Introduction | What's New in Version 5.5 | International Recognition
About the Author | Sources and References
Content Index | Order Your V5.5 Copy Here!

Stakeholder Need - to - Status

prev

next

Stakeholder Need

The business or operational problem (opportunity) that must be fulfilled in order to justify purchase or use. [D04776]

Stakeholder Request

A request of any type - for example, Change Request, enhancement request, request for a requirement change, defect - from a stakeholder. [D04777]

Stakeholder Requirements

Those products, functionality, benefits, etc. resulting from the project that stakeholders have identified as essential, necessary and/or desirable. [D04363]

Stakeholder Satisfaction

The measure of satisfaction with project results on the part of stakeholders is a measure of project success. Satisfaction is subjective, tends to vary with time and hence is difficult to measure effectively. For example, users of new software and faced with a new learning curve tend to be apprehensive with a consequent low level of satisfaction. After some time, the software is either abandoned, the ultimate in dissatisfaction, or is used extensively with varying degrees of praise. [D03298]

Stakeholders

The people who have a vested interest in the outcome of the project. [D01895]

Individuals and organizations who are involved in or may be affected by project activities. (See also Stakeholder and Project Stakeholder.) [D01893]

Specific people or groups who have a stake in the outcome of the project. Normally stakeholders are from within the company, and could include internal customers, management, employees, administrators, etc. A project may also have external stakeholders, including suppliers, investors, community groups and government organization. [D05122]

Those parties whose interests are affected by decisions about the operation of an asset in which they do not necessarily own or enjoy property rights. For example, stakeholder interests in a local factory would, as well as the owner, include the local community, workers, investors, bank, consumers etc. all of whom are liable to be affected by decisions made concerning the operation of the factory. [D05123]

Stand Alone

A system which performs its function requiring little or no assistance from interfacing systems. [D03694]

Standard

A specific statement of the rules and constraints governing the naming, contents, and operations of deliverables. The rules and constraints are designed to support specific objectives. [D01897]

A basis for the uniformity of measuring performance. Also, a document that prescribes a specific consensus solution to a repetitive design, operating, or maintenance problem. [D01896]

A term applied in work measurement to any established or accepted rule, model, or criterion against which comparisons are made. [D04658]

Mandatory requirements employed and enforced to prescribe a disciplined uniform approach to software development or acquisition. [D05212]

Standard Construction Technologies

Those materials, systems, methods, etc. that have been in use in the industry for some time and have become well established and accepted. [D03299]

Standard Cost

The normal expected cost of an operation, process, or product including labor, material, and overhead charges, computed on the basis of past performance costs, estimates, or work measurement. [D04659]

A level of cost that is predetermined based upon standards and price. Standard cost implies a norm: what costs should be; standard costs are used as the benchmark for gauging good and bad performance; and usually not changed until technology changes or labor and materials change. [D03300]

Standard Costing

Product costing using standard costs rather than actual costs. [D03301]

Standard Definitions

Adoption of a uniform set of definitions throughout a program or project organization and which may or may not be a published standard.
Editor's Note: Many attempts have been made to establish standard definitions, including this one. However, the nuances of language and the practices and usage in different industries have so far precluded such a goal. [D03302]

Standard Deviation

A measure of the dispersion of possible outcomes. Mathematically, the root mean square of variances of probability distribution.) [D02230]

Standard Operating Procedure

Detailed step-by-step instructions for repetitive operations. Examples are aircraft takeoff and landing procedures. [D04242]

Standard Procedure

Prescribes that a certain kind of work be done in the same way wherever it is performed. [D01898]

Standard Project Cost Accounting

The standards associated with a project cost accounting system. Unlike the "Generally Accepted Accounting Principles" (GAAP) of corporate accounting, no such general public standard currently exists in the world of project cost accounting. [D03303]

Standard Proposal Schedule

A pre-established network on file, [D01899]

Standard Time

A measure of the time it should take a qualified worker to perform a particular task. [D03575]

The amount of time allowed for the performance of a specific unit of work. [D04660]

Standards

Established or accepted rules, models or criteria against which comparisons are made. [D03695]

A set of recognized values serving as an example, or principle, to which members seek to conform, or are judged by; a specific level of excellence. [D04332]

Start Event of a Project

Event with succeeding, but no preceding activities.
Note: There may be more than one start event. [D04533]

Start Float

The amount of excess time an activity has between its Early Start and Late Start dates. [D01900]

Start to Finish

See Logical Relationship. [D01903]

Start to Start

See Logical Relationship. [D01901]

Start to Start Lag

The minimum amount of time that must pass between the start of one activity and the start of its successor(s). This may be expressed in terms of duration or percentage. [D01904]

Starting Activity

A starting activity has no predecessors. It does not have to wait for any other activity to start. Many PM software packages permit multiple start activities if needed. [D01902]

Startup

That period after the date of initial operation, during which the unit is brought up to acceptable production capacity and quality. Startup is the activity that is often confused (used interchangeably) with date of initial operation.
Editor's Note: This Startup refers to the startup of the project's deliverable and not the startup of the project itself. [D01905]

Startup Team Leader

The person designated responsibility for all startup procedures and the orderly acceptance and transfer of the facility/system/product to the •care, custody and controlê of the Operating Division. [D01906]

State Machine

A specification of the behavior of a model element, defining its response to events and the life cycle of the object. [D04880]

State of the Art

The level to which technology and science have been developed to date in a given industry, or group of industries. [D03696]

Statement of Work

A narrative description of the work to be performed. [D01911]

A narrative description of products or services to be supplied under contract. [D01907]

The part of the request for proposal and resulting contract which describes the actual work to be done under the contract. It includes a description of the tasks the provider shall perform and the identification and schedule of the deliverable contract end items. [D01908]

A description of product and service to be procured under contract; a statement of requirements. [D01909]

That portion of a proposal or the resulting contract that states exactly what will be delivered and when.
Editor's Note: This definition is more properly a "Scope Description". [D01910]

A document that defines service contract requirements in clear, concise language identifying specific work to be accomplished. [D03576]

A document stating the requirements for a given project task.
Editor's Note: This definition presumes that the "Requirements" are expressed in terms of the work involved rather than the deliverables. [D04534]

Statement of Work ("SOW")

A description of all the work required to complete a project, which is provided by the customer. [D05213]

Static Artifact

An artifact that is used, but not changed, by a process. [D04881]

Statistical Project Stock Control

Where significant stocks are held to meet demands, or intermittent peak demands, this technique seeks to minimize total cost, while considering a variety factors. These factors include the cost of placing an order;, discounts available on bulk order and delivery; cost of holding stock including capital tied up; deterioration, higher usage and wastage if freely available; over ordering; obsolescence; cost of warehousing; demand variability; and lost productivity when out of stock. The technique has limited application unless the project is large with few work packages or many similar projects are supplied from a central store. Beware of solutions provided by computer programs that may not recognize specific project conditions. See also Computer Modeling. [D03092]

Statistical Quality Control

Various statistical methods and relationships are available for determining performance quality and the adjustment necessary to achieve specified results. Used particularly in the sampling of high volume materials such as steel and concrete strengths, earthwork compaction and so on. Indirectly, tests and helps to maintain quality of workmanship as in weld testing. The aim is to balance the cost of inspection against the penalty of allowing faulty materials and workmanship to escape detection. It is particularly useful for concrete control on large heavy engineering projects such as hydro electric schemes. [D03091]

Statistics

The mathematical methods used to determine the best range of probable values for a project and to assess the degree of accuracy or allowance for unpredictable future events such as accidents, technological innovations, strikes, etc. that can occur during the project life. The techniques that can be used are risk analysis with Monte Carlo simulation, confidence levels, range analysis, etc. [D01912]

Status

The comparison of actual progress against the plan to determine variance and corrective action. [D04243]

The condition of the project at a specified point in time, [D01913]