Vocab list - Session 1

address customers´ needs

to try to solve problems / fulfil desires clients have

 

agree on a budget

to come to an understanding about the money spent on a project

 

allocate personnel

to assign employees to particular tasks / processes

 

anticipate customer needs

to know in advance about your buyers´ requirements and prepare accordingly

 

approve

to authorise

 

assign tasks

to give employees certain duties / pieces of work

 

back-up plan

a strategy to be applied in case something bad happens (contingency plan)

 

break new ground

to be a pioneer; to do something nobody else has done before

 

build rapport

to create a relationship of mutual trust and understanding

 

carry out safety-tests

to determine how safe and reliable a process, product, etc. is

 

collaborate with suppliers

to cooperate with businesses that deliver goods or services

 

corrective actions

measures intended to correct mistakes

 

cost/budget constraints

limitations that might reduce your budget

 

create a prototype

to design and build a first model of something

 

define roles

to determine every participant´s duties, tasks and responsibilities

 

discovery phase

this phase includes starting to think about and discuss a potential project

 

do regulatory work

to prepare documents for the government, complying with rules and regulations

 

exceed the budget

to be over budget

 

exploratory research

initial research to find out more about a very general idea

 

fail to achieve one´s goals

to be unable to reach one´s targets

 

feasible

describes something that can be realised

  

identify customer requirements

to find out what (potential) clients want or need

 

initiation and planning phase

the first stage of a project management process

 

invest in R&D

to spend money on research and development 

 

keep to the budget

to stay within or under budget

 

lab technicians

engineers working in a laboratory

 

light-bulb moment

a moment when you are enlightened or inspired, often happens suddenly

 

long-term

covering a long period of time

 

measure performance

to assess the way in which something functions and how effective it is

 

milestone

an important event

 

monitor progress

to check the development of something

 

outsource

to delegate tasks to an external provider

 

parallel activities

processes running at the same time

 

penalty

a (financial) punishment

 

prototype

a first version of an invention

 

re-engineer

to redesign, to plan or construct anew

 

regulatory work

processes and tasks connected to rules, guidelines, laws, etc.

 

research scientists

people trained to seek new knowledge

 

scope

the range and extent (of the project)

 

set apart from competitors

to separate from rivals (e.g. a USP)

 

set priorities

to assess tasks and rank them in order of importance, deadlines, etc.

 

set the bar high

to define a high standard

 

set your budget

to define how much money will be spent on the project

 

share best practices

to inform yourself and others about the most effective actions, processes, etc. in your industry

 

slack time

the period of time a task can be delayed without causing another task to be delayed or impacting the completion date of the project

 

short-term

covering a short period of time

 

start from scratch

to start from the very beginning without having any advantages over your competitors

 

specifiy objectives

to define aims to be reached

 

stakeholders

anyone having an interest in your company (employees, suppliers, neighbours, customers, ...)

 

streamline processes

to make processes more efficient

 

test phase

once your innovation has been discussed, it will be tried out

 

think outside the box

to try to come up with new, innovative solutions

 

unique customer experiences

products, events, etc. that are one of their kind and especially adapted to your target group

  

upgrade

to improve or make more expensive

 

verifiable

describes something that can be proved to be true

 

work breakdown structure

a plan that describes the work packages and structure of your project (Projektstrukturplan)