project management glossary

watch list

 A tool for capturing those things that may affect project performance but are not significant enough to enter a formal risk management process. The items on the list should expire as the results of each risk become known (happened, did not happen, or are resolved).

waterfall

 A name given to a particular form of presentation of the project life cycle. Rather than being broken into distinct periods of controlled phases, all activities appear as one long hierarchical succession.

waterfall model

 A phased development approach for hardware and software that requires milestones, products, and reviews at each phase transition.

wbs dictionary

 A document that describes each element in the WBS including a Statement of Work (SOW), describing the work content of the WBS element, and a Basis of Estimate (BOE), describing how the budget of the element was developed. Additional information about each WBS element might include the responsible organization, contract number, and so on. The WBS Dictionary will often result in the project or contract statement of work (SOW).