S-CURVE – (1)In the context of risk management, a cumulative distribution of the probability of values in a defined range produced by quantitative risk analysis. (2)In the context of project control, a cumulative distribution of costs, labor hours, progress, or other quantities plotted against time. See also: QUANTITATIVE RISK ANALYSIS. (December 2011) SAFETY STOCK - The average amount of stock on hand when a replenishment quantity is received. Its purpose is to protect against the uncertainty in demand and in the length of the replenishment lead time. Safety stock and cycle stock are the two main components of any inventory. Syn.: RESERVE STOCK. (November 1990) SAFETY TIME - In a time series planning system, material is frequently ordered to arrive ahead of the forecast requirement date to protect against forecast error. The difference between the forecast requirement date and the planned in-stock date is safety time. (November 1990) SALES - Orders booked by customers. (November 1990) SALES FORECAST - A prediction or estimate of sales, in dollars or physical units, for a specified future period under a proposed marketing plan or program and under an assumed set of economic and other forces outside the unit for which the forecast is made. The forecast may be for a specified item of merchandise or for an entire line. (November 1990) SALES PROFILE - The growth or decline of historical or forecast sales volume, by years. (November 1990) SALES PRICE - The revenue received for a unit of a product. Gross sales price is the total amount paid. Net sales are gross sales less returns, discounts, freight and allowances. Plant netbacks are net sales less selling, administrative and research expenses. Syn.: SELLING PRICE. (November 1990) SALES REVENUE - Revenue received as a result of sales, but not necessarily during the same time period. (November 1990) SALVAGE VALUE – (1)The market value of a machine or facility at any point in time (normally an estimate of an asset's net market value at the end of its estimated life). (2)The value of an asset, assigned for tax computation purposes, which is expected to remain at the end of the depreciation period. (May 2012) SAVINGS-TO-INVESTMENT RATIO (SIR) - Either the ratio of present value savings to present value investment costs, or the ratio of annual value savings to annual value investment costs. \[1\] (November 1990) SCALING FACTOR - Syn.: CAPACITY FACTOR; CAPACITY UTILIZATION FACTOR. (June 2007) SCENARIO - A description of specific events and conditions and their probable outcomes. Usually limited to likely or probable scenarios versus all possible ones. Frequently, “most likely,” “best case,” and “worst case” scenarios are used to define the most probable outcome and the range of outcomes. (December 2011) SCENARIO ANALYSIS - Methods to assess a range or events, conditions, and outcomes employing specific scenarios. An alternative to simulation methods for assessing ranges. See also: RANGE; SCENARIO; SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS; SIMULATION. (December 2011) SCHEDULE – (1)A description of when each activity in a project can be accomplished and must be finished so as to be completed timely. The simplest of schedules depict in bar chart format the start and finish of activities of a given duration. More complex schedules, general in CPM format, include schedule logic and show the critical path and floats associated with each activity. (2)A time sequence of activities and events that represent an operating timetable. The schedule specifies the relative beginning and ending times of activities and the occurrence times of events. A schedule may be presented on a calendar framework or on an elapsed time scale. (June 2007) SCHEDULE BASELINE - In earned value, the baseline start and completion dates used for integration with work authorization and costs. It is considered the time element of the performance measurement baseline (PMB). (October 2013) SCHEDULE BUFFER - Syn.: SCHEDULE CONTINGENCY. SCHEDULE COMPRESSION - A method of schedule analysis used to shorten the critical path of the schedule. This may be accomplished by re-sequencing work, employing greater resources to accomplish more work in a given time, or otherwise reducing the duration of critical path activities. The need for schedule compression may come about because of the owner’s desire to complete early, make up for delays, or to accommodate added work. (June 2007) SCHEDULE CONTINGENCY – (1)Duration added to a schedule activity to allow for the probability of possible or unforeseen events. Use in this manner is not recommended as the contingency is hidden and may be misused. (2)A unique activity used to model specific float available to a project phase. Used in this manner gives ownership of float to those activities and or responsibility entity. (3)The amount of time added to specific activities of a project (or program) schedule to mitigate (dampen/buffer) the effects of risks or uncertainties identified or associated with specific elements of that schedule. Syn.: SCHEDULE BUFFER. See also: SCHEDULE MARGIN. (October 2013) SCHEDULE DECOMPRESSION - The opposite of schedule compression and results in lengthening the critical path. The need to reduce costs, work within limited resource constraints, and eliminate the use of overtime are some of the reasons for schedule decompression. (June 2007) SCHEDULE GRAPHICS - Presentation charts and images used to communicate schedule progress and highlight areas of concern. Usually supplements the schedule report. Schedule graphics can include bar charts, time scaled logic diagrams, fragnets, etc. See also: SCHEDULE REPORT. (June 2007) SCHEDULE LOG - A table used to track summary information from schedule data derived from baseline(s) and/or schedule updates developed during the course of a project. (June 2018) SCHEDULE MARGIN (SM) - Schedule margin or schedule reserve are interchangeable terms meaning duration added to a schedule activity to allow for the probability of possible or unforeseen events. It is typically based on a schedule risk assessment and is measured in the unit of the schedule (typically days). For earned value management, schedule margin is usually limited to logical end points within the schedule. Schedule margin acts as a buffer between the baseline activities and the project end date. It may be considered management reserve (MR) in time units. Syn.: SCHEDULE RESERVE. See also: MANAGEMENT RESERVE; SCHEDULE CONTINGENCY. (October 2013) SCHEDULE MODEL - A mathematical representation of a schedule that can be used in modeling. A CPM schedule network is the most common schedule model. See also: CRITICAL PATH METHOD (CPM); MODELING; NETWORK. (June 2007) SCHEDULE OF VALUES - A detailed statement furnished by a construction contractor, builder, or others, apportioning the contract value into work packages. It is used as the basis for submitting and reviewing progress payments. (June 2007) SCHEDULE PERCENT COMPLETE - The proportion of an activity or all the project’s activities that has been completed. (June 2007) SCHEDULE PERFORMANCE INDEX (SPI) - Ratio of work performed (earned value or BCWP) to work scheduled (planned value or BCWS). See also: EARNED VALUE (EV); PLANNED VALUE (PV); SCHEDULE PERFORMANCE INDEX \[SPI(t)\]. (June 2007) SCHEDULE PERFORMANCE INDEX \[SPI(t)\] - A time-based performance index determined by earned schedule (the accomplished value in time increments) divided by the actual time increments that have elapsed. See also: SCHEDULE PERFORMANCE INDEX (SPI). (November 2014) SCHEDULE REFINEMENT - Rework, redefinition or modification of the logic or data that may have previously been developed in the planning process as required to properly input milestones, restraints and priorities. See also: SCHEDULE REVISION. (June 2007) SCHEDULE REPORT - A periodic report indicating status, significant progress, and/or areas of concern that may require corrective action. A schedule report typically includes a narrative, tables, and time-scaled diagrams. (October 2017) SCHEDULE RESERVE - Syn.: SCHEDULE MARGIN. (October 2013) SCHEDULE REVISION - A change in the network activity count, logic, original durations, resources, or historical schedule data. (October 2018) SCHEDULE RISK - The risks (threats, opportunities, or both) the team might encounter in meeting the deadlines for the final deliverable or affecting any activity, milestone or element of the schedule plan. (December 2011) SCHEDULE SLIP - Slippage in the final completion date of a project. See also: SLIPPAGE. (June 2007) SCHEDULE TRACEABILITY - A broad term meaning the coding necessary in the schedule to show integration with work authorization, budgeting, accounting, and other earned value management components. Traceability demonstrates the completeness of the schedule content. (October 2013) SCHEDULE UPDATE – (1)The result of incorporating progress (actual dates, percent complete, remaining durations, actual resources, etc.) through \[\*\] the data date and reporting that progress. (2)The result of incorporating progress (actual dates, percent complete, remaining durations, actual resources, etc.) to \[\*\] the data date and reporting that progress. \[\*\] The method chosen should be used consistently throughout the project. Syn.: STATUSING. See also: CONTROL SCHEDULE; DATA DATE; HALF-STEP/DUAL-TRACKING SCHEDULE UPDATES. (November 2020) SCHEDULE UPDATE NARRATIVE - A schedule narrative describes changes made to the schedule, current issues, problems, and related schedule notifications. (October 2017) SCHEDULE VARIANCE (SV) – (1)Difference between projected start/finish dates and actual or revised start/finish dates. (2)The difference between the earned value and scheduled value. Schedule variance = budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) - budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS). A negative cost variance indicates that the activity(ies) is running behind schedule. See also: SCHEDULE VARIANCE \[SV(t)\]. (June 2007) SCHEDULE VARIANCE \[SV(t)\] - The time difference between the earned schedule (the accomplished value in time increments through a planned period) and the actual time increments that have elapsed. See also: SCHEDULE VARIANCE (SV). (November 2014) SCHEDULE WORK UNIT - A calendar time unit when work may be performed on an activity. (June 2007) SCHEDULED COMPLETION DATE - A date assigned for completion of activity or accomplishment of an event for purposes of meeting specified schedule requirements. (November 1990) SCHEDULED DATES - The start, intermediate, or final dates imposed by contract or other means that impact the project schedule. See also: CONTRACT DATES. (June 2007) SCHEDULED EVENT TIME - In PERT, an arbitrary schedule time that can be introduced at any event but is usually only used at a certain milestone or the last event. (November 1990) SCHEDULE SENSITIVITY - identifies and ranks the tasks most likely to influence the project duration/finish. (December 2011) SCHEDULING – (1)Assignment of desired start and finish times to each activity in the project within overall time cycle required for completion according to plan. (2)Process of converting a general or outline plan for a project into a time-based schedule based on available resources and time constraints. Syn.: DIAGRAMMING (SCHEDULE). See also: PLANNING. (June 2007) SCHEDULING RULES - Basic rules that are spelled out ahead of time so that they can be used consistently in a scheduling system. (November 1990) SCHEDULING TECHNIQUES - Systems and processes available for determination and presentation (modeling) of a project plan. Examples include, arrow diagramming, logic networks, bar charts, PERT, trending, etc. using a variety of software. See also: SCHEDULE MODEL. (June 2007) SCOPE - The sum of all that is to be or has been invested in and delivered by the performance of an activity or project. In project planning, the scope is usually documented (i.e., the scope document), but it may be verbally or otherwise communicated and relied upon. Generally limited to that which is agreed to by the stakeholders in an activity or project (i.e., if not agreed to, it is “out of scope”). In contracting and procurement practice, includes all that an enterprise is contractually committed to perform or deliver. Syn.: PROJECT SCOPE. See also: DE-SCOPE. (January 2003) SCOPE CHANGE - Syn.: CHANGE IN SCOPE. (June 2007) SCOPE CREEP - Gradual progressive change (usually additions to) of the project's scope such that it is not noticed by project management team or customer. Typically occurs when the customer identifies additional, sometimes minor, requirements that, when added together, may collectively result in a significant scope change, resulting in cost and schedule overruns. \[8\] (June 2007) SCOPE DEFINITION - Division of the major deliverables into smaller, more manageable components to: 1) Improve the accuracy of cost, time, and resource estimates; 2) Define a baseline for performance measurement and control; and 3) Facilitate clear responsibility assignments. See also: FRONT END; FRONT END LOADING (FEL). \[8\] (June 2007) SEASONAL COMMODITIES - Commodities which are normally available in the market-place only in a given season of the year. (November 1990) SEASONAL VARIATION - That movement in many economics series which tends to repeat itself within periods of a year. (November 1990) SECONDARY FLOAT (SF) - Same as total float, except that it is calculated from a schedule date upon an intermediate event. (November 1990) SECONDARY RISKS - Risks that occur from actions taken to treat other risks. See also: DYNAMIC RISK. (December 2011) SECULAR TREND - The smooth or regular movement of a long-term time series trend over a fairly long period of time. (November 1990) SELLING EXPENSE - The total expense involved in marketing the products in question. This normally includes direct selling costs, advertising, and customer service. (November 1990) SELLING PRICE - Syn.: SALES PRICE. (November 1990) SENSITIVITY - The relative magnitude of the change in one or more elements of an engineering economy, estimate, schedule, risk or other planning analysis that will reverse a decision among alternatives. More generally, it is the degree to which a change in an element of a model affects the outcome. (December 2011) SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS - A test of the outcome of an analysis by altering one or more parameters from an initially assumed value(s). \[1\] (November 1990) SENTIMENTAL VALUE - A value associated with an individual's personal desire, usually related to a prior personal relationship. (November 1990) SEQUENCE - Order in which activities will occur with respect to one another. Establishes priority and dependencies between activities. Successor and predecessor relationships are developed in a network format. Allows project participants to visualize work flow. See also: NETWORK. (June 2007) SERVICE CONTRACT - A contract that directly engages the time and effort of a contractor whose primary purpose is to perform an identifiable task rather than to furnish an end item of supply. For example: Maintenance, overhaul, repair, servicing, rehabilitation, salvage, modernization, or modification of supplies, systems, or equipment. (November 2020) SERVICE WORTH VALUE - Earning value, assuming the rates and/or prices charged are just equal to the reasonable worth to customers of the services and/or commodities sold. (November 1990) SERVICEABILITY - A measure of the degree to which servicing of an item will be accomplished within a given time under specified conditions. (November 1990) SERVICING - The replenishment of consumables needed to keep an item in operating condition, but not including any other preventive maintenance or any corrective maintenance. (November 1990) SEVERE WEATHER - A weather event, which is in itself severe and can be of violent nature. If the average weather over time is significantly different from the normal, then it is said to be other than normal. In either case, if such weather affects the job and causes a delay, it may be excusable and form the basis for a contract adjustment for time and possibly money once all relevant contract clauses are considered. See also: ADVERSE WEATHER; NORMAL WEATHER; PLANNED ADVERSE WEATHER DAY; UNUSUALLY ADVERSE WEATHER DAY; WEATHER DAY; WEATHER EVENT; WEATHER PREPARATION DAY; WEATHER RECOVERY DAY. (September 2015) SHALL - Use of the word 'shall' in contract language means that 'you must', as opposed to ‘may’. (June 2007) SHARE - In TCM risk management, a risk response strategy for opportunities that involves sharing the risk with a third party who is better able to manage it. See also: RISK RESPONSE. (December 2011) SHIFTING BASE - Changing the point of reference of an index number series from one time reference period to another. (November 1990) SHOP DRAWINGS - All drawings, diagrams, illustrations, schedules and other data which are specifically prepared by or for the contractor to illustrate some portion of the work and all illustrations, brochures, standard schedules, performance charts, instructions, diagrams and other information prepared by a supplier and submitted by the contractor to illustrate material or equipment for some portion of the work. (November 1990) SHOP ORDER NUMBER - Syn.: ACCOUNT NUMBER. (June 2007) SHOP PLANNING - The coordination of material handling, material availability, the setup and tooling availability so that a job can be done on a particular machine. (November 1990) SHORT-INTERVAL SCHEDULING - The process of updating CPM schedules weekly or even daily, and generally using activity duration's in hours and days. Short-interval scheduling is employed in plant shutdowns/turnarounds or for very time critical/short duration sub-projects. See also: PRODUCTION SCHEDULE. (June 2007) SHORT-TERM ACTIVITIES - Syn.: MONTHLY GUIDE SCHEDULE. (November 1990) SHUTDOWN POINT - The production level at which it becomes less expensive to close the plant and pay remaining fixed expenses out-of-pocket rather than continue operations; that is, the plant cannot meet its variable expense. (November 1990) SIGNIFICANT VARIANCES - Those differences between planned and actual performance which exceed established thresholds, and which require further review, analysis and action. (November 1990) SIMPLE INTEREST – (1)Interest that is not compounded - is not added to the income-producing investment or loan. (2)The interest charges under the condition that interest in any time period is only charged on the principal. (November 1990) SIMPLE PAYBACK PERIOD (SPP) - The time required for the cumulative benefits from an investment to pay back the investment cost and other accrued costs, not considering the time value of money. \[1\] (November 1990) SIMULATION - Application of a physical or mathematical model to observe and predict probable performance of the actual item or phenomenon to which it relates. See also: LATIN HYPERCUBE METHOD; MODELING; MONTE CARLO SIMULATION. (December 2011) SINGLE POINT ESTIMATE - Syn.: BASE ESTIMATE; POINT ESTIMATE. (December 2011) SINKING FUND – (1)A fund accumulated by periodic deposits and reserved exclusively for a specific purpose, such as retirement of a debt or replacement of a property. (2)A fund created by making periodic deposits (usually equal) at compound interest in order to accumulate a given sum at a given future time for some specific purpose. (November 1990) SITE PREPARATION - An act involving grading, landscaping, drainage, installation of roads and siding, of an area of ground upon which anything previously located had been cleared so as to make the area free of obstructions, entanglements or possible collisions with the positioning or placing of anything new or planned. (June 2007) SLACK - Syn.: FLOAT. (June 2007) SLACK PATHS - The sequences of activities and events that do not lie on the critical path or paths. (November 1990) SLACK TIME - The difference in calendar time between the scheduled due date for a job and the estimated completion date. If a job is to be completed ahead of schedule, it is said to have slack time; if it is likely to be completed behind schedule, it is said to have negative slack time. Slack time can be used to calculate job priorities using methods such as the critical ratio. In the critical path method, total slack is the amount of time a job may be delayed in starting without necessarily delaying the project completion time. Free slack is the amount of time a job may be delayed in starting without delaying the start of any other job in the project. (November 1990) SLIP CHART - A pictorial representation of the predicted completion dates of milestones. Also referred to as trend chart. (June 2007) SLIPPAGE - Amount of time a task has been delayed from its original baseline plan. Slippage is the difference between scheduled start or finish date for a task and baseline start or finish date. Slippage can occur when a baseline plan is set and actual dates subsequently entered for tasks are later than baseline dates, or actual durations are longer than baseline durations. See also: SCHEDULE SLIP. (June 2007) SMOOTHING - In resource-scheduling, refers to an option that modifies the way time-limited (and resource-limited with thresholds) scheduling works. Objective is to minimize the extent that each resource availability is exceeded. Standard algorithm gives itself the maximum flexibility to achieve this by making use of any excess already incurred. Smoothing option modifies this so that it will not use excess for a particular activity unless necessary in order to schedule that activity within its total float. (June 2007) SPECIAL CAUSE VARIATION - Variation caused by known factors that result in a non-random distribution of the output. See also: COMMON CAUSE VARIATION. (October 2018) SPECIFICATION, DESIGN - A design specification providing a detailed written and/or graphic presentation of the required properties of a product, material, or piece of equipment, and prescribing the procedure for its fabrication, erection, and installation. (June 2007) SPECIFICATION, PERFORMANCE - A statement of required results, verifiable as meeting stipulated criteria, and generally free of instruction as to the method of accomplishment. (November 1990) SPECIFICATION(S) – (1)A detailed, exact statement of particulars, especially a statement prescribing materials, dimensions, and quality of work for something to be built, installed, or manufactured. (2)A document that prescribes the requirements with which the product or services has to conform. (June 2007) SPECIFICATION TREE - A graphic portrayal arranged to illustrate interrelationships of hardware and/or software performance/design requirements specifications. Normally, this portrayal is in the form of a “family tree” subdivision of specifications, with each lower level specification applicable to a hardware/software item that is part of a higher level item. \[7\] (June 2007) SPLIT TASK - A task divided into two or more portions, with time gaps between one portion and another that indicate an interruption in work on the task. (June 2007) SPLITTABLE ACTIVITY - Activity that can be interrupted in order to allow temporary transfer of its resources to another activity. (June 2007) SPLITTING - In resource scheduling, it is possible to specify that an activity may be split if this results in an earlier scheduled finish date. This means that the specified duration may be divided into two or more pieces, while retaining the specified profile for resource requirements relative to this split duration. (June 2007) SPOT MARKET PRICE INDEX - Daily index used as a measure of price movements of sensitive basic commodities whose markets are to be presumed to be among the first to be influenced by changes in economic conditions. It serves as one early indicator of impending changes in business activity. (June 2007) STAGE OF PROCESSING - A commodity's intermediate position in the value-added channel of production. (November 1990) STAKEHOLDER - Decision makers, people or organizations that can affect or be affected by a decision. (December 2011) STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS - A process used to determine the degree of interest, influence and attitude of stakeholders toward a particular asset, project or business objective. (December 2011) STAND ALONE - A system that performs its function requiring little or no assistance from interfacing systems. (June 2007) STANDARD - A specific statement of the rules and constraints governing the naming, contents, and operations of deliverables. The rules and constraints are designed to support specific objectives. (June 2007) STANDARD NETWORK DIAGRAM - A predefined network intended to be used more than one time in any given project. (November 1990) STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE - Detailed step-by-step instructions for repetitive operations. Examples are aircraft takeoff and landing procedures. (June 2007) STANDARD TIME - A measure of the time it should take a qualified worker to perform a particular task. (June 2007) STARTING EVENT - Syn.: BEGINNING EVENT; PRECEDING EVENT; PREDECESSOR EVENT. (November 1990) START EVENT OF A PROJECT - Event with succeeding, but no preceding activities. There may be more than one start event. (June 2007) START FLOAT - Amount of excess time an activity has between its early start and late start dates. See also: FREE FLOAT. (June 2007) START-TO-FINISH (SF) - A relationship in which the successor activity depends upon and can finish only after the predecessor activity starts. The predecessor must start first and then the successor can finish. (June 2007) START-TO-START (SS) - A relationship between activities in which the start of a successor activity depends on the start of its predecessor. The predecessor must start prior to the successor starting. (June 2007) START-TO-START LAG - Minimum amount of time that must pass between the start of one activity and the start of its successor(s). May be expressed in terms of duration or percentage. (June 2007) STARTUP - The project activities (or phase) that take place between commissioning and the achievement of steady- state operation. In some usage, the term startup may include both commissioning (i.e., testing after mechanical completion) and startup (it may then be referred to as ‘startup and testing’); one must take care to ascertain what the user of this term means. Production may not be at planned capacity or quality at the end of the phase. See also: COMMISSIONING; MECHANICAL COMPLETION. (June 2007) STARTUP COSTS - Extra operating costs to bring the plant on stream incurred between the completion of construction and beginning of normal operations. In addition to the difference between actual operating costs during that period and normal costs, it also includes employee training, equipment tests, process adjustments, salaries and travel expense of temporary labor, staff and consultants, report writing, post-startup monitoring and associated overhead. Additional capital required to correct plant problems may be included. Startup costs are sometimes capitalized. (November 1990) STATEMENT OF WORK - A narrative description of the work to be performed. (June 2007) STATIC RISK - Risk for which the characteristics, probability and/or impact do not change over time or with the occurrence of preceding events. See also: DYNAMIC RISK. (December 2011) STATUS – (1)Comparison of actual progress against the plan to determine variance and corrective action. (2)An instantaneous snapshot of the then current conditions. See also: PROGRESS. (June 2007) STATUS DATE - The date that the schedule is statused through, earned value is calculated through, and actual costs are integrated with. In earned value, is also the date that variance analysis and baseline control is maintained against. See also: DATA DATE; TIME NOW. (October 2013) STATUS LINE - A vertical line on a time-scaled schedule indicating the point in time (date) on which the status of the project is reported. Often referred to as the time now line. See also: DATA DATE. (November 1990) STATUS REPORT – (1)Description of where the project currently stands; part of the performance reporting process. (2)Formal report on the input, issues, and actions resulting from a status meeting. See also: PROGRESS REPORT. \[8\] (June 2007) STATUSING - Syn.: SCHEDULE UPDATE (October 2018) STOCK AND BOND VALUE - A special form of market value for enterprises, which can be owned through possession of their securities. Stock and bond value is the sum of: 1) The par values in dollars of the different issues of bonds multiplied by the corresponding ratios of the market price to the par value; and 2) The number of shares of each issue of stock multiplied by the corresponding market price in dollars per share. (November 1990) STOP WORK ORDER - Request for interim stoppage of work due to non-conformance, or funding or technical limitations. See also: SUSPENSION OF WORK, DIRECTED. (June 2007) STRAIGHT-LINE DEPRECIATION - Method of depreciation whereby the amount to be recovered (written off) is spread uniformly over the estimated life of the asset in terms of time periods or units of output. (November 1990) STRATEGIC ASSET - Any unique physical or intellectual property that is of long term or ongoing value to the enterprise. As used in total cost management, it most commonly includes capital or fixed assets, but may include intangible assets. Excludes cash and purely financial assets. Strategic assets are created by the investment of resources through projects. (January 2002) STRATEGIC ASSET MANAGEMENT − A subprocess of the total cost management (TCM) process that includes the management of the total life cycle cost investment of resources in an enterprise’s portfolio of strategic assets. Excludes, but integrated with, the project control process. See also: PROJECT CONTROL; STRATEGIC ASSET; TOTAL COST MANAGEMENT (TCM). (June 2007) STRATEGIC RISK – (1)A risk for which the potential impact threatens a project objective, even if the probability of occurrence is low or risk matrix severity rating is within screening thresholds. In projects, these risks are generally funded through management reserves. (2)A risk that has a significant potential impact on enterprise, portfolio or other higher objectives or plans beyond the project level. See also: TACTICAL RISK. (December 2011) STRATEGY - Action plan to set the direction for the coordinated use of resources through programs, projects, policies, procedures, and organizational design and establishment of performance standards. \[8\] (June 2007) STRETCHING - In resource scheduling it is possible to specify that an activity duration may be stretched if this results in an earlier scheduled finish date. This means that the specified duration may be increased, while the specified resource profile is reduced proportionally. (June 2007) STUDY PERIOD - The length of time over which an investment is analyzed. Syn.: TIME HORIZON. See also: LIFE CYCLE. \[1\] (November 1990) SUBCONTRACT - A contract that assigns some of the obligations of a prior contract to another party. (June 2007) SUBCONTRACTOR - One that enters into a subcontract and assumes some of the obligations of the primary contractor. (June 2007) SUBINDEX - A price index for a sub-aggregate of a given basket of commodities. (November 1990) SUBMITTAL - A submittal (or vendor data) is a contractually-required document and/or sample that must be supplied to the owner’s representative for review. It contains detailed information designed to help ensure that the proposed material and/or equipment meet the requirements of the contract documents. The submittal may be in the form of product data, shop drawings, samples, certifications, warrantees, or other requirements pertaining to the specified material and/or equipment will be installed in accordance with the requirements of the contract documents. (December 2016) SUBMITTAL LOG - A detailed list of submittals sometimes grouped by specification section recording significant information such as dates when submitted to owner, returned, and when approval is obtained or required actions needed to obtain approval. (December 2016) SUBMITTAL PACKAGE - A group of submittals required by a single specification section within the submittal log. Each package would include all of the submittals required within each specification section (e.g. mix design, product data, shop drawings, certifications, warrantees, etc.). (December 2016) SUBMITTAL PROCESS - The process where the contracted party provides detailed information to the owner or their representative (i.e. architect, engineer, construction manager, or designer) as to required material and/or equipment to be installed as part of a project. (December 2016) SUBMITTAL STATUS - A line item within the coordination meeting agenda that reports the status and issues of any particular submittal from preparation to delivery. (December 2016) SUBNETWORK - Syn.: FRAGNET. (June 2007) SUBNETWORK FLOAT - Total float on a fragnet when it is extracted from the overall network. This is relevant in dealing with delay issues particular to a certain subcontractor or a supplier responsible for only a part of the overall project. (June 2007) SUBPROJECT – (1)A smaller project within a larger one. Often used to segregate into components that are more manageable. (2)Component of a project. Often contracted out to an external enterprise or another functional unit in the performing organization. \[8\] (June 2007) SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION – (1)Work (or a specified part thereof) which has progressed to the point where in the opinion of the engineer, as evidenced by the engineer's definitive certificate of substantial completion, it is sufficiently complete, in accordance with the contract documents, so that the work (or specified part) can be utilized for the purposes for which it is intended; or if there be no such certificate issued, when final payment is due in accordance with the general conditions. Substantial completion of the work, or specified part thereof, may be achieved either upon completion of pre-operational testing or startup testing, depending upon the requirements of the contract documents. The terms substantially complete and substantially completed as applied to any work refer to substantial completion thereof. (2)For an activity, when the work is generally completed with the exception of minor remedial work, thus allowing any successor activities to start unimpeded. For a project this is the point where the work is complete and the owner can start using the project for its intended purpose. The only remaining work would be categorized as punch list work. (3)The time when the facility is available to operate safely for the intended purpose. (June 2007) SUBSTANTIAL PERFORMANCE - Considered to be reached when: 1) The work or a substantial part of it is ready for use or is being used for the purpose intended; 2) The work to be done under the contract can be completed or corrected at a cost of not more than, say, 1% to 3% of the contract price depending on the size of the contract; and 3\) Is so certified by a certificate of substantial performance issued by client or its consultant. See also: SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION. (June 2007) SUBSYSTEM - An aggregation of component items (hardware and software) performing some distinguishable portion of the function of the total system of which it is a part. Normally, a subsystem could be considered a system in itself if it were not an integral part of the larger system. (November 1990) SUBTASK - Portion of a task or work element. \[8\] (June 2007) SUCCESS TREE ANALYSIS (STA) - A risk analysis method used to evaluate risk opportunities employing a success tree which shows the combination of successful events leading to the success of parent event. See also: FAULT-TREE ANALYSIS. (December 2011) SUCCESSOR - An activity that immediately succeeds another activity. (March 2004) SUCCESSOR ACTIVITY - An activity, which logically follows the accomplishment of part or all of a given activity. (June 2007) SUCCESSOR EVENT - The event that signifies the completion of an activity. (November 1990) SUM-OF-DIGITS METHOD - A method of computing depreciation in which the amount for any year is based on the ratio: (years of remaining life)/(1+2+3+...+n), where n is the total anticipated life. Syn.: SUM-OF-THE-YEARS-DIGITS METHOD. (November 1990) SUM-OF-THE-YEARS-DIGITS METHOD - Syn.: SUM-OF-DIGITS METHOD. (November 1990) SUMMARY ITEM - An item appearing in the work breakdown structure. (November 1990) SUMMARY LEVEL PLANNING PACKAGE (SLPP) - An optional budget level above the control account and below the reporting level to the owner. SLPPs have scope, schedule, and budget and are limited to significant outer year periods. They are allocated to control accounts and converted to planning packages at the earliest opportunity. (October 2013) SUMMARY NETWORK - A summarization of the CPM network for presentation purposes. This network is not computed. (November 1990) SUMMARY NUMBER - A number that identifies an item in the work breakdown structure. (November 1990) SUMMARY SCHEDULE - A single page, usually time-scaled, project schedule. Typically included in management level progress reports. In earned value, it can be reconciled with the performance measurement baseline (PMB) schedule. See also: MASTER SCHEDULE; MILESTONE SCHEDULE. (October 2013) SUMMARY TASK - A task that consists of a logical group of tasks, called subtasks. Primarily used for reporting purposes. See also: HAMMOCK ACTIVITY. (October 2013) SUNK COST - A cost that has already been incurred and which should not be considered in making a new investment decision. \[2\] (November 1990) SUPER-CRITICAL ACTIVITY - An activity that is behind schedule is considered to be super-critical. It has been delayed to a point where its float is calculated to be a negative value. See also: HYPERCRITICAL ACTIVITIES. (June 2007) SUPERIOR KNOWLEDGE - Syn.: MISREPRESENTATION. (November 1990) SUPPLEMENTARY CONDITIONS - The part of the contract documents which amends or supplements the general conditions. (November 1990) SUPPLIER - A manufacturer, fabricator, distributor or vendor. (November 1990) SURETY - A bonding company licensed to conduct business which guarantees the owner that the contract will be completed (performance bond) and that subcontractors and suppliers will be paid (payment bond). (November 1990) SURVEILLANCE - A term used in an earned value management system (e.g. EVMS or C/SCSC) to mean the monitoring of continued compliance with an approved/validated management control system. (June 2007) SUSPENSION OF WORK, CONSTRUCTIVE - An act or failure to act by the owner, or the owner's representative, which is not a directed suspension of work or work stoppage, but which has the effect of delaying, interrupting, or suspending all or a portion of the work. (November 1990) SUSPENSION OF WORK, DIRECTED - Actions resulting from an order of the owner to delay, interrupt, or suspend any or all portions of the work for a given period of time, for the convenience of the owner. (November 1990) SWOT - Acronym for a qualitative risk identification and assessment technique that reviews strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. (December 2011) SYSTEM CONCEPT DOCUMENT - Syn.: CONCEPT DEFINITION DOCUMENT. (June 2007) SYSTEMS DYNAMICS - Methods for studying the behavior of complex systems with feedback loops (e.g., chains of cause and effect). See also: DYNAMIC RISK. (December 2011) SYSTEMS STUDIES - The development and application of methods and techniques for analyzing and assessing programs, activities and projects to review and assess efforts to date and to determine future courses and directions. These studies include cost/ benefit analysis, environmental impact analysis, assessment of the likelihood of technical success, forecasts of possible futures resulting from specific actions, and guidance for energy program planning and implementation. (November 1990)