Portfolio management, Stage-Gate, PMO, capacity and more
Clear, practical definitions of the terms used in project, portfolio and Stage-Gate management. Use the filters or the A–Z bar to find a term. Each entry links to an in-depth guide.
Waterfall delivers a project in sequential phases, each completed before the next begins, with scope fixed early. Agile delivers in short iterations, adapting scope based on feedback. Many organisations combine both: gated governance at portfolio level, agile delivery within teams.
Related: Project life cycle, Stage-Gate process
See enterprise project executionA business case is the document that justifies a project or investment. It sets out the problem or opportunity, the options, expected costs and benefits, risks and the recommended course of action. It is the basis for approval and later benefit tracking.
Related: Capital expenditure, Go / kill decision, Return on investment
See CAPEX and investment controlCapacity planning compares the work an organisation wants to take on with the people and skills it has available over a given period. It shows in advance where demand will exceed capacity, so that projects can be re-prioritised, rescheduled or staffed before bottlenecks appear.
Related: Resource management, Capacity vs workload
See resource capacity planningCapacity management decides how much work an organisation can realistically commit to, before work is approved. Workload management balances work that is already underway across people and teams. Capacity sets the limit; workload management operates within it.
Related: Capacity planning, Workload management
Read capacity vs workload managementCapital expenditure (CAPEX) is money spent to acquire, build or upgrade long-term assets such as plants, equipment or infrastructure. CAPEX projects usually need a formal business case and approval before funds are released.
Related: Capital project, Business case
See CAPEX and investment controlA capital project is a project that creates or improves a long-term asset, such as a new production line, facility or major system, and is funded from a capital budget. It typically involves staged approvals and close cost control.
Related: Capital expenditure, Project cost tracking
Read about capital projects in manufacturingChange management in project management is the structured approach to handling changes to a project's scope, objectives, timeline or deliverables, and to helping the people affected accept and adopt them. Done well, it reduces resistance and keeps changes controlled and documented.
Related: Stakeholder, Project scope
Read the change management guideCompliance in project management means ensuring that project processes, records and outputs meet applicable laws, regulations, industry standards and internal policies, with evidence (an audit trail) to prove it.
Related: Project workflow, Risk management
Read about compliance in project managementThe critical path method (CPM) identifies the longest chain of dependent tasks in a project, which determines the shortest possible completion time. Any delay to a task on the critical path delays the whole project.
Related: Project scheduling, Gantt chart
Read the critical path method guideDemand management is the process of capturing, evaluating and prioritising all requests for new projects before they are approved, so that only the best-aligned initiatives compete for resources.
Related: Project portfolio management, Business case
Read the demand management guideEnterprise project management (EPM) is the use of shared processes, standards and tools to run many projects consistently across an organisation, with central visibility of schedules, costs and resources.
Related: Enterprise project portfolio management, Project management office
Read EPM best practicesEnterprise project portfolio management (EPPM) applies PPM across a whole organisation rather than one department, linking portfolios, programmes and projects in different business units to shared strategy, budgets and resources.
Related: Project portfolio management, Enterprise project management
Read the EPPM guideExecutive reporting gives leadership a consolidated, regularly updated view of portfolio status (progress, budget, risks and resource use), so that decisions are based on current, comparable data rather than individual project reports.
Related: Project management office, Portfolio governance
See executive reportingA Gantt chart is a bar chart that shows a project schedule over time: each task is a bar spanning its start and end dates, with dependencies and milestones marked. It is the most common way to visualise a project plan.
Related: Project scheduling, Milestone
Read the project scheduling guideA gate review is a formal checkpoint between two stages of a project where gatekeepers assess its progress, risks and business case against agreed criteria. The outcome is a decision: continue, rework, hold or stop.
Related: Gatekeeper, Go / kill decision
Get the gate review checklistA gatekeeper is a senior decision-maker who reviews a project at a gate and decides whether it continues, is reworked or is stopped. Gatekeepers judge the project against agreed criteria and commit the resources needed for the next stage.
Related: Gate review, Steering committee
Read the Stage-Gate guideA go / kill decision is the choice made at a gate to continue funding a project or stop it. Stopping weak projects early frees budget and people for stronger ones, which is a core purpose of gated governance.
Related: Gate review, Portfolio governance
Read the Stage-Gate guideInnovation management is the discipline of generating, selecting and developing new ideas into products, services or processes. It covers the full pipeline, from idea capture and evaluation to prioritisation and execution.
Related: New product development, Demand management
Read the innovation management guideA milestone is a significant point or event in a project schedule, such as a completed deliverable, an approval or a phase end. It has no duration and is used to track progress and communicate key dates.
Related: Project scheduling, Gantt chart
Read the project scheduling guideNew product development (NPD) is the end-to-end process of turning an idea into a product on the market, from ideation and business case through design, testing and launch. Many organisations manage NPD with a gated process to control risk and investment.
Related: Stage-Gate process, Product launch
Read the NPD guidePortfolio governance is the set of roles, rules and decision forums that control which projects are started, continued or stopped. It defines who decides, on which criteria and how often.
Related: Steering committee, Go / kill decision
Read about portfolio governanceA product launch is the final phase of new product development, when a product is released to market with coordinated marketing, sales, supply and support activities. A post-launch review then compares results with the business case.
Related: New product development, Milestone
Read about streamlining product launchesProject cost tracking is the ongoing comparison of a project's actual and forecast costs against its approved budget, so that overruns are visible early and can be corrected.
Related: Capital expenditure, Return on investment
Read the cost tracking guideThe project life cycle is the sequence of phases a project passes through from start to finish, commonly initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closure. Gated processes add formal decision points between phases.
Related: Stage-Gate process, Milestone
Read the project plan guideA project management office (PMO) is a team that sets project standards, supports project managers and provides oversight and reporting across projects. PMOs range from supportive, which offers templates and coaching, to directive, which manages projects directly.
Related: Portfolio governance, Executive reporting
Read the PMO guideA project plan is the approved document or model that sets out how a project will be delivered: scope, schedule, budget, resources, risks, communication and governance. It is the baseline against which progress is measured.
Related: Project scheduling, Project scope
Read the project plan guideProject portfolio management (PPM) is the practice of selecting, prioritising and overseeing a collection of projects as one portfolio, so that limited budget and people go to the work that best supports strategy. It covers intake, prioritisation, capacity, financial tracking and portfolio reporting.
Related: Enterprise project portfolio management, Demand management, Portfolio governance
See portfolio managementProject scheduling is the process of sequencing tasks, estimating their durations, setting dependencies and assigning dates, to produce a timeline showing when each piece of work will happen.
Related: Gantt chart, Critical path method
Read the project scheduling guideProject scope is the agreed boundary of a project: the deliverables, features and work it includes, and just as importantly what it excludes. A clear scope is the main defence against uncontrolled growth in work, known as scope creep.
Related: Work breakdown structure, Change management
Read how to define project scopeA project workflow is the defined sequence of steps, approvals and hand-offs that a task, document or request follows, such as review, sign-off and release. Standard workflows make work repeatable and auditable.
Related: Gate review, Compliance
Read the project workflow guideA RACI matrix is a chart that assigns each task or decision to people as Responsible, Accountable, Consulted or Informed, clarifying roles and avoiding gaps or duplicated effort.
Related: Stakeholder, Project plan
Read about project roles and responsibilitiesResource allocation is the assignment of specific people or other resources to specific tasks or projects for a defined period. It turns a capacity plan into concrete assignments.
Related: Resource management, Workload management
Read workload management vs resource allocationResource management is the planning, scheduling and allocation of people, skills, equipment and budget across projects, so that the right resources are available when work needs them and none are overloaded or idle.
Related: Capacity planning, Resource allocation
Read the resource management guideReturn on investment (ROI) measures the gain from an investment relative to its cost, usually as a percentage: (benefit − cost) ÷ cost. It is used to compare projects and to check whether an investment delivered what its business case promised.
Related: Business case, Project cost tracking
Try the ROI calculatorProject risk management is the process of identifying, assessing, prioritising and responding to uncertain events that could affect a project's objectives, and monitoring them throughout the project.
Related: Business case, Steering committee
Read about project risk managementThe Stage-Gate® process is a method for moving a project, typically a new product, from idea to launch through a series of stages separated by decision points called gates. At each gate, decision-makers review the evidence and decide whether to invest further. The model was developed by Robert G. Cooper.
Related: Gate review, Gatekeeper, Go / kill decision
Read the Stage-Gate guideStage-Gate software is a tool that supports a gated project process: it defines stages and gates, collects deliverables, routes gate reviews to decision-makers and records decisions. It replaces gate packs assembled by hand in documents and spreadsheets.
Related: Stage-Gate process, Gate review
See Stage-Gate process softwareA stakeholder is any person or group affected by a project or able to influence it, such as sponsors, users, team members, customers or regulators. Identifying and managing stakeholders early reduces resistance and surprises.
Related: Steering committee, Change management
Read about stakeholdersA steering committee is a group of senior stakeholders who give a project or programme strategic direction, approve major decisions and resolve escalated issues. It meets at set intervals and holds the project manager accountable for delivery.
Related: Portfolio governance, Stakeholder
Read about steering committeesStrategic portfolio management (SPM) extends portfolio management upward, to continuously align all investments (projects, products and initiatives) with strategic goals and to rebalance them as priorities change.
Related: Project portfolio management, Portfolio governance
Read why strategy needs portfolio managementA work breakdown structure (WBS) is a hierarchical breakdown of a project's total scope into smaller, manageable deliverables and work packages. It is the basis for estimating, scheduling and assigning work.
Related: Project scope, Project plan
Read how to define project scopeWorkload management is the ongoing balancing of work that is already underway across individuals and teams, so that effort is spread realistically and deadlines stay achievable. It can redistribute work but cannot reduce what has already been committed.
Related: Capacity vs workload, Resource allocation
Read about workload managementCerri Project brings portfolio, Stage-Gate, capacity and CAPEX governance together.
Explore the softwareEnsure every gate meeting is backed by structured inputs, up-to-date information, and stakeholder alignment - across all five gates.
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