In 30 seconds
- One-line definitions of the most common agile terms.
- Each term links to a full explanation.
- New terms are added as new topic pages go live.
Terms A to Z
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Acceptance criteria | Conditions a story must meet to be accepted. |
| Backlog refinement | Ongoing splitting, clarifying and sizing of backlog items. |
| Burndown chart | Chart of work remaining over time. |
| Daily Scrum | 15-minute daily planning check-in for Developers; also called stand-up. |
| Definition of Done | Shared quality bar every item must meet. |
| Developers | People in a Scrum team who build the Increment, whatever their specialty. |
| Epic | A large user story that must be split before it fits in a sprint. |
| Increment | Done, usable work that adds to all previous work. |
| INVEST | Checklist for good stories: Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable. |
| Kanban | Flow-based method using visual boards and WIP limits. |
| Kanban board | Columns of workflow steps with cards for work items. |
| Lead time | Time from a request being made to it being delivered. |
| MVP | Minimum Viable Product: the smallest experiment that tests a key assumption. |
| Planning Poker | Team estimation game with simultaneous card reveal. |
| Product Backlog | Single ordered list of everything that might improve the product. |
| Product Goal | Long-term objective the Product Backlog works toward. |
| Product Owner | Person accountable for maximizing product value. |
| Retrospective | Regular team session to improve how they work. |
| Scrum | Lightweight framework of sprints, three roles, five events, three artifacts. |
| Scrum Master | Coach accountable for the Scrum team's effectiveness. |
| Sprint | Fixed timebox of one month or less in which an Increment is built. |
| Sprint Backlog | The Sprint Goal, selected items and plan for one sprint. |
| Sprint Goal | The single objective for a sprint. |
| Sprint Planning | Event that starts a sprint and sets its goal and plan. |
| Sprint Review | End-of-sprint session with stakeholders to inspect the Increment. |
| Stand-up | Short daily team meeting; Scrum's version is the Daily Scrum. |
| Story points | Relative unit for sizing work by effort, complexity and uncertainty. |
| Technical debt | Future cost of shortcuts in code and design. |
| Throughput | Number of items finished per unit of time. |
| Timebox | Fixed maximum duration for an event or activity. |
| User story | Short description of a need from the user's point of view. |
| Velocity | Work finished per sprint, used for forecasting. |
| WIP limit | Maximum number of items allowed in a workflow step at once. |
| XP | Extreme Programming: engineering-focused agile framework. |
Terms that get confused
- Sprint vs iteration: the same idea; sprint is Scrum's name.
- Stand-up vs Daily Scrum: the Daily Scrum is Scrum's specific stand-up.
- Acceptance criteria vs Definition of Done: one story vs every story.
- Velocity vs throughput: points per sprint vs items per period.
Myth vs reality
Myth · Agile and Scrum mean the same thing.
Reality · Scrum is one agile framework; agile is the wider set of values.
Myth · Sprints and iterations are different things.
Reality · Same idea; "sprint" is Scrum's term.
Myth · You need to know all the jargon to start.
Reality · A handful of terms covers most day-to-day work.
FAQ
Where do most of these terms come from?
Many come from the Scrum Guide; others from XP, Kanban and lean manufacturing.
What are Scrum's official terms?
Its roles, events, artifacts and commitments, all listed on the Scrum page.
Is a term missing?
Use the search box; more topic pages are added in batches.