Glossary

ActiveCollab Glossary

Every important term explained.

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1-3-5 Rule

Productivity method that prioritizes 1 big task, 3 medium tasks, and 5 small tasks daily to improve focus and efficiency.

a

ABCDE Method

Task prioritization system that ranks activities from highest to lowest importance to focus effort where it delivers the most value.

Asynchronous Communication

Information exchange with a time delay between sending and receiving, allowing responses on each participant’s schedule.

Agile Marketing

Flexible, data-driven approach that applies agile principles to help teams adapt quickly, work iteratively, and deliver faster results.

Agile Project Management

Iterative, flexible approach that delivers work in short cycles, emphasizing collaboration, adaptability, and continuous improvement.

Adizes Corporate Lifecycle

Model outlining the stages of organizational growth and decline, helping leaders sustain balance and long-term success.

Adaptive Project Management

Iterative, client-driven approach that thrives on change, learning, and flexibility—continuously adjusting project scope and methods to maximize business value.

b

Backlog Refinement

Ongoing process of reviewing, clarifying, and prioritizing product backlog items to keep teams focused and sprints efficient.

Bus Factor

Metric of how many people are critical to a project’s success, revealing risks when knowledge is concentrated in too few individuals.

Burnout

State of chronic exhaustion and reduced motivation caused by prolonged stress or overwork, harming both well-being and performance.

Budget Overrun

When a project’s actual costs exceed the planned budget.

Burndown Chart

Visual project management tool that tracks remaining work against time to show progress and forecast completion.

Burnup Chart

Visual tool that shows completed work versus total scope, making progress and scope changes easy to track over time.

Billable Hours

Hours spent on client-related tasks that can be charged and invoiced.

Billability

Measures the portion of working time that can be billed to clients, helping organizations track efficiency, profitability, and resource allocation.

c

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Cost-benefit analysis is the process of weighing a project's costs against its expected benefits to evaluate its overall value and viability.

Cross-Functional Teams

Group of professionals from different departments who collaborate to achieve a shared project goal.

Collaboration

Process of actively working together, sharing ideas and resources to achieve a common goal more effectively.

Client Onboarding

Structured process of integrating new clients, setting expectations, and building trust to ensure long-term agency success.

Clique

Exclusive, close-knit group that often excludes others, which in the workplace can harm inclusivity and team morale.

Culture Fit

Alignment between an employee’s values and a company’s culture, ensuring they contribute positively while supporting diversity and growth.

Contingency Plan

Backup strategy that defines how to respond to unexpected risks or events in order to keep the project on track.

Capacity Planning

Process of evaluating whether your team has the time, skills, and resources to deliver current and future projects without overloading them.

d

Dependencies

Task-to-task relationships that determine the order and timing of project activities.

e

Eisenhower Matrix

Method for prioritizing tasks by urgency and importance to focus on what matters most and reduce time spent on low-value work.

Employee Engagement

Level of commitment, motivation, and connection employees feel toward their work, colleagues, and organization.

Eat The Frog Method

Productivity technique that prioritizes tackling your hardest, most important task first to prevent procrastination and boost motivation.

ERP Systems

Software that integrate and automate core business processes across departments, enabling seamless data sharing and efficiency.

E-invoicing

Digital exchange of structured invoices that automate processing, reduce costs, and improve tax compliance and transparency.

Extreme Project Management

Flexible, improvisational approach for high-change, high-uncertainty projects, focusing on experimentation, learning, and adapting rather than rigid planning.

Employee Utilization Rate

Shows the percentage of an employee’s available time that is used productively, helping organizations balance efficiency, capacity, and workload.

f

Feasibility Study

A feasibility study is a detailed analysis that evaluates a project’s viability, risks, and benefits to determine if it’s worth pursuing.

Fast Tracking

Practice of overlapping project tasks that are normally sequential in order to shorten the overall timeline without changing scope.

Float

Amount of time a task can be delayed without affecting the project’s overall schedule or dependent tasks.

g

Gantt Chart

Visual project timeline that maps tasks, durations, and dependencies to keep schedules on track.

h

Histogram

Bar chart that visualizes the distribution of project data—like tasks, costs, or resources—helping managers spot patterns and imbalances.

i

Interdepartmental Communication

Flow of information and resources between departments to align goals, improve efficiency, and foster collaboration.

Iterative Process

Cyclical approach to development that refines a product through repeated feedback and improvements.

j

Jacobs Method

Scheduling technique that combines task dependencies with resource availability to create more realistic project timelines.

k

Kanban

Visual workflow method that uses boards and work-in-progress limits to make work transparent, reduce bottlenecks, and improve flow.

l

Lean Principles

Methods for reducing waste and improving efficiency to deliver more value with fewer resources.

m

MoSCoW Method

Prioritization system that ranks tasks or requirements as must have, should have, could have, or won’t have to guide efficient decision-making.

n

Nominal Group Technique

Structured decision-making method that ensures equal participation, gathers diverse ideas, and prioritizes them through group consensus.

o

Organizational Culture

The set of shared values and behaviors that define how work gets done and how people interact within a company.

p

Push Communication

Proactive delivery of information from sender to recipient, typically aimed at a broad audience to ensure key messages are received without requiring a request.

Pull Communication

A recipient-initiated method of accessing information that has been made available but not directly delivered.

Project Requirements

Specific features, goals, and conditions a project must fulfill to be considered complete and successful.

Project Roadmap

A high-level visual plan that outlines a project’s major phases, milestones, and goals over time.

Problem Framing

Process of defining a challenge from both business and customer perspectives to identify its core causes and guide effective solutions.

Project Baseline

Benchmark document used to track a project’s progress against its original scope, schedule, and budget.

Project Initiation Phase

Stage where a project’s purpose, value, and feasibility are defined to gain stakeholder approval and funding.

Project Kickoff Meeting

Initial gathering where the team and stakeholders align on a project’s purpose, scope, and goals before work begins.

Project Schedule

A detailed, chronological plan of tasks, resources, and deadlines that guides teams to deliver projects on time and within scope.

Project Closure

Final project phase that wraps up deliverables, documents outcomes, and captures lessons learned to ensure finality and future improvements.

Project Planning

Structured process of defining goals, scope, timelines, resources, and strategy to guide a project from start to finish.

Project Lifecycle

Five-phase framework that guides a project from initiation to closure, ensuring structure, alignment, and successful delivery.

Project Management

Structured discipline of planning, executing, and controlling projects to deliver results on time, within scope, and on budget.

Project Management Software

Digital tool that helps teams plan, track, and manage projects for better collaboration and efficiency.

Pareto Principle

Idea that 80% of results come from 20% of effort, guiding smarter prioritization and resource use.

Project Delays

Schedule setbacks that push tasks or milestones beyond planned timelines, often increasing costs and risking project success.

Project Budget

Detailed financial plan that estimates, tracks, and controls all costs needed to complete a project successfully.

Product Backlog

Prioritized list of features, fixes, and tasks that guides development and evolves with customer and business needs.

Pomodoro Technique

Time management method using 25-minute focus sessions with short breaks to boost productivity and reduce fatigue.

Pickle Jar Theory

Time management method that prioritizes important tasks first, using a jar metaphor to illustrate how to fit work into a limited day.

Project Execution

Phase where project plans are implemented, tasks are delivered, and risks managed to ensure successful outcomes.

Planning Poker

Collaborative Agile estimation technique where teams use cards to assess task complexity and reach consensus on workload.

Project Monitoring

Ongoing process of tracking progress against plans to identify issues and keep projects on time, within scope, and on budget.

Project Control

Process of applying corrective actions and risk strategies during execution to keep projects aligned with goals and prevent failures.

Project Manager

Person who plans, coordinates, and oversees projects to ensure they are delivered on time, within scope, and on budget.

Premortem Analysis

Planning exercise where teams assume a project has failed and identify possible causes to prevent problems before they happen.

Postmortem Meeting

Review held after a project to analyze successes, challenges, and lessons learned, ensuring continuous improvement in future projects.

Project Management Artifacts

Formal documents that define and guide a project’s execution, ensuring alignment, structure, and accountability throughout its lifecycle.

Project Goals

Clear outcomes a project aims to achieve, providing direction, focus, and measurable targets for success.

Project Objectives

Clear, measurable steps that break down goals into actionable outcomes, so projects stay aligned, efficient and on track.

Project Crashing

Process of speeding up a project’s timeline by adding resources to critical tasks, reducing duration at the expense of higher costs.

Proof of Concept

Test run that demonstrates whether an idea or solution is viable before full-scale execution.

q

Quantitative Risk Analysis

Data-driven process that uses statistical models to measure the potential impact of risks on project cost, schedule, and performance.

r

Remote Work

Flexible arrangement where employees perform tasks outside the office, relying on digital tools for communication and collaboration.

Rational Unified Process (RUP)

Iterative, UML-driven software development framework that emphasizes modeling, collaboration, and adaptability for teams of any size.

Resource Leveling

Process of adjusting project schedules to match available resources, ensuring no one is overworked or underused.

Resource Smoothing

Technique that balances workloads by shifting non-critical tasks within their float, keeping deadlines intact while reducing peaks in resource demand.

Resource Calendar

Scheduling tool that tracks the availability of people and equipment, helping project managers allocate resources effectively and avoid conflicts.

Requirements Traceability Matrix

Document that links project requirements to test cases and deliverables, ensuring every requirement is implemented and verified.

Risk Register

Document that records and tracks potential project risks, their likelihood, impact, and planned responses to ensure proactive risk management.

s

Slack Time

Allowable delay in a task that won’t impact project deadlines or dependent tasks.

Synchronous Communication

Real-time interaction between people, enabling immediate information exchange and faster decision-making.

Strategic Project Management

Aligns projects with business strategy, ensuring they drive efficiency, competitiveness, and long-term organizational success.

Schedule Variance

Measures the difference between earned value and planned value to show if a project is ahead, behind, or on schedule.

Statement of Work

Detailed project document that outlines deliverables, costs, timelines, and responsibilities to align clients and vendors.

S-Curve

Project management graph that plots cumulative progress over time, showing how work typically starts slowly, accelerates in the middle, and tapers off toward completion.

Scrum Meeting

Daily 15-minute team check-in where members share progress, plans, and obstacles to stay aligned and keep projects moving efficiently.

Stakeholder Mapping

Process of identifying and visually categorizing stakeholders based on their interest and influence to guide effective engagement and communication.

t

Time Management

Process of organizing and prioritizing tasks to use time efficiently and achieve desired outcomes.

Time Blocking

Practice of scheduling fixed time slots for specific tasks to improve focus, productivity, and organization.

Teamwork

Collaborative effort toward a shared goal, built on mutual support, communication, and complementary skills to achieve greater results together.

Team Dynamics

Patterns of interaction, communication, and collaboration that shape how effectively a team works toward shared goals.

Team Player

Someone who collaborates, communicates, and contributes reliably to help their team achieve shared goals.

Team Values

Shared principles that guide behavior, foster unity, and create a positive, productive work environment.

Team Cohesion

Ability of a team to work together toward common goals while maintaining trust, solidarity, and strong interpersonal bonds.

Time Tracking

Process of recording and analyzing how time is spent on tasks or projects to improve productivity, accountability, and cost management.

Time Tracking Software

Digital tool that records and analyzes work hours to improve productivity, billing accuracy, and project management.

Task Batching

Productivity method that groups similar tasks together to reduce context switching, boost focus, and save time.

Timeboxing

Time management method that sets fixed calendar blocks to complete tasks, improving focus, productivity, and deadline control.

Task Conflicts

Work-related disagreement over how tasks should be done, which can spark better decisions and ideas if managed constructively.

Team Collaboration

Process of working together through shared skills and open communication to achieve common goals more effectively.

Team Collaboration Software

Digital tool that centralizes communication, file sharing, and task management to help teams work together efficiently.

Team Conflicts

Disagreements within a group that, if managed well, can drive better decisions but, if ignored, can harm performance and morale.

Toxic Coworker

Employee whose ongoing negative behavior harms morale, trust, and productivity, disrupting team and company culture.

Traditional Project Management

Structured, sequential approach to projects, designed to deliver results on time, within budget, and in line with predefined specifications.

Team Building

Practice of fostering trust, communication, and collaboration so a group can work together more effectively toward shared goals.

u

Upstream Dependency

Prerequisite task that must be completed before another project task can start or progress.

v

Value Stream Management

Process of mapping and improving how value flows from idea to customer, ensuring efficiency and alignment with business goals.

w

Workload Management

Strategic allocation of tasks to ensure team members are neither overworked nor underutilized, promoting efficiency, well-being, and consistent results.

Workflow Process

Defined series of steps used to complete a task or deliverable in an organized and efficient way.

Workflow Automation

Use of software to streamline repetitive tasks, saving time and boosting efficiency with minimal human input.

Work Breakdown Structure

Project management tool that organizes a project into smaller deliverables and tasks within a clear hierarchy to improve planning, scheduling, and tracking.

x

X-Bar Chart

Control chart that tracks process averages over time to monitor consistency and detect variations.

y

Yardstick Competition

Practice of benchmarking performance against peers to promote accountability, efficiency, and improvement.

z

Zero-Based Budgeting

Method where every expense must be justified from scratch each period, ensuring resources align with business priorities.