Tech Industry Terminology Glossary
This glossary provides a breakdown of common tech industry terms, categorized by relevant roles. For Everyone: - SaaS - Software as a Service: Software delivered over the internet, accessible via subscription (e.g., Spotify, Salesforce). - API - Application Programming Interface: A set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate with each other. - Cloud: Servers and data storage accessible over the internet, rather than being hosted on local physical servers in an office. - Agile: A project management approach emphasizing iterative development, collaboration, and continuous improvement, typically through short "sprints" rather than long, sequential projects. - B2B/B2C - Business-to-Business/Business-to-Consumer: Refers to the type of sales or market a company operates in. B2B sells to other businesses, while B2C sells directly to individual consumers. - Churn: The rate at which customers stop doing business with a company or cancel their subscriptions. - ARR - Annual Recurring Revenue: The predictable, recurring revenue a company expects to receive from its subscriptions over a year. - CAC - Customer Acquisition Cost: The cost associated with convincing a potential customer to buy a product or service. - LTV - Lifetime Value: A prediction of the net profit attributed to the entire future relationship with a customer. - MVP - Minimum Viable Product: A version of a new product with just enough features to satisfy early customers and provide feedback for future product development. For Program Managers: - Scrum: An agile framework for managing complex projects, typically involving short iterations called sprints. - Kanban: A visual system for managing workflow, using cards on a board to represent tasks and their progress. - JIRA: A popular software tool used for issue tracking, project management, and agile development. - Stakeholder: Any individual or group that has an interest in or is affected by the outcome of a project. - Blocker: An impediment or issue that prevents a team or individual from making progress on a task. - Sprint: A short, time-boxed period (typically 2 weeks) during which a development team works to complete a set amount of work. - Backlog: A prioritized list of features, bug fixes, or other work that a team needs to complete. - User Story: A short, simple description of a feature told from the perspective of the end-user. - Roadmap: A high-level visual summary that maps out the vision, direction, and evolution of a product or solution over time. - OKRs - Objectives and Key Results: A goal-setting framework used by organizations to define and track objectives and their outcomes.