UNBALANCING - A technique used in the pricing process to allocate estimated costs to accounts whose definitions do not fully reflect the nature of the cost being allocated. The purpose of unbalancing is to achieve a desired business result such as improved cash flow. For example, a disproportionate amount of overhead costs may be allocated in a contract bid to early project activities so that early income is maximized. (January 2003) UNCERTAINTY - A term that may have various meanings for which the convention used in any specific application should be clearly stated to avoid misunderstanding. It can mean any of the following: (1)A synonym for all risk, including all events both positive and negative whose probabilities of occurrence are neither 0% nor 100%. See also: RISK. (2)The total range of events that may happen and produce risks (including both threats and opportunities) affecting a project. (Uncertainty = threats + opportunities.) (3)Background variability, distinct from the variation caused by identifiable risks, that is caused by at least three commonly-found factors in projects; (a)inherent variability of the work not caused by identified risks, (b)estimating error or error of prediction, and (c)bias in estimation or prediction. See also: COMMON CAUSE VARIATION. (April 2019) UNDERGROUND FACILITIES - All pipelines, conduits, ducts, cables, wires, utility access-ways, vaults, tanks, tunnels or other such facilities or attachments, and any encasements containing such facilities which have been installed underground to furnish any of the following services or materials: electricity, gases, steam, liquid petroleum products, telephone or other communications, cable television, sewage and drainage removal, traffic or other control systems or water. (November 1990) UNDISTRIBUTED BUDGET (UB) - In earned value management according to the ANSI EIA 748 standard, it is the amount of budget temporary held before distribution to lower levels of the performance measurement baseline (PMB). UB is a part of the PMB and held for changes not able to be adequately planned at the control account or summary planning package levels. UB is not scheduled however has scope, schedule and budget integration. (October 2013) UNIMPACTED SCHEDULE - The reviewed contract CPM schedule with a data date just prior to the event being analyzed. This may be the current baseline schedule or a progress updated baseline schedule. See also: IMPACTED SCHEDULE. (June 2017) UNION - An organization of wage earners formed for the purpose of serving the members’ interests with respect to compensation and working conditions. (June 2007) UNIT COST - The cost of a given unit of a product or service. (June 2007) UNIT HOURS - Work hours per unit of production. (June 2007) UNJUST ENRICHMENT DOCTRINE - The belief in law that one person should not be allowed to profit or enrich himself or herself unfairly at the expense of another person. (November 1990) UNKNOWN-UNKNOWN - A quantity, value or condition that cannot be identified or foreseen, otherwise referred to as unknowable. (December 2011) UNLIMITED SCHEDULE - Infinite schedule, schedule produced without resource constraint. (June 2007) UNUSUALLY ADVERSE WEATHER DAY - Expressed as the number of days of actual adverse weather that stopped or impacted a project above what was originally planned prior to the start of the project. From a contractual delay analysis standpoint, those days are compared to the number of days originally planned for in the schedule to identify excusable time extensions; i.e.: weather that negatively affects the project production in excess of the expected normal or adverse weather. See also: ADVERSE WEATHER; NORMAL WEATHER; PLANNED ADVERSE WEATHER DAY; SEVERE WEATHER; WEATHER DAY: WEATHER EVENT; WEATHER PREPARATION DAY; WEATHER RECOVERY DAY. (September 2015) UPDATING - The regular review, analysis, evaluation, and reporting of progress of the project, including recomputation of an estimate or schedule. See also: STATUSING. (November 1990) UPDATE - To revise the estimate, schedule or other planning deliverable to reflect the most current information on the project. (June 2007) UPDATE DATE - Syn.: AS-OF DATE; DATA DATE; TIME NOW. (October 2018) USEFUL LIFE - The period of time over which an investment is considered to meet its original objective. \[1\] (November 1990) USER - The consumer of a service or product, sometimes but not always a project owner. See also: CUSTOMER. (August 2007)