Project Management Terminology - O

OBJECTIVES  Predetermined results toward which effort is directed. 

OPERATION PHASE   Period when the completed deliverable is used as maintained in service for its intended purpose. 

OPPORTUNITY   The opposite of a risk. The chance to enhance the project benefits. 

ORDER OR MAGNITUDE ESTIMATE   An estimate carried out to give very approximate indication of likely out turn costs. 

ORGANISATIONAL BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE (OBS)   Hierarchical way in which the organization may be divided into management levels and groups, for planning and control purposes. 

ORGANISATIONAL PLANNING   The process of identifying, assigning and documenting project responsibilities and relationships. 

ORGANIZATION DESIGN   The design of the most appropriate structure of role and responsibilities for a project. 

ORIGINAL BUDGET   The initial budget established at or near the time a contract was signed or a project authorized, based on the negotiated contract cost or management's authorization. 

ORIGINAL DURATION   The duration of activities or groups of activities as recorded in the Baseline Schedule. 

OTHER DIRECT COSTS (ODC)   A group of accounting elements which can be isolated to specific tasks, other than labour and material. Included in ODC are such items as travel, computer time, and services. 

OUT-OF-SEQUENCE PROGRESS   Progress that has been reported even though activities that have been deemed predecessors in project logic have not been completed. 

OUTPUT FORMAT   Information that governs the final appearance of a report or drawing. (Usually refers to computer generated documents) 

OUTSOURCING   Contracting-out, buying in facilities or work (as opposed to using in-house resources). 

OVERALL CHANGE CONTROL   Co-ordinating and controlling changes across an entire project. 

OVERHEAD   Costs incurred in the operation of a business that cannot be directly related to the individual products or services being produced. See also 'Indirect Cost'. 

OVERRUN   Costs incurred in excess of the contract target costs on a incentive type contract or the estimated costs on a fixed fee contract. An overrun is that value of costs which are needed to complete a project, over that value originally authorized by management.