Agile Terminology 101: Agile Terms You Need to Know

Adriana Girdler

Clear definitions of all the agile terms that sound confusing! It’s easy to get lost in the jargon of Agile terminology. If you’re confused about …

Clear definitions of all the agile terms that sound confusing!

It’s easy to get lost in the jargon of Agile terminology. If you’re confused about some Agile terms you’ve heard, don’t worry because I have some simple definitions for you.

To start out with, what even is Agile?

Agile Definition

Agile is a project management approach that emphasizes flexibility and collaboration.

This approach is heavily used in the software industry. It takes all the project requirements, prioritizes them, and puts them into segments that get executed in cycles.

Agile ensures that you can complete a project without having to do a lot of rework.

Sprint Definition

A sprint is a designated time period where Scrum teams complete specific objectives and move toward their target goals as scheduled.

They have their requirements, fit it into a sprint, and then when they are done, they get new requirements and do it in a second sprint. These cycles repeat until the project is complete.

Backlog Definition

A backlog is a prioritized list of features and requirements for a project that has not been started yet.

User Story Definition

A user story is a brief description of a feature or requirement from the perspective of an end-user.

The purpose here is to show how the software feature is going to provide value to the customer.

Scrum, Scrum Master, Bottleneck, Kanban, Lean, Stakeholder, Retrospective, Iteration, Timeboxing, Product Owner

Still confused about some (or all) of the agile terminology above?

Head over to my latest YouTube video where I give you clear and concise definitions of these terms, including visuals! See you there.

Meanwhile, if you really are committed to mastering your next project, do consider taking my SLAY Project Management online course where I show you step-by-step how to successfully manage a project, plus you get access to every template you will need, along with detailed video instructions on how to fill them out.

Adriana Girdler, PMP | Creator of Slay Project Management

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Adriana Girdler is a project manager, productivity specialist, entrepreneur, professional speaker, facilitator, visioning wizard, and author. As President of CornerStone Dynamics, Adriana is one of Canada’s prominent business productivity and project management specialists—helping both individuals and businesses do what they do, only better. She is a certified master black belt lean six sigma with over 20 years’ experience improving how companies work.

She also holds both PMP (project management professional) and CET (certified engineering technologist) designations. She’s a Tedx speaker, as well as a HuffPost and Thrive Global contributor. She has been interviewed on Global, CBC, CTV, CHCH, 680News Radio, Newstalk 1010, Sirius XM and published in the Globe and Mail and numerous industry magazines. WANT ADRIANA'S FREE ONLINE TRAINING? In 45 min, learn Adriana's 5 project management secrets she use on EVERY project. Sign up for the Free Webinar here: THE FAB FIVE FUNDAMENTALS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

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