Project Management Acronyms for the PMP Exam
The PMBOK® Guide, 6th Edition contains nearly 100 acronyms. It even has a separate section for Acronyms in the Glossary. But this section provides a list of only about 50 acronyms used in the Guide. Apart from these acronyms, there are many standard Project Management acronyms that all PMP aspirants should know. On top of this, a lot of jargon has been developed around the PMP Exam like ITTO and LL. I’ve compiled a list of about 125 acronyms collected from various sources, such as the PMBOK® Guide, 6th Edition, PMP Exam Prep books and resources, and online forums.
Acronyms from PMBOK® Guide, 6th Edition
| Acronym | Full form | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| AC | Actual Cost | |
| ACWP | Actual Cost of Work Performed | Old term for AC |
| ADM | Arrow Diagramming Method | Rarely used now |
| ADR | Alternative Dispute Resolution | |
| AE | Apportioned Effort | |
| AOA | Activity-on-Arrow | Rarely used now |
| AON | Activity-on-Node | |
| ARMA | Autoregressive Moving Average | |
| BAC | Budget at Completion | |
| BARF | Bought-into, Approved, Realistic, Formal | from Rita Mulcahy's PMP Exam Prep |
| BCR | Benefit Cost Ratio | |
| BCWP | Budgeted Cost of Work Performed | Old term for EV |
| BCWS | Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled | Old term for PV |
| CA | Control Account | |
| CBR | Cost Benefit Ratio | |
| CBT | Computer-Based Test | |
| CCB | Change Control Board | |
| CCS | Change Control System | Non-standard |
| CH | Contact Hours | Non-standard |
| CMMI® | Capability Maturity Model Integrated | |
| COC | Cost of Conformance | |
| CONC | Cost of Non-Conformance | |
| COQ | Cost of Quality | |
| CPAF | Cost Plus Award Fee | |
| CPF | Cost Plus Fee | |
| CPFF | Cost Plus Fixed Fee | |
| CPI | Cost Performance Index | |
| CPIF | Cost Plus Incentive Fee | |
| CPM | Critical Path Methodology | |
| CR | Change Request | |
| CV | Cost Variance | |
| DFD | Data Flow Diagram | |
| DOE | Design of Experiments | |
| DU | Duration | |
| DUR | Duration | |
| EAC | Estimate at Completion | |
| EEF | Enterprise Environmental Factors | Non-standard |
| EF | Early Finish | |
| EMV | Expected Monetary Value | |
| EPV | Expected Present Value | |
| ES | Early Start | |
| ETC | Estimate to Complete | |
| EV | Earned Value | |
| EVA | Earned Value Analysis | |
| Economic Value Add | ||
| EVM | Earned Value Management | |
| EVT | Earned Value Technique | |
| FF | Finish-to-Finish | |
| FFP | Firm Fixed Price | |
| FMEA | Failure Mode and Effect Analysis | |
| FP-EPA | Fixed Price with Economic Price Adjustment | |
| FPIF | Fixed Price Incentive Fee | |
| FS | Finish-to-Start | |
| FV | Future Value | |
| HR | Human Resource | |
| IFB | Invitation for Bid | |
| IO | Inputs and Outputs | Jargon |
| IRR | Internal Rate of Return | |
| ISO | International Organization for Standardization | |
| ITTO | Inputs, Tools, Techniques and Outputs | Jargon |
| JAD | Joint Application Development (or Design) | |
| JIT | Just in Time | |
| KA | Knowledge Area | Non-standard |
| LF | Late Finish | |
| LL | Lessons Learned (or Learnt) | Jargon |
| LOE | Level of Effort | |
| LS | Late Start | |
| NPV | Net Present Value | |
| OBS | Organizational Breakdown Structure | |
| OPA | Organizational Process Assets | Non-standard |
| OPM3® | Organizational Project Management Maturity Model | |
| PBT | Paper-Based Test | |
| PDCA | Plan Do Check Act | |
| PDM | Precedence Diagramming Method | |
| PERT | Program Evaluation and Review Technique | |
| PM | Project Manager | |
| Project Management | ||
| PMB | Performance Measurement Baseline | |
| PMBOK® | Project Management Body of Knowledge | |
| PMI® | Project Management Institute | |
| PMIS | Project Management Information System | |
| PMO | Project Management Office | |
| PMP® | Project Management Professional | |
| PTA | Point of Total Assumption | |
| PV | Planned Value | |
| Present Value | ||
| QA | Quality Assurance | |
| QC | Quality Control | |
| QFD | Quality Function Deployment | |
| QP | Quality Planning | Non-standard |
| RACI | Responsible, Accountable, Consult, and Inform | |
| RAM | Responsibility Assignment Matrix | |
| RBS | Resource Breakdown Structure | Non-standard |
| Risk Breakdown Structure | Standard | |
| RFI | Request for Information | |
| RFP | Request for Proposal | |
| RFQ | Request for Quotation | |
| ROI | Return on Investment | |
| ROM | Rough Order of Magnitude | |
| SF | Start-to-Finish | |
| SLA | Service Level Agreement | |
| SME | Subject Matter Expert | |
| SOW | Statement of Work | |
| SPI | Schedule Performance Index | |
| SS | Start-to-Start | |
| SV | Schedule Variance | |
| SWOT | Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats | |
| T&M | Time and Material | |
| TCPI | To-Complete Performance Index | |
| TQM | Total Quality Management | |
| TT | Tools and Techniques | Jargon |
| VAC | Variance at Completion | |
| VE | Value Engineering | |
| VOC | Voice of the Customer | |
| WAS | Work Authorization System | |
| WBS | Work Breakdown Structure | |
| WPI | Work Performance Information | Non-standard |
| 10x5 | 10 Knowledge Areas x 5 Process Groups | Jargon |
Acronyms related to PMP Renewal (for certified PMPs)
| Acronym | Full form |
|---|---|
| CCR | Continuing Certification Requirements |
| CEU | Continuing Education Unit |
| PDU | Professional Development Unit |
| SDL | Self-Directed Learning |
| SIG | Specific Interest Group |
Acronyms related to other PMI certifications
| Acronym | Full form |
|---|---|
| CAPM® | Certified Associate in Project Management |
| PgMP® | Program Management Professional |
| PMI-ACP® | PMI Agile Certified Practitioner |
| PMI-REP® | PMI Registered Education Provider |
| PMI-RMP® | PMI Risk Management Professional |
| PMI-SP® | PMI Scheduling Professional |
Click here to download the entire table as a PDF file.
If you know of other acronyms (related to PMP) that should be on this list, please let me know.
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Project Management
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