Agile project management glossary

Iterative or agile terminology can be confusing. We have compiled a list of the most common agile terminology you may come across, and their definitions:

• Agile – a project management approach based on delivering requirements iteratively and incrementally throughout the life cycle.
• Agile development – an umbrella term specifically for iterative software development methodologies. Popular methods include Scrum, Lean, DSDM and eXtreme Programming (XP).
• Agile Manifesto – describes the four principles of agile development: 1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools. 2. Working software over comprehensive documentation. 3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation. 4. Responding to change over following a plan.
• Backlog – prioritised work still to be completed (see Requirements).
• Burn down chart – used to monitor progress; shows work still to complete (the Backlog) versus total time.
• Cadence – the number of days or weeks in a Sprint or release; the length of the team’s development cycle. 
• Ceremonies – meetings, often a daily planning meeting, that identify what has been done, what is to be done and the barriers to success.
• DAD (disciplined agile delivery) – a process-decision framework.
• Daily Scrum – stand-up team meeting. A plan, do, review daily session.
• DevOps (development/operations) – bridges the gap between agile teams and operational delivery to production.
• DSDM (dynamic systems development method) – agile development methodology, now changed to the ‘DSDM project management framework’.
• Kanban – a method for managing work, with an emphasis on just-in-time delivery.
• Kanban board – a work and workflow visualisation tool which summarises the status, progress, and issues related to the work.
• Lean – a method of working focused on ‘eliminating waste’ by avoiding anything that does not produce value for the customer.
• LeSS (large-scale Scrum) – agile development method.
• RAD (rapid application development) – agile development method; enables developers to build solutions quickly by talking directly to end users to meet business requirement.
• Requirements – are written as ‘stories’ that are collated into a prioritised list called the ‘Backlog’.
• SAFe (scaled agile framework enterprise) – agile methodology used for software development.
• Scaled agile – agile scaled up to large projects or programmes, for example by having multiple sub-projects, creating tranches of projects, etc.
• Scrum – agile methodology commonly used in software development, where regular team meetings review progress of a single development phase (or Sprint).  
• Scrum of scrums – a technique to operate Scrum at scale, for multiple teams working on the same product.
• Scrum master – the person who oversees the development process and who makes sure everyone adheres to an agreed way of working.
• Sprints – a short development phase within a larger project defined by available time (‘timeboxes’) and resources.
• Sprint retrospective – a review of a Sprint providing lessons learned with the aim of promoting continuous improvement.
• Stories – see Requirements.
• Timeboxes – see Sprints.
• Velocity – a measure of work completed during a single development phase or Sprint.
• Waterfall – a sequential project management approach that seeks to capture detailed requirements upfront; the opposite to agile.
• XP (eXtreme Programming) – agile development methodology used in software development; allows programmers to decide the scope of deliveries.