Business Process Glossary

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Term Definition

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Accountability Matrix A matrix which maps the project work requirements to individuals who are responsible, identifying roles, and decision-making (advisory, need to know and support); assures that each element of the project is assigned to a responsible individual. (Often referred to as a Responsibility Matrix)
Activity A name process, function, or task that occurs over time and has recognizable results. Activities combined to form business processes. A task or series of tasks performed over a period of time.
Activity Accounting The collection of financial and operation performance data about significant activities of an enterprise.
Activity Based Costing (ABC) An accounting technique that allows an enterprise to determine the actual costs associated with each product and service produced by that enterprise without regard to the organizational structure of the enterprise.
Activity Based Management (ABM) A system of management that seeks to optimize the value-added activities performed by the enterprise while at the same time minimizing or eliminating the non-value added activities, resulting in overall improvements in the effectiveness and the efficiency of the enterprise in serving its customers.
Activity measure A performance value assigned to an activity's primary output.
Activity model A graphic representation of a business process that exhibits the activities and their interdependencies that make up the business process to any desired level of detail. An activity model reveals the interactions between activities in terms of inputs and outputs while showing the controls placed on each activity and the types of resources assigned to each activity.
Activity model (AS-IS) An activity model that portrays how a business process is currently structured. It is used to establish a baseline for subsequent business process improvement actions or programs.
Activity model (TO-BE) An activity model that results from a business process redesigned action or program. The TO-BE model shows how the business process will function after the improvement action is implemented
Activity, non-value added Any activity that provides a negative return on the investment or allocation of resources to that activity. Within broad limits, the enterprise benefits by allocating less resource to non-value added activities
Activity, value added Any activity that contributes directly to the performance of a mission, and could not be eliminated without impairing the mission.
AIS Automated Information System
AMEC Army Management Engineering College
AS-IS Model A model that represents the current state of the organization modeled, without any specific improvements included. (contrast with TO-BE Model).

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Bar Chart See Gantt Chart.
Baseline The current condition that exists in a situation or representation (model) of a situation. Usually used to differentiate between a current and a future representation. Management plan and/or fixed point against which a project plan is measured.
Benchmarking A method of measuring processes against those of recognized leaders to establish priorities and targets leading to process improvement. It is undertaken by identifying strategies, customers, processes and costs to benchmark and their key characteristics; determining who to benchmark; collecting and analyzing data from direct contact, survey, interviews, technical journals, and advertisements; determining the "best of class" from each benchmark item identified; and evaluating the process in terms of improvement goals.
Best practice A way or method of accomplishing a business function or process that is considered to be superior to all other known methods.
Bill of Activity - BOA. A structured listing of the sequence of activities performed to produce a unit of a product or service. Similar in concept to a bill of materials (BOM), which is a structured list of the components of a product.
Budget - Cost The estimate of costs and expenses, including underlying rates and unit prices, and quality units of output or service used to plan the total cost of the project. Budget can be compared to actual costs and variances highlighted to alert those responsible to implement corrective action if necessary.
Budget - Labor Estimated labor cost based upon labor rates multiplied by the units of time (hours/days/weeks/months) and skills required.
Business case A structured proposal for business process improvement that functions as a decision package for enterprise leadership. A business case includes an analysis of business process needs or problems, proposed solution, assumptions and constraints, alternatives, life cycle costs, benefits/cost analysis, and investment risk analysis. Within DoD, a business case is called a Functional Economic Analysis (FEA).
Business process A collection of activities that work together to produce a defined set of products and services. All business processes in an enterprise exist to fulfill the mission of the enterprise. Business processes must be related in some way to mission objectives.
Business Process Improvement (BPI) The betterment of an organization's business practices through the analysis of activities to reduce or eliminate non-value added activities or costs, while at the same time maintaining or improving quality, productivity, timeliness, or other strategic or business purposes as evidenced by measures of performance. Also called functional process improvement.

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C3I Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence
Cadre 100 A team of approximately 100 functional managers and professionals who are taking a leading role in functional process improvement activities within DoD.
Calendar The period in specific dates used in developing a project plan. The calendar identifies project workdays, and can be altered so weekends, holidays, or weather days are not included.
CIM Corporate Information Management Initiative (ODDI)
CIM Center for Information Management (DISA/CIM)
CIM Integration Architecture A master plan for building the Defense Integrated Information (DII) technology platform. The DoD CIM Architecture supports a seven-level approach to defining information systems implementation activities. This ensures that all such efforts proceed from mission requirements, organizational objectives, and business process needs to workable systems that are compatible with the current geographic and technological infrastructure. Together, the seven levels provide a consistent platform for all systems operations.
Completed Task An activity that has been finished and has no remaining duration.
Contingencies Stated risk factors that if they occur may significantly affect the successful completion of a program initiative, project or task.
Continuous process improvement A policy that encourages, mandates, and/or empowers employees to find ways to improve process and product performance measures on an on going basis.
Controls The exercise of authority and monitoring of an activity to ensure a required outcome.
Cost center A function in a business where the cost of producing a product or service is tracked and personnel are held accountable for performance.
Costs The economic value of inputs and outputs for project activities, usually expressed in terms of cash paid. It is the cash equivalent value of project activities.
Critical Path The series of interdependent activities of a project, connected end to end, which determines the shortest total length of the project. The critical path of a project may change from time to time as activities are completed ahead of or behind schedule.
Customer The recipient of an output product or service. May be internal or external to the organization.

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Data model (Business Rule Model) A graphical representation of an organization's information and data assets expressed in terms of entities and relationships. Relationships are also called business rules because they enable or constrain business actions. Data models, like activity models, have AS-IS and TO-BE representations
Data repository A specialized database containing information about data and data relationships. Used to provide a common resource of standard data elements and models.
Database A collection of related data organized to serve one or more independent applications, stored with security, privacy, and integrity controls.
DBOF Defense Business Operations Funds
DDI Director of Defense Information
Deliverable An interim by-product of completed project work. It is measurable and observable.
DII Defense Information Infrastructure
DISA Defense Information Systems Agency
Discounted cash flow A method of performing an economic analysis that takes the time value of money into account. Used to remove interest rates and inflation factors from a calculation so that the results of analysis are comparable
DMP Data Management Plan
Driver The root cause of a condition or measurement that is felt downstream in a process as in cost driver and quality driver.
DTIC Defense Technical Information Center
Duration The calendar time estimated for a task or project. This term indicates the time of a task from its start to its completion, and is usually expressed in work units. (for example, days).

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EA Economic Analysis
Economic analysis A formal method of comparing two or more alternative ways of accomplishing a set objective, given a set of assumptions and constraints and the costs and benefits of each alternative, such that the analysis will indicate the optimum choice.
Enterprise model – DoD Enterprise Model. A high level model of the Department's mission, function, process, and information architecture used as a standard reference for constructing data and activity models and information systems.

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Fee for service A policy that determines the charge for a given product or service based on the calculated costs of producing the product or service with or without a margin (profit figure).
Finish Date The actual completion date of a task or project.
Fixed cost A cost that does not vary with the amount or degree of production. The costs that remain if an activity or process stops.
Function A specific set of skills and resources that can be used to perform one or more activities that make up a process. Usually, several functions are associated with a single process.
Functional activity A subdivision of a functional area.
Functional area One of eight process groupings with DoD. The eight functional areas are Finance, Health, Human Resources, Reserve Components, Materiel Resources, Procurement, Information Management, and Command and Control.
Functional Economic Analysis (FEA) A technique for analyzing and evaluating alternative information system investments and management practices. Within DoD, FEA is a business case. Also, a document that contains a fully justified proposed improvement project with all supporting data, i.e., Business Case or Decision Package
Functional management A philosophy of management that organizes an enterprise by type of work performed. See also process management.
Functional process A subdivision of a functional activity
Functional Process Improvement (FPI) A structured approach by all or part of an enterprise to improve the value of its products and services while reducing resource requirements. Also referred to as business process improvement (BPI), business process redesign, and business reengineering.
Functional Process Improvement Program (FPIP) A focused initiative within DoD to encourage consistent application of process improvement principles and techniques across its services and agencies. Also referred to as business process improvement program (BPIP).

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Gantt Chart/Bar Chart A graphical representation of the tasks comprising a project and the relative duration of each. Tasks are typically arranged in sequential order sorted by start date and/or precedence.
Goals The desired, measurable outcomes of program initiatives and/or a project. Project goals are intended to be measurable and observable.

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IDA Institute for Defense Analysis
IDEF Integrated Definition Language
IDEF Modeling techniques A combination of graphic and narrative symbols and rules designed to capture the processes and structure of information in an organization. IDEF0 is an activity, or behavior, modeling technique; IDEF1X is a rule, or data, modeling technique
IM Information Management
Improvement initiative A set or package of planned improvements resulting from the analysis of baseline processes, inspection of strategic and business plans, and benchmarking results that, if implemented, will result in process improvement.
Improvement opportunities Situations that can be changed to produce a more effective or more efficient process or product. Improvement opportunities may involve processes, business rules, or both. Opportunities are often packaged together as an improvement initiative.
Information technology - IT. A package of equipment and/or systems related to data and/or communications that can be used as an enabler of process reengineering
Integrated Computer Aided Software Engineering

(I CASE)

 A set of software design and development tools operating with an integrated shared repository to support the entire systems development life cycle
Investment justification A functional economic analysis indicating that it is better to do a certain action than not do it. Investments may be compared and ranked by various criteria, including return on various categories of capital, risk adjusted discounted cash flow, affordability, internal rate of return, etc.
IRMC Information Resources Management College

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Just in time A policy calling for the delivery of materials, products or services at the time they are needed in an activity or process. Used to reduce inventory, wait time, and spoilage

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Life Cycle Management LCM. A management process that governs a process or system from conception to final disposition. Also, Life Cycle Management of Information Systems, LCMIS.

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MAISRC Major Automated Information System Review Council
Manpower Planning The process of projecting the organization's manpower needs over time, in terms of both numbers and skills, and obtaining the human resources required to match the organization's needs.
Migration system An existing information system that has been officially designated to support standard processes and is intended to be the means of arriving at a target system or architecture (as in open systems architecture)
Milestones A readily identifiable point in time which marks completion of work. Milestones are used to monitor progress and costs throughout a project life cycle. It is measurable, observable and independent of time.
Model A representation of a complex, real world phenomenon such that it can answer questions about the real world phenomenon within some acceptable and predictable tolerance
Monitoring The collection, analysis and reporting of actual project work as compared to the plan.

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Non value added activity An activity performed in a process that does not add value to the output product or service, which may or may not have a valid business reason for being performed. Similarly, non-value added cost.

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Objectives The predetermined results of a project; the end toward which effort is directed. Objectives should provide direction in project decision-making and state to what end the project will be managed; objectives should be hierarchical, observable, attainable and consistent.

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Performance measure An indicator that can be used to evaluate quality, cost, or cycle time characteristics of an activity or process usually against a target or standard value.
PPBS Program, Programming, and Budgeting System
Predecessor task A term used to define the interdependence of tasks. The start date of other tasks (called successor tasks) is dependent upon the completion of this task. These tasks are called predecessor tasks because they must be completed before their successor tasks can start.
Prerequisite Any necessary condition for something following.
Present value The current value of a future series of cash flows given a discount factor or interest value. Used to evaluate the alternative investments.
Problem Report A report to document a problem and the need to find a solution; documentation that focuses on deviation of key control parameters, noted events or variances that impact the attainment of original project plan.
Process A collection of activities that together produce a usable product or service by applying resources from one or more functional areas
Process Action Team (PAT) A group of "hands-on" people assembled as part of a Total Quality Management/Total Quality Leadership (TQM/TQL) project to solve a specific operational problem.
Process management A philosophy of management that organizes an enterprise by the series of activities that combine to produce related types of goods and services for internal or external customers. See functional management.
Process model See Activity Model.
Productivity The measurement of labor efficiency when compared to an established norm or baseline. It is also used to measure equipment effectiveness and utilization.
Profitability A measure of the total income of a project compared to the total expenditures for a given period of time. The techniques that are assessed are Payback time, Return on Original Investment (ROI), Net Present Value (NPV), Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), and Risk Analysis
Program The comprehensive collection of projects and tasks designed to accomplish an objective or goal. Programs may be viewed as on-going or one-time efforts.
Project An undertaking with a defined starting point and objectives. Projects depend upon a finite period of time and resources by which the objectives are accomplished.
Project Leader/Manager The individual responsible for coordinating all resources for the attainment of project objectives.
Project Life Cycle The duration of a project from start to finish. It is comprised of sequential phases in time through which work passes. The phases may be further broken down into stages depending on the area of project application.
Project Phase The division of a project time frame (or project life cycle) into the largest logical collection of related activities.
Project Strategy The project strategy is the overall "how to" methodology through which the project team will accomplish the project goals.
Project Team The core group headed by the project manager, which is responsible for the successful outcomes of the project strategies.

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Quality The combination of attributes (including performance features and characteristics) of the product, process or service that meet or exceed the expectations and needs addressed by the project.
Quality Function Deployment (QFD) A requirements identification analysis, flow down, and tracking technique. It focuses on quality and communication to translate customer needs into product and process design specifics. Also known as the "house of quality."

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Redesign Business Process Redesign (BPR). The transformation of a business process to achieve significant levels of improvement in one or more performance measures relating to fitness for purpose, quality, cycle time, and cost by using the techniques of streamlining and removing non-value added activities and costs. Redesign projects typically take about six months to complete.
Reengineering Business Process Reengineering (BPR). The radical transformation of a business process to achieve orders of magnitude improvement in one or more performance measures relating to fitness for purpose, quality, cycle time, and cost; usually requiring the application of technology enablers. Reengineering projects typically take a minimum of two years to complete.
Resources Any factors, except time, which are required or consumed to accomplish a task or activity. Resources can be quantified and defined. This could include but is not limited to manpower, equipment, expenses and materials.
Risk The precise description of an event, problem or situation which could negatively impact the project outcome.
Risk adjusted discounted cash flow RADCF. A formal method of performing an economic analysis that takes the time value of money and investment risk into consideration.
Risk Management The appropriate identification, analysis and implementation of solutions to risks throughout the life of a project and in the best interests of its objectives.

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Scope The scope defines the work content of the project and documents what the project will include and what it will not.
Start Date The actual start date of a task or project.
Status Report A report outlining the condition of the project at a specified point in time.
Strategic Plan The document which specifies the organization, tactics and methodology to be followed throughout the project life cycle.
Sub-task/Steps The discrete activities required to complete a given task. Sub-tasks represent sub-components of a given task.
Successor task A term used to define the interdependence of required tasks which proceeds a given task. All tasks that depend on a prerequisite task are called successor tasks. A successor task cannot begin until all of its predecessors are completed.

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Target Date The planned or anticipated completion date of a task or a project.
Task The fundamental element of a project. Each task has a distinct beginning, ending and time duration. The nature of the work being performed shapes the definition of a task.
Time Management The appropriate allocation of time to conduct the project through the successive stages of its life cycle by means of time planning, time estimating, time scheduling and schedule control.
TMP Technical Management Plan
TO-BE Model Models that are the result of applying improvement opportunities to the current (AS-IS) business environment (see also AS-IS Model).
Total Quality Management/Total Quality Leadership(TQM/TQL) Both a philosophy and a set of guiding principles that represent the foundation of a continuously improving organization. TQM/TQL is the application of quantitative methods and human resources to improve the material and services supplied to an organization, all the processes within an organization, and the degree to which the needs of the customer are met, now and in the future. TQM/TQL integrates fundamental management techniques, existing improvement efforts and technical tools under a disciplined approach focused on continuous improvement.

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Unit cost The total costs in resource and material to produce one instance of a product or service.

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Value added activity An activity in a process that adds value to an output product or service, that is, the activity merits the cost of the resources it consumes in production.
Variable cost A cost element that varies directly with the amount of product or service produced by an activity or cost. Variable costs go to zero if the activity stops. See also fixed cost
Variance Analysis The difference between the budgeted and actual cost of work performed. Variance can be calculated based upon time as well as cost.

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Work Breakdown Structure A task-oriented network of activities that organizes defines and graphically displays the total work to be accomplished to achieve the final objectives of a project. Each descending level represents an increasingly detailed definition of the project objective. It is a system for subdividing a project into manageable work components or elements to provide a common framework for scope/ cost/ schedule communications, allocation of responsibility, monitoring and management.
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