Technical Terms Primer

BOM - Bill of materials

“A list of materials required by a contractor to complete a contract, or by a supplier or vendor to complete an order. A list of all raw materials, parts, intermediates, sub-assemblies, etc., (with their quantities and description) required to construct, overhaul, or repair something.”
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Functional specification

“A functional specification in systems engineering and software development is the documentation that describes the requested behavior of an engineering system. The documentation typically describes what is needed by the system user as well as requested properties of inputs and outputs (e.g. of the software system). A functional specification is the more technical response to a matching requirements document. Thus it picks up the results of the requirements analysis stage."
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Kickoff meeting

“The Kickoff Meeting is the first meeting with the project team and the client of the project. This meeting would follow definition of the base elements for the project and other project planning activities. This meeting introduces the members of the project team and the client and provides the opportunity to discuss the role of team member. Other base elements in the project that involve the client may also be discussed at this meeting (schedule, status reporting, etc.).”
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PM – Project manager

“A project manager is the person responsible for leading a project from its inception to execution. This includes planning, execution and managing the people, resources and scope of the project. Project managers must have the discipline to create clear and attainable objectives and to see them through to successful completion. The project manager has full responsibility and authority to complete the assigned project.”
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ROM – Rough order of magnitude

“A Rough Order of Magnitude Estimate (ROM estimate) is an estimation of a project’s level of effort and cost to complete. A ROM estimate takes place very early in a project’s life cycle — during the project selection and approval period and prior to project initiation in most cases. The main purpose of the ROM estimate is to provide decision-makers with the information necessary to make a decision on whether it makes sense to move forward with the project based on the estimated level of effort, in terms of completion time and cost.
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SME – Subject matter expert

“The Subject Matter Expert is that individual who exhibits the highest level of expertise in performing a specialized job, task, or skill within the organization. An SME might be a software engineer, a helpdesk support operative, an accounts manager, a scientific researcher.”
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SOW – Statement (or scope) of work

“A SOW is a document, routinely employed in the field of project management, which defines project-specific activities, deliverables and their respective timelines, all of which form a contractual obligation upon the vendor in providing services to the client. The SOW typically also includes detailed requirements and pricing, with standard regulatory and governance terms and conditions.”

Stakeholder

“A person, group or organization that has interest or concern in an organization. Stakeholders can affect or be affected by the organization's actions, objectives and policies. Some examples of key stakeholders are creditors, directors, employees, government (and its agencies), owners (shareholders), suppliers, unions, and the community from which the business draws its resources.”