Acronyms for Project Managers

If you use social media to manage your projects, why not reduce your typing with a set of project management acronyms? Bob McGannon and I decided to jump start the list with these (mostly) tongue-in-cheek acronyms. If you have suggestions to add to this list, share them in the comments!

SOS – Sponsor Over Shoulder – Can’t share truthfully in this message. 

Example: Talk later, SOS.

DT – Disappearing Team member – The issue that arises when team members’ work gets reprioritized, and your schedule suffers.

Example: My head hurts. My schedule has the DTs.

MIA – Methodology in Advance – Choosing the methodology to deliver a project before understanding what the project is for or what its outcomes are supposed to be.

Example: We’ve decided the MIA, so fingers crossed that it will work. 

RSAP – Ready Shoot Aim Project – Project deliverables were defined before needs were identified, understood, or confirmed. 

Example: It’s an RSAP. The stakeholders will never fund this!

LOL – Lousy Outcome Limit – The project’s performance has reached the point that it will definitely be cancelled. 

Example: We’re at LOL. I’m looking for a new job!

BTW – Behind Task Waffling – A string of excuses for why a task is behind schedule.

Example: That team gives me no deliverables, just BTW.

ASSER – Assuming Requirements – The requirements aren’t sufficient because the project team assume they know what stakeholders need.

Example: Our requirements are nothing but ASSER.

DITY – Do It to Yourself – Moving forward with a project despite knowing that fatal issues exist.

Example: It’s a DITY. This project won’t be pretty!

IOB – Incredibly Obscure Benefit. A questionable business justification for moving forward with a project. (Related to the essence of political campaign advertising)

Example: It’s an IOB business case. We’ll never deliver those outcomes!

FAQ – Frequently Altered Quality – Repeatedly watered-down quality levels from the original level as the project progresses.

Example: We keep FAQing this project, so we’re going to end up with a Dollar Store-quality product.

Stat-they – Status of They (Versus stat-us) – The make-believe status that key stakeholders (they) want you to share versus the accurate statUS that the project team reports.

Example: We gave them our status, but they really wanted a STAT-THEY.

UNCLES – Unrealistic Constraints Leaving Everyone Stumped – Project constraints that are unrealistic but senior management won’t change them.

Example: This project’s impractical and plagued with UNCLES.

OMG – Overly Modified Goals – Changing the project’s success criteria to keep it going despite diminished outcomes.

Example: OMG is the only reason this project is still alive.

SHOT – Sponsor Hung Out To-Dry – When politics or a powerful key stakeholder commandeers your project and sends it in a totally ludicrous direction.

Example: I have a sponsor, but he is SHOT.

POV – Point of Variance – The degree of variance from plan that can best be described as “This is when the screaming started.”

Example: We hit our POV, and the management review turned into a shouting match.

WARNS – Warnings Repeated with No Support – Sharing the reality of the project that management just won’t accept (or can’t handle), 

Example: I’ve tried WARNS, but management isn’t listening!

SPOC – Singular Point of Crisis – Your project’s point of no return. (Similar to LOL.)

Example: We’ll never deliver this; we’ve hit our SPOC.

TBA – To Be Admonished – The penalty project managers receive for trying to tell the truth.

Example: Management isn’t helping. They’re planning to TBA me.

TGIF – Thank Goodness It’s Finalized – The cheer a project manager shouts when they mistakenly believe project planning is finished.

Example: I yelled TGIF, but then reality hit.

CRISP – Crisis Right Inside Simple Project – When a project looks simple but has hidden complexities.

Example: I thought this project would be easy, but now I’m in  CRISP.

WTF – Wobbly Time Forecast – Very questionable estimate for completion of a critical task.

Example: My project schedule is a mess, its full of WTFs.

WOAA – When Objectives are Achieved – The surprised exclamation the team shouts when project objectives are achieved. 

Example: WOAA, we got an award!

GOFWOP – Going Forward Without a Plan – When insufficient planning will doom a project. 

Example: Management is in a hurry. This project will definitely GOFWOP.

STAIN – Stakeholder indecision – Sponsor and stakeholders don’t make decisions and delay project progress.

Example: Our project status is STAINed. We’re twiddling our thumbs until the stakeholders make up their minds.

SWAG-E – Somehow, we are gainfully employed.

Example: This project is a mess, but at least we’re SWAG-E.

Coming Up

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I am taking a short break, so this is my last article for 2023. My articles will resume the week of January 8th, 2024. The end of the year is a great time for renewal, so I hope you enjoy this time and start 2024 with energy, motivation, and enthusiasm!

 

Marlene Chism is an expert in conflict, anger management, working with difficult people, and having difficult conversations – things most of us want to avoid. Despite the tough topics, she’s a truly lovely person. In this LinkedIn Learning Office Hours, we’re going to dig into some of the concepts she teaches for dealing with conflict. We’ll spend the rest of the session providing practical advice for dealing with conflict and other difficult situations. Bring your questions about the conflict you need help with, and we’ll provide advice for as many as we can fit in!I hope you will join us on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, 11am MT, 1 PM ET for this no-nonsense, advice-packed session on dealing with conflict with composure.

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