Area
- Project Communications Management Knowledge Area
- Project Risk Management Knowledge Area
- Project Procurement Management Knowledge Area
- Project Stakeholder Management Knowledge Area
- Project Planning
- Project Team
- Project, Program and Portfolio
- Project Schedule Management
- WBS vs Activity
- Lead vs Lag
- Crashing vs Fast Tracking
- Control Account, Work Package, Planning Package
- Effort vs Duration vs Schedule
- Critical Path Method vs Critical Chain Method
- Critical Path Method
- Resource Leveling and Resource Smoothing
- Master Schedule vs Milestone Schedule
- Free Float vs Project Float vs Total Float
- Dangling Activities
- Hammock Activity
- S-Curve
- PRECEDENCE DIAGRAMMING METHOD (PDM)
- Project Scope and Requirement Management
- Requirements – Mudassir Iqbal
- Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
- Product Requirements and Project Requirements
- Scope Creep vs Gold Plating
- Requirement vs Scope
- Product Scope vs Project Scope
- Verified Deliverables vs Accepted Deliverables (Also Video Clarification)
- Discrete Effort vs Apportioned Effort vs Level of Effort
- Change Request
- Contract Closure and Administrative Closure
- Change Management and Configuration management
- Organization Governance and Project Governance
- Context Diagram
- Value Engineering aka Value Analysis
- Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM)
- Project Risk Management
- Risk Mitigation Strategies
- Event-Based Risk Vs Non Event Risks
- Risk Register vs Risk Report
- issue and Risk
- Negative Risks (threat) and Positive Risks (Opportunity)
- Known Risk and Unknown Risks
- Passive Acceptance of Risk and Active Acceptance of Risk
- Contingency Reserves and Management Reserves
- Mitigation plan, Fallback Plan, Contingency Plan and Workaround
- Risk Attitude, Risk Appetite, Risk Tolerance and Risk Threshold
- Residual Risk vs Secondary Risk
- Qualitative Risk Analysis
- PROBABILITY AND IMPACT MATRIX
- Quantitative Risk Analysis (Sensitivity Analysis, Monte Carlo Simulation, Decision Tree (EMV))
- PESTLE, TECOP and VUCA (Prompt List)
- Project Quality Management
- Validate Scope and Control Quality
- Quality Assurance and Control Quality
- PDCA/PDSA : Plan-Do-Check-Act/Plan-Do-Study-Act
- Quality vs Grade
- Accuracy vs Precision
- Inspection and Audit
- The histogram, the 80/20 rule, and the Pareto chart
- Corrective action, Preventive action and Defect repairs.
- Sampling – Project Management Seminars (PMP)
- Quality Theories
- Project Cost Management
- Project Stakeholder Management
- Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) / RACI Matrix
- Stakeholders with Stakeholder Analysis, Stakeholder Cube, Salience Model, Power/Interest Grids
- Stakeholders Engagement Assessment Matrix
- Quality tools
- Project Estimation Techniques
- Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
- Project Procurement Management
- General