What is the critical path?

The critical path is the longest chain of dependent tasks in a project. Its total duration sets the shortest possible time the project can finish, and every task on it has zero float — any delay there delays the whole project.

What is earned value management?

Earned value (EV) is the budgeted cost of the work actually completed. Comparing it to planned value (PV) and actual cost (AC) gives the Schedule Performance Index (EV/PV) and Cost Performance Index (EV/AC), so you can see whether a project is ahead or behind on time and money.

How does PRINCE2 differ from PMBOK terminology?

PRINCE2 uses governance-focused terms like business case, stage gate, tolerance and exception report, and a product breakdown structure instead of a WBS. PMBOK leans on process and knowledge-area language. Many concepts overlap but the labels differ.

What is velocity in Agile?

Velocity is the amount of work, usually measured in story points, that a team completes in a sprint. Averaging velocity over several sprints lets the team forecast how much of the backlog it can deliver in future iterations.

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What is the Project Management Term Reference?

Searchable glossary of project management terms across PMBOK, PRINCE2 and Agile, including WBS, critical path, earned value, tolerance and velocity, with a framework filter and plain definitions. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

Project Management Term Reference

Name: Project Management Term Reference
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

One vocabulary across three frameworks

Project management spans several methods — PMBOK, PRINCE2 and Agile — that often describe similar ideas with different words. This reference defines the core terms from each so you can read a plan, a status report or a sprint board and know exactly what is meant. Search by keyword or filter by framework to find the term you need.

Framework overview: what each one emphasises

PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) is a process-based framework from PMI that organises project management into five process groups (Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, Closing) and ten knowledge areas including scope, schedule, cost, and risk. It is descriptive rather than prescriptive — it defines what good practice looks like without dictating exactly how to apply it. PMP certification is based on PMBOK.

PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is a governance-first method developed in the UK. It divides a project into managed stages with defined business-case justification at each gate. A project board makes go/no-go decisions; the project manager works within tolerance boundaries and escalates only when those boundaries would be exceeded. PRINCE2 is particularly common in UK public sector and government projects.

Agile / Scrum takes a completely different approach: rather than planning the full scope upfront, it delivers working product in short iterations (sprints, typically two weeks). Requirements are held in a prioritised backlog and refined as understanding grows. Velocity and burndown replace earned value as progress indicators. Agile is most applicable when requirements are uncertain or will change during delivery.

How it works

Project terms cluster around three jobs: defining scope, tracking progress and controlling change.

Define scope    → WBS / product breakdown structure, baseline, milestone
Track progress  → critical path, earned value (SPI = EV/PV, CPI = EV/AC), velocity, burndown
Control change  → tolerance, exception report, change request, risk register

Earned value links scope and progress numerically: an SPI below 1 means the project is behind schedule, and a CPI below 1 means it is over budget. PRINCE2 adds governance gates so a project board can stop or redirect work between stages.

Reading earned value numbers

Earned value management (EVM) gives three numbers that, together, show where a project stands:

PV (Planned Value) — the budgeted cost of the work you planned to have done by this point.
EV (Earned Value) — the budgeted cost of the work actually completed.
AC (Actual Cost) — what you actually spent on the work completed.

From those three: SPI = EV ÷ PV (a ratio below 1 means behind schedule) and CPI = EV ÷ AC (a ratio below 1 means over budget). Tracking SPI and CPI as a trend — not a single snapshot — is what makes them genuinely useful: a project trending from 0.9 to 0.85 to 0.78 needs a recovery plan faster than one holding steady at 0.92.

Tips and notes

A task on the critical path has zero float — protect those tasks first when resources are tight. PRINCE2 tolerance defines how far a stage can drift before it must escalate; set it deliberately so the board is not flooded with exception reports on minor variances. Agile velocity is a planning aid, not a productivity score — comparing teams by velocity is meaningless because story points are relative to each team’s own calibration.