Here is a glossary - under construction - of terms and concepts about team, project and agile management. Use it wisely as a reference and do not assume that all concepts, tips and learnings can be summarized in one sentence.
If you would like me to write about a concept, feel free to write and I will try to talk about it - if I know about it of course.
A
Agility
Agile is the ability to create and respond to change. It is a way to cope and succeed in an uncertain and turbulent environment. We could say that "doing agile" should be "thinking agile" - in English known as the agile mindset.
Recommended reading:
Agility at Scale
The application of the concept of "agility" at the organizational scale. That is, the ability of organizations to master continuous change, which allows them to thrive in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. In this sense, scale refers to the number of people, organizational units, locations and countries in which the same organization operates.
Recommended reading:
Antipattern
A popular solution to a problem that is ineffective or may have adverse consequences. Some common antipatterns in the agile management environment are: Brooks' Law, Gold platinggroup thinking, and micromanagement.
B
Backlog
The most general definition of backlog is the ordered or prioritized list of things to be done or completed. While many people use the word backlog interchangeably to refer to product backlog, in academic terms, they are not the same.
Recommended reading:
Product backlog
It is an ordered or prioritized list of new features, pending changes to be made to existing features, and defect fixes to be made, all associated with a product or service to be delivered or improved. Sometimes the product backlog may also include items such as enablers that include changes to the infrastructure or other components that are not necessarily the product - such as marketing activities or experiments with users to validate acceptance or rejection of certain changes or functionalities.
Recommended reading:
Equipment backlog
It is an ordered or prioritized list of all the work that a team is expected or estimated to execute. It is important to clarify that the backlog may include items that, being of low priority, may never be executed.
Recommended reading:
Iteration backlog
A prioritized or ordered list of items - tasks, deliverables or features - that are included within the iteration or Sprint engagement. The iteration backlog may include more activities or detail not initially contemplated in the Product Backlog, as a result of a refinement or detailed planning activity.
Recommended reading:
Burndown
See burn diagram.
Burnup
See burn diagram
D
Daily standup meeting
Also known as "Daily", "Daily Scrum Meeting". See daily meeting
Definition of completed - definition of done
An agreement on the activities that must occur to complete a product increment. It can be thought of as a "checklist" that seeks to promote member self-management of product and process quality.
Definition of ready-to-run definition of ready
An agreement on the qualities that a requirement or element within the Product Backlog must meet or have in order to be contemplated as part of an iteration planning.
Continuous deployment
It is a software development practice that invites to deploy - install the code under construction - as soon as possible and as continuously as possible, in an environment - be it testing, certification or even production. However, some literature separates deployment, deploy in English, of the liberation or release. So deployment does not always mean "go to production".
Burn-in diagram
Graphical representation of the amount of work remaining or completed within a period of time - i.e., on the X-axis represents time (days, weeks or iterations) and on the Y-axis, work. The "downward" or "top-down" burndown diagram or burndown represents in a continuous line the amount of work to be completed. The "upward", "upward" or "upward" burn diagram represents the amount of work to be completed. burnup represents in a continuous line the work completed to date.
I
Continuous integration
It refers to the practice of maintaining unified and regular source code. That is to say, it implies an intensive use of version control systems or VCS for its acronym in English. Imagine it is like writing a document among several people and making sure at the end of the day that the changes made by all are updated and adjusted in the central document - and thus avoiding the famous naming of files "document_versionA", "document_versionB" and the always funny "versionA", "document_versionB" and the always funny "versionB" files.document_final_version_DoNot_Modify_To_Print_Never_Change_TQM_X100PRE" ;-).
Iteration
It is a period of time of fixed duration - timeboxed - during which work is being done to resolve the pending issues of the Iteration Backlog. The duration of the iteration can last one or several weeks, but the shortest possible duration is always recommended, no more than 4 weeks or 8 weeks - according to the author and the model used.
K
Kanban
It is a method designed to visualize and facilitate workflow management.
Recommended reading:
P
Product Owner
It is one of the roles within the model Scrum. He is responsible for ensuring that the team delivers results with value. He is considered the guardian of the Product Backlog and who refines the requirements.
Recommended reading:
- Product Owner or Scrum Master
- What is a Backlog and how is it used in projects and product development?
R
Daily meeting
It is a short meeting that occurs every day at the same time and seeks to synchronize the team. That is, by completing the activity, the team is expected to understand "where we are at" and "what issues lie ahead" for the remainder of a cycle or iteration. This activity is undoubtedly the most popular among agile teams.
S
Scrum
Scrum is a lightweight framework that helps individuals, teams and organizations generate value through adaptive solutions to complex problems.
Recommended reading:
- What is Scrum and why should your team evaluate it?
- Scrum, Lean, Kanban, scale and other agile methods
- Project Management Methodology
Scrum Master
It is a role within the framework Scrum. Responsible for ensuring that the team - or development team - lives the Agile and Scrum values and principles correctly and respects the framework and its activities.
Recommended reading:
- What is Scrum and why should your team evaluate it?
- Product Owner or Scrum Master
- A Good Scrum Master's Guide
- If you are agile, you don't need project managers
Sprint
Specific name of the iteration under the Scrum model. See iteration.
T
Kanban board
It is part of the method Kanban and refers specifically to the "visualize" part of the flow. Oversimplified, the dashboard is a multi-column representation of a team's workflow. Each column represents a "step" or "stage" in that flow and the items in each column - almost always viewed as cards - are the elements, products or deliverables that are in that stage.
Recommended reading:
