Project management terms: 44 key definitions for teams

Whether you're just getting introduced to all things project management or you're looking for a refresher on key terms, we've compiled a list of common project management terms that you may encounter when managing a project.

As you gain familiarity with these terms, you'll see that sharing a common language with your team members can help your project progress more smoothly. Your team will be more organized, have a stronger sense of what needs to be done, and have a clearer roadmap of how to achieve your goals.

What are project management terms?

Project management terms are the standardized vocabulary used to plan, execute, and complete projects. These terms create a shared language that helps teams communicate clearly and stay aligned on goals, timelines, and responsibilities.

This guide covers foundational concepts, planning processes, methodologies like Agile and Scrum, and common acronyms you'll encounter in project management.

Basic project management terms

Project management can cover a wide array of topics, but here are a few terms that are common to project management regardless of what industry you're in:

1. Project management software

Project management software is a tool designed to help teams plan, track, and manage projects. While not required, dedicated software like Asana offers advantages over general tools like spreadsheets:

• Save time: Automate repetitive tasks and reduce busywork

• Organize assets: Keep all project documents and resources in one place

• Track milestones: Monitor progress and stay on schedule

2. Project manager

A project manager is the person responsible for guiding a project from ideation to completion. They oversee every step of the process, manage key workflows, and ensure the project stays on track. While some teams have dedicated project managers, others assign this responsibility to someone with a different title.

3. Stakeholders

Project stakeholders are the people who are directly impacted by the project you are working on. This could mean the team directly working on it, tertiary teams who need to learn a new process, or the company CEO to ensure that the business continues to run smoothly.

4. Deliverables

Deliverables are the product or products of what you expect to have at the end of your project. Deliverables can be a wide range of assets, both internally facing for your team members and externally facing for customers. Some examples of deliverables include an entirely new product, a sales deck, an increase in traffic, or a feature update.

5. Project timeline

A project timeline is a project management tool that helps you visualize how pieces of your plan all fit together. A project timeline can help you list out specific dependencies during the project planning process.

6. Dependencies

Dependencies are tasks that rely on the completion of other tasks before they can be performed. For example, a sales deck presentation cannot move forward until it receives legal approval. That means the presentation task is dependent on the legal team's review.

7. Gantt chart

A Gantt chart is a type of visual project management that displays a project in the form of a timeline. It's an easy way to track a project lifecycle and estimate end dates for certain project activities.

Gantt charts enable project managers to easily see what work needs to be done, who is doing it, and when. Tasks are represented by horizontal bars showing how long each initiative should take.

8. Resource management

Resource management is the process of planning and scheduling the resources you need to use for any one given project. This is different from resource allocation because you are actively planning where and when to use the set resources that you have budgeted for a project.

9. Baseline

A baseline is the approved starting point for your project's scope, schedule, and budget. It serves as a reference point for measuring actual performance and understanding the impact of any changes that occur.

10. Bottleneck

A bottleneck is any point in a project where work slows down due to limited capacity or resources. Common causes include:

• Too many tasks are depending on a single person

• Processes are taking longer than expected

• Insufficient resources or budget

Identifying bottlenecks early helps keep projects on schedule.

11. Change control

Change control is a systematic process for managing requests to modify a project's scope, schedule, or budget. Rather than allowing changes without oversight, change control ensures each proposed change is evaluated for impact before approval. This helps prevent scope creep and keeps projects aligned with their original objectives.

12. Acceptance criteria

Acceptance criteria are the specific conditions that a deliverable must meet before it can be approved by stakeholders. These criteria are typically defined at the beginning of a project and serve as a checklist to verify that the work meets expectations. Clear acceptance criteria help teams understand exactly what success looks like.

Project management planning terms

You'll run into a variety of terms during the project planning process. Here are the most important ones to know:

13. Project budget

A project budget is the set amount of resources you're able to use for a specific project. A project budget can be set in hours, like in the agency world, or in dollar amounts.

14. Project plan

A project plan is a detailed roadmap of everything your team needs to accomplish to reach your goals. It serves as the single source of truth, providing direction to every team member and maintaining accountability throughout the project.

15. Project objectives

A project objective is the goal you set to achieve by the end of a specific project. This is the main reason why a project is happening. A project objective could be a tangible finished asset, such as a new product, or a specific goal you want to achieve, such as increasing your social media followers by 300%.

16. Key performance indicators (KPI)

A key performance indicator (KPI) is a metric that measures your team's progress toward a specific goal. For example, an email marketer aiming to increase engagement might track average open rate as their KPI.

17. Project scope

A project scope clearly identifies the goals, deadlines, and deliverables that a project is set to complete within a specific period. Setting a project scope ahead of time, often documented in a scope management plan, can help team members individually manage their time. Stakeholders will also know when to expect changes as the project progresses.

18. Scope creep

Scope creep occurs when a project's tasks and deliverables expand beyond the original scope. While not inherently bad, unmanaged scope creep can significantly delay project completion.

19. Business case

A business case is a document that highlights the benefits your company will gain by pursuing a specific business initiative. For example, you could create a business case for adding headcount to your team or for choosing new work management software.

20. Project charter

A project charter is a document that highlights your project's key objectives, scope, and main responsibilities. Project charters provide stakeholders with a high-level overview of the work before they approve the project. They're often used to persuade key stakeholders to move forward.

21. Kick-off meeting

A kick-off meeting is an opportunity for you to gather with all stakeholders for a specific project to ensure everyone is aligned on the project plan. It enables team members to ask questions and ensures that everyone with a stake in the project has an opportunity to voice their opinions.

22. Resource allocation

Resource allocation is the process of identifying and assigning available resources to a project. Resources include:

• Time: Hours or days available for project work

• Budget: Funds allocated for the project

• Team members: People assigned to complete tasks

• Equipment: Physical tools or hardware needed

• Software: Digital tools required for execution

23. Contingency plan

A contingency plan is a pre-set backup strategy in case your original plan encounters obstacles. These "Plan B" strategies are especially valuable for complex projects where unexpected issues are more likely to arise.

Project management methodology terms

Different projects call for different approaches. The most common project management methodologies include:

24. Agile

The Agile methodology is an iterative approach to project management that breaks work into smaller increments. This allows teams to adapt quickly when priorities shift, keeping the focus on what's best for the end user. Agile is especially popular with software development teams.

25. Waterfall model

Waterfall project management is a linear approach in which each step depends on the previous one. The waterfall model often involves extensive planning before execution begins to ensure that all dependencies are accounted for. The waterfall model is often visualized in a Gantt chart.

26. Kanban

Kanban is a visual project management method that uses boards to track work. Tasks appear as "cards" that move through columns representing different stages:

Cards are "pulled" from a backlog as they progress through each stage.

27. Scrum

Scrum is a framework within Agile where teams work in short cycles called sprints. A Scrum master guides the team through four key stages:

• Planning: Define what work will be completed in the sprint

• Execution: Complete the planned work

• Review: Demonstrate completed work to stakeholders

• Retrospective: Reflect on what worked and what to improve

28. Backlog

A backlog is a prioritized list of tasks, features, or work items that need to be completed. In Agile and Scrum methodologies, the backlog serves as the single source of work for the team. Items are ranked by priority, and the team pulls from the top during each sprint.

29. Iterative process

An iterative process in project management is one that changes continually as the project progresses. Often organized by specific time periods or sprints, iterative processes include periods of reflection to review what has been done and identify what can be changed for the next iteration.

30. Portfolio management (PPM)

Project portfolio management (PPM) is the process of managing multiple projects in a centralized view. This gives you visibility into how your team's daily work connects to broader business goals.

31. Earned value management

Earned value management is a way for project managers to track the work completed against the scheduled project plan. You can calculate earned value by multiplying the project's percent complete by the project's total cost. This process can help you track your project's budget and timeline.

32. Projects in controlled environments (PRINCE2)

PRINCE2 is a process-based project management methodology that focuses on the structure of the project management team and the business justification of the project.

There are seven main steps to the PRINCE2 process:

1. Start up the project

2. Initiate the project

3. Direct the project

4. Control stages

5. Manage product delivery

6. Manage stage boundary

7. Close the project

Common project management acronyms to know

As you dive into project management, you'll encounter a range of acronyms, including:

33. Project management professional (PMP)

A project management professional (PMP) is anyone who works in project management. You don't necessarily need to have the title of project manager to be considered a project management professional.

34. Project Management Institute (PMI)

The Project Management Institute is a professional organization dedicated solely to project management. The Project Management Institute offers certifications and classes to those interested in pursuing a career in project management.

35. Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®)

The Project Management Body of Knowledge is a set of standard terminology and guidelines set by the Project Management Institute. The PMBOK Guide® covers project management methodologies such as the critical path method (CPM) and work breakdown structure (WBS).

36. Certified associate in project management (CAPM)

The CAPM title is a certification offered by the Project Management Institute. It is an entry-level certification designed for those with less work experience.

37. Statement of work (SOW)

A statement of work is a formal document that describes specific project requirements. It clearly outlines the project activities, deliverables, and schedule. This is often used when an agency or contractor is providing work for a client.

38. Business process management (BPM)

Business process management (BPM) is the practice of using various methods to improve, optimize, and automate business processes. This term covers a wide range of strategies, but it's most commonly used to streamline or automate workflows.

39. Critical path method (CPM)

The critical path method (CPM) is a modeling tool that maps out all project tasks, their estimated durations, and dependencies. By identifying the longest sequence of dependent tasks, CPM helps you determine the minimum time needed to complete a project.

40. Program evaluation review technique (PERT)

The program evaluation review technique is used to identify and quantify the time required to complete a specific task or activity. A PERT chart is a flowchart that represents the steps to be completed in sequence, along with their time requirements. When a PERT chart is not available, a Gantt chart is used.

41. Work breakdown structure (WBS)

A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a condensed project plan organized in a visual hierarchy. It contains key elements of a project plan, such as objectives, deliverables, timelines, and key stakeholders. Project managers use work breakdown structures to visualize projects and dependency-related deliverables.

42. SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis is a decision-making tool that can help you identify key facets of your project. SWOT is an acronym that stands for:

• Strengths

• Weaknesses

• Opportunities

• Threats

43. RACI

A RACI chart is used to identify your team's roles and responsibilities for any task, milestone, or project deliverable. RACI charts are also commonly known as a responsibility matrix. RACI stands for:

• Responsible

• Accountable

• Consulted

• Informed

44. SMART goals

A SMART goal is an acronym used to help establish clear, attainable goals. SMART stands for:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Realistic

• Time-bound

Build your project management skills

Want to brush up on your project management skills? From project tracking to risk management, learn more about project management from Asana's project management resource library.

Ready to put these terms into practice? Get started with Asana to organize your projects, track progress, and keep your team aligned on what matters most.

Frequently asked questions about project management terms