Throw out the old ways, in with the new. Let’s stop comparing those apples and oranges.
A common language is what keeps us understanding each other. So when we speak about certain business terms, we may use words for one thing even though we may mean another. And, sometimes a word has a strong meaning for someone, while for you it's just a few letters.
When it comes to working more agile and respond to changes — many of the old school business words are not useful anymore, as they imply things that no longer exists. So here is the list! (well, a part of it, for the full list - buy the book!)
| Forbidden word | means | Say instead | means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milestone | A time based end or middle station for a project | Achievement | A place where we can be proud of some outcome |
| Deadline | Newspaper is print over night so you better release before this | Release estimate | Estimated release but depending on other factors that can occur |
| Asap | Do this now because I need it now | Raise priority | Move it higher up the list as it’s important |
| Task | Something that needs to be done | Story | Someone is doing something and this is what happens, maybe this should happen instead |
| Deliverable | A package of features for a release | Feature | A single feature that can be released separately and without dependencies |
| Project | A package of activities that has a start and an end | Product | An ever improving Product which is never ever done |
| Resource | Person who works in a project | Co-worker | A real human being who has feelings, motivations, ideas, makes assumptions and is not perfect |
| Working hours | The amount of time someone spend at the computer | Outcome | The actual result of the entire idea when it’s released to production and is generating feedback |
| Critical path | The chain of activities that must not be disturbed as if it is then everything else will take longer time | Iteration | An improvement to the product, released as a small, non-dependent complete solution (can vertically cover all parts) |
Read more in "The CTO Playbook" available on Amazon/Kindle.
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