- Published
- 8 October 2026
- Last reviewed
- 8 October 2026
How to use this glossary
Use this reference in planning meetings, status reports and delivery reviews. Project-management terminology and Scrum terminology have different contexts; the entries identify Scrum-specific concepts where relevant.
Browse the alphabetical term index below. Select a term to jump to its definition, example and common mistake. Use the return link after each entry to browse again. You can also use your browser’s Find command to locate a word on this page. Definitions are original RDE plain-language explanations. All examples are fictional teaching scenarios.
Term index
12 terms, listed alphabetically.
- Baseline
- Benefit
- Dependency
- Milestone
- Outcome
- Output
- Portfolio
- Product Backlog
- Programme
- Project
- Scope
- Sprint Goal
Definitions and practical examples
Baseline
Meaning: An agreed reference against which later delivery performance or change can be compared.
Example: A team records its approved launch scope and dates before delivery starts.
Common mistake to avoid: Retain the original and approved changes rather than silently replacing the baseline.
Benefit
Meaning: A valuable, measurable effect expected from a change.
Example: A revised booking service aims to reduce time spent resolving duplicate bookings.
Common mistake to avoid: A deliverable is not automatically a benefit; establish who measures the effect.
Dependency
Meaning: A relationship where one activity or result depends on another.
Example: A training launch depends on the accessibility review being completed and issues resolved.
Common mistake to avoid: Name the dependent work and owner rather than recording only “supplier dependency”.
Milestone
Meaning: A significant point used to track progress or a decision.
Example: Completion of the launch-readiness review is a milestone in the plan.
Common mistake to avoid: A milestone marks a point; it does not describe every activity needed to reach it.
Outcome
Meaning: A change resulting from the use of delivered outputs.
Example: Administrators start using one agreed booking process instead of separate spreadsheets.
Common mistake to avoid: Launching a tool does not demonstrate that people have adopted it.
Output
Meaning: A product, service or other deliverable produced by the work.
Example: A tested booking form and its support instructions are project outputs.
Common mistake to avoid: Check acceptance criteria rather than assuming that production means acceptance.
Portfolio
Meaning: A coordinated collection of investments selected to support strategic priorities.
Example: A provider reviews its training, website and operational change initiatives together.
Common mistake to avoid: A portfolio need not consist only of closely dependent projects.
Product Backlog
Meaning: In Scrum, the ordered, evolving list of work needed to improve the product.
Example: The Product Owner orders improvements to the booking service around the Product Goal.
Common mistake to avoid: It is not a fixed promise to deliver every listed item.
Programme
Meaning: Coordinated related work managed to achieve beneficial change.
Example: A learner-service programme combines booking, communications and staff-development projects.
Common mistake to avoid: Grouping unrelated tasks under one heading does not make a programme.
Project
Meaning: Time-bounded work organised to deliver agreed objectives and outputs.
Example: A team creates and launches a new booking form within an agreed delivery period.
Common mistake to avoid: Routine daily processing is normally operational work, not a new project each day.
Scope
Meaning: The defined boundary of the work or deliverables to be addressed.
Example: The first release covers bookings but excludes payment collection and account migration.
Common mistake to avoid: Make exclusions visible so that different readers do not assume different boundaries.
Sprint Goal
Meaning: In Scrum, the single objective that gives a Sprint its focus.
Example: A Sprint aims to make a learner booking request usable end to end.
Common mistake to avoid: A list of unrelated tasks is not the same as a coherent Sprint Goal.
A distinction worth keeping clear
An output is something delivered. An outcome is a resulting change in use or behaviour. A benefit is the valuable effect of that change. Installing a system is not evidence that its intended benefit has been achieved.
Practise using the terms
A team delivers a booking form, staff begin using it and duplicate bookings later decrease. Label the output, outcome and potential benefit. Name a measure that would help check the benefit. Write your answer in your own notes before reading the explanation. No answer is submitted or stored by this page.
Suggested answer and explanation
The form is the output. Staff using the agreed booking process is an outcome. Fewer duplicate bookings is a potential benefit, checked with a consistently defined duplicate-booking rate before and after adoption. The sequence alone does not prove that the form caused the improvement.
Sources and scope
The sources below support the terminology and relevant context. The definitions, examples, cautions and practice tasks on this page are original RDE teaching material, not verbatim extracts or a replacement for an official standard or certification syllabus. Reviewed 8 October 2026. Author: Jefferson Otonbara Imgbi.
Cover image: AI-generated illustrative scene created specifically for this resource.