| Heuristic | A rule of thumb used to make decisions. Frequently found in scheduling projects. For example, schedule critical activities first, then schedule activities with the shortest duration.
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| Leveling | Techniques used to examine a project for an unbalanced use of resources, and for resolving resource over-allocations.
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| Planned value (PV) | The planned time-phased baseline of the value of the work scheduled. Previously this was called budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS).
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| Resource-constrained projects | A project that assumes resources are limited (fixed) and therefore time is variable.
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| Resource Smoothing | If resources are adequate but the demand varies widely over the life of the project, it may be desirable to even out resource demand by delaying noncritical activities (using slack) to lower peak demand and, thus, increase resource utilization. This process is called resource smoothing.
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| Splitting | A scheduling technique in which work is interrupted on one activity and the resource is assigned to another activity for a period of time, then reassigned to work on the original activity.
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| Time-constrained projects | A project that assumes time is fixed and, if resources are needed, they will be added.
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| Time-phased budget baseline | Planned costs that are broken down by distinct time periods (e.g., $5,000 per week) for a work package, as opposed to a budget for a whole job/project (6 months for a total of $130,000). Time phasing allows better cost control by measuring the actual rate of expenditure versus the planned expenditure rate over small pieces of the project.
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