Preface

Whether you’re an experienced professional or just starting out in the world of product management, project management, or agile software development, having a strong grasp of the specialized terminology can be invaluable. In this article, we’ll explore a comprehensive list of words, expressions, and action verbs related to these domains, designed to enhance your communication skills and deepen your understanding of these crucial fields.

Vocabularies

Product Management:

• Product roadmap: A strategic plan outlining the vision, direction, and timeline for a product’s future development.

• Minimum Viable Product (MVP): The most basic version of a product that can be released to customers to validate assumptions and gather feedback.

• Product backlog: A prioritized list of features, bug fixes, and other work items that need to be addressed in a product.

• User stories: Short, simple descriptions of a feature from the perspective of the end-user.

• Wireframes: Low-fidelity visual representations of a product’s user interface.

• A/B testing: Experiments comparing two versions of a product or feature to determine which performs better.

• Iterate: To repeatedly refine and improve a product based on feedback and data.

• Product life cycle: The series of phases a product goes through from conception to retirement.

• Market fit: The degree to which a product satisfies a strong market demand.

• Pivot: A substantial change in a product’s strategy or business model.

• Feature roadmap: A plan that outlines the timeline and prioritization of specific features to be developed.

• Persona: A fictional character representing a target user or customer segment.

Product Ownership:

• Product vision: A clear and compelling description of what the product aims to achieve.

• Stakeholder management: The process of identifying, engaging, and satisfying the needs of various stakeholders involved with a product.

• Customer validation: The process of gathering feedback from customers to ensure the product meets their needs and expectations.

• Prioritize: To determine the relative importance of tasks or features in the product backlog.

• Groom: To refine and clarify items in the product backlog, ensuring they are well-defined and ready for development.

• Release planning: The process of determining which features and functionality will be included in a specific product release.

• Requirements gathering: The process of eliciting and documenting the needs and expectations of stakeholders for a product.

• User acceptance testing (UAT): The process of having end-users or subject matter experts validate that a product meets their requirements.

• Value proposition: A clear statement of the benefits and value a product offers to its target customers.

• Buy-in: The commitment and support of stakeholders for a product or its direction.

Project Management:

• Initiate: To formally start a new project or phase.

• Scope: The sum of all work required to complete a project successfully.

• Work breakdown structure (WBS): A hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed in a project.

• Milestone: A significant event or accomplishment marking progress in a project.

• Risk management: The process of identifying, analyzing, and responding to potential risks that could impact a project.

• Critical path: The sequence of activities that represents the longest path through a project, determining its earliest completion date.

• Earned value management: A technique for measuring project performance by comparing the planned and actual work accomplished.

• Gantt chart: A visual representation of project tasks and their planned and actual durations.

• Resource allocation: The process of assigning and scheduling project resources (people, materials, equipment) to specific tasks.

• Change management: The process of controlling and documenting changes to project scope, schedule, or requirements.

• Lessons learned: The knowledge and insights gained from a project, which can be applied to future projects.

• Project charter: A document that formally authorizes a project and outlines its objectives, scope, and stakeholders.

Scrum Framework:

• Sprint: A time-boxed period, typically 2-4 weeks, during which a specific set of work is completed.

• Daily Scrum: A short, daily meeting where team members synchronize their work and plan for the day ahead.

• Sprint backlog: A list of tasks or user stories the team commits to completing during a specific sprint.

• Sprint planning: The event at the beginning of a sprint where the team determines the work to be done.

• Sprint review: A meeting at the end of a sprint where the team demonstrates the completed work to stakeholders.

• Sprint retrospective: A meeting at the end of a sprint where the team reflects on their process and identifies areas for improvement.

• Scrum Master: The role responsible for facilitating Scrum practices and removing impediments for the team.

• Product Increment: The sum of all completed work items from the current and previous sprints.

• Velocity: A measure of the amount of work a team can complete during a sprint, used for planning and forecasting.

• Definition of Done: The agreed-upon criteria that must be met for a work item to be considered complete.

• Burn-down chart: A visual tool used to track the progress of work remaining in a sprint or release.

Agile Methodology:

• Agile manifesto: The foundational principles and values that guide agile software development.

• Cross-functional team: A team composed of individuals with diverse skillsets necessary to complete project tasks.

• Continuous integration: The practice of merging code changes frequently into a shared repository to detect integration issues early.

• Continuous delivery: The practice of keeping code in a deployable state at all times, enabling frequent and reliable releases.

• Kanban board: A visual representation of the workflow, displaying the progress of work items through various stages.

• Timeboxing: The practice of allocating a fixed amount of time for a specific activity or task.

• Lean development: A methodology that focuses on maximizing value and minimizing waste throughout the development process.

• User story mapping: A technique for visually organizing and prioritizing user stories to align with the overall product vision.

• Minimum Marketable Feature (MMF): The smallest set of functionality that provides value to customers and can be released independently.

• Technical debt: The implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy solution over a better approach.

• Scaling agile: The process of applying agile principles and practices to larger organizations or projects beyond a single team.

Software Development:

• Code review: The process of peers reviewing code changes to ensure quality, consistency, and adherence to best practices.

• Refactoring: The process of restructuring existing code without changing its external behavior to improve its internal structure, readability, and maintainability.

• Debugging: The process of identifying and resolving defects or errors in software code.

• Unit testing: The practice of testing individual units or components of a software system to ensure they function as expected.

• Integration testing: The process of testing the interaction between different components or systems.

• Deployment: The process of releasing a software application or update to a production environment.

• DevOps: A set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to shorten the development life cycle and provide continuous delivery of high-quality software.

• Version control: The practice of managing changes to source code over time, allowing for tracking, collaboration, and reverting to previous versions.

• Code repository: A centralized location where source code is stored, managed, and accessed by the development team.

• Pair programming: An agile software development practice where two programmers work together on the same code, taking turns as the “driver” and “navigator.”

• Continuous Monitoring: The practice of automatically monitoring the performance and health of software applications in production environments.

• Technical debt: The implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy solution over a better approach in software development.

Action Verbs

Product Management:

• Develop/Build (a product roadmap): The act of creating and defining the strategic plan for a product’s future direction.

• Validate (an MVP): The process of testing and gathering feedback on the minimum viable product.

• Groom/Refine (the product backlog): The action of organizing, clarifying, and prioritizing items in the product backlog.

• Conduct (user interviews or A/B testing): The process of gathering insights and data from users or running experiments.

• Iterate (on a feature or design): The act of repeatedly refining and improving a product aspect based on feedback.

• Analyze (user data): The process of studying and interpreting user behavior, metrics, and feedback to inform product decisions.

• Define (product strategy): The act of establishing the overall direction, goals, and approach for a product.

• Evangelize (the product vision): The process of promoting and generating enthusiasm for the product’s purpose and potential.

Product Ownership:

• Articulate/Communicate (the product vision): The action of clearly expressing and sharing the overarching goal for the product.

• Engage/Collaborate (with stakeholders): The process of actively involving and working with various stakeholders throughout the product development lifecycle.

• Gather/Solicit (customer feedback): The act of actively seeking and collecting input from customers to inform product decisions.

• Prioritize (backlog items): The process of determining the relative importance and order of work items in the product backlog.

• Negotiate (requirements): The act of balancing and reconciling conflicting needs or priorities among stakeholders.

• Advocate (for user needs): The process of representing and championing the interests of end-users within the product team.

• Facilitate (decision-making): The act of guiding the team or stakeholders through the process of making informed choices.

Project Management:

• Initiate/Kick off (a project): The action of formally starting a new project or phase.

• Define (project scope): The process of determining and documenting the boundaries and deliverables of a project.

• Identify/Assess (risks): The act of recognizing and evaluating potential risks that may impact the project.

• Monitor/Track (progress): The process of actively observing and documenting the advancement of a project against predefined milestones or targets.

• Mitigate (risks): The action of implementing strategies to reduce or eliminate the impact of identified risks.

• Allocate (resources): The process of assigning and distributing the necessary people, materials, and budget for a project.

• Manage (project constraints): The act of balancing and optimizing the scope, time, and cost constraints of a project.

• Communicate (project status): The process of regularly sharing updates and information about a project’s progress with stakeholders.

Scrum Framework:

• Facilitate (the Daily Scrum): The act of leading and guiding the team through the daily stand-up meeting.

• Commit (to the Sprint backlog): The process of the team agreeing to complete a specific set of work during the upcoming sprint.

• Demonstrate/Showcase (completed work): The action of presenting the outcome of the sprint to stakeholders during the Sprint Review.

• Retrospect/Reflect (on the process): The act of looking back on the team’s approach and identifying areas for improvement during the Sprint Retrospective.

• Timebox (activities): The practice of allocating a fixed amount of time for specific activities or meetings within the Scrum framework.

• Groom (the product backlog): The process of refining and clarifying product backlog items to ensure they are well-defined and ready for future sprints.

• Increment (the product): The act of adding new functionality or features to the product at the end of each sprint.

Agile Methodology:

• Foster (collaboration): The process of actively encouraging and facilitating cooperation among team members.

• Automate (processes): The act of implementing tools or scripts to streamline and optimize repetitive tasks or workflows.

• Visualize (workflow): The process of creating visual representations, such as Kanban boards, to depict the progress of work items.

• Adapt (to change): The ability to respond and adjust to changing requirements, priorities, or circumstances throughout the development process.

• Inspect (work): The act of regularly reviewing and evaluating the quality and progress of work to identify areas for improvement.

• Embrace (change): The willingness to accept and incorporate changes and feedback as part of the iterative development approach.

Software Development:

• Write/Code (software): The act of creating and developing software applications or systems.

• Refactor (code): The process of restructuring and improving the internal structure and quality of existing code without altering its external behavior.

• Debug/Troubleshoot (issues): The action of identifying and resolving defects, errors, or problems in software code.

• Test/Verify (functionality): The process of evaluating and confirming that software components or systems meet the specified requirements and behave as expected.

• Deploy/Release (software): The act of making a software application or update available in a production environment for end-users.

• Optimize (performance): The process of improving the speed, efficiency, and overall performance of software applications or systems.

• Architect (solutions): The act of designing and structuring the overall framework, components, and interfaces of software systems.

• Integrate (components): The process of combining and connecting different software modules or systems to work together as a cohesive unit.

Expressions and Idioms

Product Management:

• Shipping [product feature]: Releasing or launching a new feature.

• Putting out fires: Addressing urgent issues or problems as they arise.

• Moving the needle: Making a significant impact or progress on a key metric or goal.

• Throwing spaghetti at the wall: Testing multiple ideas or approaches to see what sticks.

• Scratching your own itch: Building a product to solve a problem you’ve personally experienced.

• Eating your own dog food: Using the product or service your company provides.

Product Ownership:

• Wearing multiple hats: Taking on various roles and responsibilities within the product team.

• Keeping the ball rolling: Ensuring progress and momentum on a project or initiative.

• Being the voice of the customer: Representing and advocating for the needs and perspectives of end-users.

• Building the plane while flying it: Continuously improving and evolving the product while it’s in use.

• Connecting the dots: Identifying and understanding the relationships between various product features or requirements

Project Management:

• Herding cats: The challenging task of coordinating and aligning diverse individuals or teams.

• Scope creep: The gradual and uncontrolled expansion of a project’s scope beyond its original boundaries.

• Hitting a roadblock: Encountering a significant obstacle or barrier that impedes progress.

• Dropping the ball: Failing to complete a task or responsibility.

• Keeping the plates spinning: Juggling multiple tasks or priorities simultaneously.

• Burning the midnight oil: Working late or putting in extra hours to meet a deadline.

Scrum Framework:

• Spinning plates: Juggling multiple tasks or responsibilities simultaneously.

• Being in the trenches: Being actively involved in the day-to-day work and challenges faced by the team.

• Pulling the andon cord: Raising awareness of a problem or issue that requires immediate attention.

• Hitting the ground running: Starting a new sprint or project with energy and momentum.

• Keeping the scrum machine well-oiled: Ensuring the team’s processes and practices are running smoothly.

• Burndown chart on fire: Making exceptional progress in completing the sprint backlog.

Agile Methodology:

• Failing fast: Quickly identifying and addressing issues or mistakes to minimize their impact.

• Cutting corners: Compromising quality or best practices to meet deadlines or achieve short-term goals.

• Drinking from the firehose: Being overwhelmed by a large amount of information or work.

• Waterfall hangover: Lingering habits or mindsets from traditional, non-agile approaches.

• Agile theater: Superficially adopting agile practices without fully embracing the underlying principles.

Software Development:

• Code smell: Indicators in the source code that suggest potential issues or areas for improvement.

• Yak shaving: Getting sidetracked or delayed by a series of seemingly insignificant tasks or issues.

• Reinventing the wheel: Duplicating effort by creating something that already exists, rather than reusing existing solutions.

• Pushing to production: Deploying code or updates to the live, production environment.

• Spaghetti code: Overly complex and tangled source code that is difficult to maintain or understand.

• Chasing waterfalls: Following a rigid, sequential development process instead of an iterative and incremental approach.