Name: Business English Vocabulary for ESL - Project Management 1
Uploaded: 2026-01-26T17:21:07.000Z
Duration: 9 min 57 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

You're watching video vocab by businessenglishpod.com video vocab is a series of short videos explaining the meaning of important business terms related to many of the topics that are part of everyday business conversations.

Today we're looking at business words related to projects and project management.

First, we'll hear a short article introducing the topic, and

then we'll go through each word in detail with some example sentences to show you how you can use the words.

At the end of the video, you'll have a chance to review and practice your new vocabulary.

Working in the field of project management requires a number of distinct skills.

A project manager needs to be able to define the scope of a project, clearly estimate the cost and time required to complete it, set deliverables and specifications for every stage from start to finish, and

allocate the needed resources as efficiently as possible.

The ability to manage people is also a critical skill.

A good project manager can deal productively with a broad range of stakeholders including employees, clients, subcontractors and others affected by the project.

He or she will need to sign off on major decisions such as change orders, while choosing the best possible team to make day to day decisions.

Okay, now we'll go through each word in detail with some example sentences to show you how you can use the words.

Project Manager Project Manager the person with overall responsibility for planning and managing a project.

This title is used in the construction industry, information technology, and

many other industries that are based on the production of a product or service.

A project manager needs to begin by setting clear objectives.

Sponsor Sponsor the person who has authority over a project, provides funding, approves scope changes, and

Within an organization, the project sponsor is usually a representative of the client.

Since the client has commissioned and funded the project, The sponsor should provide high level guidance while letting the project manager handle day to day issues.

Stakeholder Stakeholder Anyone who has an interest in a project or will be affected by it.

Stakeholders can be people inside or outside the organization carrying out the project.

We need to remember that the homeowners near our new factory are also stakeholders in the expansion project.

Subcontractor Subcontractor A business or person who is paid to do part of the work assigned to another person or company.

This noun has a related verb to subcontract.

We can't permit our IT provider to subcontract any work on our database since this would put the security of our customer records at risk.

Scope Scope the overall definition of what the project is supposed to accomplish, including the project's goal.

The resources to be used to carry it out and a specific description of the expected end result.

The scope of this project is a complete redesign of our customer database.

Deliverables Deliverables A deliverable may be either a physical object, such as a newly designed product, or an outcome, such as the completion of a business plan.

For a project to succeed, its deliverables need to be both achievable and clearly defined.

Specifications Specifications Often abbreviated to specs specifications are detailed descriptions of the deliverables for a project and include all the technical, time and cost requirements of a project.

This customer management software doesn't meet our original specifications.

Baseline Baseline A set of standards for a project, usually based on previous experience, that can be used to evaluate its progress.

The baseline will include the project's expected costs, schedule, and any technical requirements.

Our baseline expectation is to complete the project by December at a cost of no more than $4 million.

Resources Resources all items needed to complete a project, such as a tool, supply, item, facility or person, people, human resources, and

Financial resources are often the most important elements of a project.

The scope of a project needs to match the resources available to carry it out.

To Estimate To Estimate to calculate or guess the value, size, or amount of something.

The noun form can be either an estimate or an estimation.

The value of the deal is estimated at £12 million.

Top Down Estimate Top Down Estimate an estimate for the cost, time, and

risks of a project prepared by looking at the entire project from the top down or in great detail and comparing it to similar projects in the past.

Richard has worked on several similar projects before, so he can give us a top down estimate of how much this one should cost.

To Allocate To Allocate to decide that an amount of money, time, or other resources should be used for a certain purpose.

This verb often appears in two strong to allocate funds and to allocate resources.

Dupont has allocated funds to build two new factories in Asia.

Contingency A planned allocation of resources that are to be used in the event that that something unforeseen, such as bad weather, affects the completion of a project according to the schedule.

We need to develop plans to deal with any contingencies before starting the project.

Change Order Change Order A request for a change in a project, scope, deliverables, or cost.

Most large projects will require change orders before completion, either because the project manager sees the need for changes or because the client's needs have changed.

It's important to get the client to approve any change orders before allocating more resources.

To sign off to sign off to give approval for someone else's decision.

The Finance Director needs to sign off on any change in our approved vendors.

Episode 2 of this series will be published soon and you can visit the website at www.businessenglishpod.com.