4.5.4 Glossary (Configuration Management - Critical Path Method)

This section focuses on control mechanisms, reserves, integration, and critical scheduling concepts.

• Configuration Management: Process for managing versions of project artifacts and deliverables. Practical Context: Ensures everyone uses the correct versions; vital for complex projects.
• Conflict Resolution: Techniques for managing disagreements. Practical Context: Essential skill for maintaining team health and progress.
• Contingency Reserve: Budget/time set aside for identified risks ("known unknowns"). Practical Context: Buffer managed by the PM to handle specific, identified risks.
• Continuous Integration (CI): Practice of frequently merging and automatically testing code changes. Practical Context: Reduces integration problems and improves quality in software development.
• Contracts: Formal agreements related to procurement or other project aspects. Practical Context: Define legal obligations between parties.
• Cost of Quality (CoQ): Costs related to prevention, appraisal, and failure. Practical Context: Helps justify investments in prevention/appraisal to reduce failure costs.
• Crashing: Adding resources to shorten schedule duration (increases cost). Practical Context: Schedule compression technique used when time is critical.
• Critical Path Method (CPM): Schedule analysis technique. Practical Context: Identifies the sequence of tasks driving the project end date in predictive schedules.