70 terms every Scrum Master and IT Project Manager should know — each with a plain definition, how it’s used on the job, a real example sentence, and how an interviewer is likely to ask about it (sometimes naming the term, often hiding it in a scenario).
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70 terms — pick a letter, search, or tap All to browse
The specific, testable conditions a user story must satisfy to be accepted as done. They define the boundaries of a story in plain, checkable terms.
On the job
Written with the Product Owner during refinement so everyone agrees what “working” means before the team starts building.
In a sentence
“Let’s nail the acceptance criteria before we pull this into the sprint, or we’ll argue about ‘done’ later.”
In an interview
Usually hidden inside a quality question: “A developer says a story is finished but the PO disagrees — what went wrong?” The answer is almost always missing or vague acceptance criteria.
Writing the acceptance tests for a story before building it, so the whole team shares one concrete definition of success (also called ATDD).
On the job
Used by mature teams to turn acceptance criteria into automated checks that prove a story works.
In a sentence
“We write the acceptance test first — it forces us to agree on behaviour before code.”
In an interview
Hidden in a quality discussion: “How do you stop misunderstandings between the PO and developers?”
An umbrella mindset for delivering work in small, frequent increments with fast feedback, rather than one big upfront plan. Scrum and Kanban are ways of being Agile.
On the job
Used to describe how a team works; ‘doing Agile’ (the ceremonies) matters far less than ‘being agile’ (responding to change).
In a sentence
“We’re Agile in name, but we still freeze scope for six months — that’s the real problem.”
In an interview
Often a trap: “What does Agile mean to you?” Weak answers list ceremonies; strong answers talk about feedback loops and responding to change over following a plan.
The 2001 statement of four values and twelve principles that defines Agile — e.g. individuals and interactions over processes and tools, responding to change over following a plan.
On the job
A reference point for resolving disputes about ‘the right way’ to work; the values outrank any specific practice.
In a sentence
“The Manifesto values working software over documentation — it doesn’t say zero documentation.”
In an interview
Sometimes asked directly (“Name a value from the Agile Manifesto”) to check you know the roots, not just the rituals.
The ongoing activity of adding detail, estimates and order to Product Backlog items so they’re ready for a future sprint. Also called grooming.
On the job
Run as a regular session (often weekly); a healthy backlog has the next sprint or two ready to go.
In a sentence
“Refinement is where we break the epic down and size it — not during sprint planning.”
In an interview
Usually hidden: “Your sprint planning always runs three hours and stories balloon mid-sprint — fix it.” The fix is refinement.
A chart showing work remaining over time — ideally trending down to zero by the end of the sprint or release. A quick read on whether you’ll finish.
Work remaining vs the ideal line, trending to zero by sprint end.
On the job
Used as an information radiator in the team room; a flat line means work isn’t closing, a cliff means stories were oversized.
In a sentence
“The burndown’s been flat for three days — something’s blocked, let’s find it.”
In an interview
Often hidden in a metrics question: “How do you know mid-sprint whether you’re on track?” Note it’s common practice, not part of official Scrum.
A chart showing work completed rising toward a total scope line. Unlike a burndown, it makes scope changes visible because the top line moves.
Completed work rising toward the scope line — which itself can move.
On the job
Preferred when scope is changing, because it separates ‘we did less’ from ‘the target grew’.
In a sentence
“The burnup shows we’re delivering fine — the scope line keeps climbing, that’s the issue.”
In an interview
A sharper follow-up to a burndown answer: “What if the scope keeps changing — does your chart still work?”
The justification for a project: the problem, the options, the costs, the benefits and the recommendation. It answers ‘why are we doing this and is it worth it?’
On the job
Owned by the sponsor; revisited at stage gates to confirm the work still makes sense.
In a sentence
“If the business case no longer holds, the bravest thing we can do is stop the project.”
In an interview
More of an IT PM question: “How do you decide whether a project should continue?”
The realistic amount of work a team can take on in a sprint, accounting for leave, meetings and support — not just headcount × days.
On the job
Used in planning to avoid over-committing; capacity drops when people are part-time on the team.
In a sentence
“Two people are on call this sprint, so our capacity is lower — let’s commit to less.”
In an interview
Hidden in an over-commitment scenario: “Your team keeps carrying work over every sprint — why, and what do you change?”
A defined process for evaluating, approving and recording changes to scope, schedule or budget, so change is managed rather than absorbed silently.
On the job
Used on plan-driven and hybrid projects; every change runs through an impact check before a sponsor decides.
In a sentence
“Happy to add it — let’s log a change request so we can see the impact on the date.”
In an interview
Tests whether you manage scope like an adult: “A stakeholder demands a new feature mid-project — walk me through what you do.”
Keeping software in a state where it can be released to production at any time, on demand, through an automated pipeline (CD).
On the job
Used to reduce the risk of big-bang releases; you can ship small changes safely and often.
In a sentence
“With continuous delivery we can release the fix this afternoon instead of waiting for the monthly window.”
In an interview
Often paired with CI in the same question; strong answers separate ‘can release any time’ (delivery) from ‘releases automatically’ (deployment).
The practice of merging code into a shared branch frequently, with automated builds and tests on each merge, so integration problems surface early (CI).
On the job
Used by engineering teams to keep the codebase always releasable; a red build stops the line.
In a sentence
“We catch most breakages in CI within minutes, not at the end of the sprint.”
In an interview
Hidden in a technical-fluency check for IT PMs: “How does your team keep quality high while shipping fast?”
The longest sequence of dependent tasks that determines the shortest possible project duration. Any slip on the critical path slips the whole project.
The longest chain of dependent tasks — it sets the finish date.
On the job
Used in scheduling to know which tasks you cannot afford to delay and where to focus attention.
In a sentence
“The vendor integration is on the critical path — if it slips a week, go-live slips a week.”
In an interview
A classic IT PM question, sometimes hidden: “Everything’s late — how do you decide what to protect?”
A team that has all the skills needed to deliver a usable increment without depending on outside groups — design, build, test, and more, together.
On the job
Used to remove hand-off delays; the opposite of a team that has to wait on a separate QA or design silo.
In a sentence
“We made the team cross-functional so we stopped throwing work over the wall to QA.”
In an interview
Hidden in a flow question: “Your team is always blocked waiting on another team — what would you change structurally?”
A chart showing how many items are in each workflow state over time. Widening bands reveal bottlenecks; a fat ‘In Progress’ band means too much WIP.
Items in each state over time; a widening band reveals a bottleneck.
On the job
Used mostly in Kanban to diagnose where work piles up and how predictable your flow is.
In a sentence
“The CFD shows work stacking up in review — that’s our bottleneck, not development.”
In an interview
An advanced metrics probe: “How would you find where work gets stuck in a flow-based team?”
The time from when work actually starts on an item to when it’s done. A core flow metric — shorter, more consistent cycle time means more predictable delivery.
From when work actually starts to when it is done.
On the job
Used to forecast and to spot items that are dragging; tighter cycle time beats chasing velocity.
In a sentence
“Our median cycle time is four days, so we can usually promise small changes within the week.”
In an interview
Often hidden behind predictability: “How do you give a stakeholder a reliable delivery date?”
A 15-minute daily event for the Developers to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt their plan for the next day. Also called the stand-up.
On the job
Run by and for the Developers — it’s planning, not a status report to the manager.
In a sentence
“The daily scrum isn’t for me — it’s the team re-planning their day around the goal.”
In an interview
A favourite trap: “Your stand-up has turned into a status meeting for the boss — fix it.” The keyword ‘daily scrum’ is hidden in the scenario.
A shared, formal checklist of the quality conditions an increment must meet to be releasable. It’s a commitment attached to the Increment in Scrum.
On the job
Used to prevent ‘done but not really done’; if it doesn’t meet the DoD, it isn’t done, full stop.
In a sentence
“It passes the tests but the docs aren’t updated — by our Definition of Done, it’s not finished.”
In an interview
Asked directly (“What’s in a good Definition of Done?”) and hidden (“two people disagree on whether a story is complete — what’s missing?”).
A team’s agreed checklist for when a backlog item is clear enough to be pulled into a sprint — e.g. has acceptance criteria, is sized, has no blocking unknowns.
On the job
Used to stop half-baked stories entering a sprint; it’s a common practice, not part of official Scrum.
In a sentence
“This story has no acceptance criteria — it’s not Ready, let’s refine it first.”
In an interview
Hidden in a planning-quality question: “How do you keep vague work from derailing a sprint?”
In Scrum, the people on the Scrum Team who do the work of creating a usable increment each sprint — regardless of job title. One of three accountabilities.
On the job
Used precisely in Scrum: ‘Developers’ means everyone building the increment, not only programmers.
In a sentence
“The Developers, designers and testers all count as ‘Developers’ in Scrum terms.”
In an interview
A definitions check: “Who are the ‘Developers’ in Scrum?” Many candidates wrongly say ‘just the coders’.
A culture and set of practices that unite development and operations to deliver and run software reliably and frequently, leaning on automation and shared ownership.
On the job
Used to break the wall between ‘build it’ and ‘run it’; the team that ships also supports.
In a sentence
“With DevOps the team owns the pipeline and the pager — quality went up fast.”
In an interview
Hidden in a modern-delivery question: “How do teams ship multiple times a day without breaking production?”
The idea that knowledge comes from experience and decisions are based on what is observed. Scrum is built on it via transparency, inspection and adaptation.
On the job
Used to justify short cycles: you make a small bet, look at the result, and adjust.
In a sentence
“We don’t need the perfect plan — ship a slice, inspect, adapt. That’s empiricism.”
In an interview
A deeper Scrum-theory probe: “What are the three pillars of empirical process control?” (transparency, inspection, adaptation).
A large body of work that’s too big for one sprint and gets broken down into features and stories. A container for related value.
On the job
Used to group and plan big initiatives before slicing them into deliverable pieces.
In a sentence
“The checkout epic is huge — let’s slice it into stories we can ship one sprint at a time.”
In an interview
Hidden in a backlog-structure question: “How do you take a massive initiative and make it deliverable?”
Forecasting the relative effort, complexity or duration of work — often in story points via planning poker — to support planning, not to set contracts.
On the job
Used to size work and shape sprint commitments; estimates are forecasts, not promises.
In a sentence
“Estimates are a forecast — if we treat them as guarantees, people pad them and trust dies.”
In an interview
Hidden in a predictability question: “Your estimates are always optimistic — how do you fix the team’s forecasting?”
A service or capability that delivers business value and fits within a single Program Increment. In SAFe it sits between an epic and a story.
On the job
Used at the program level to plan what an Agile Release Train will deliver in a PI.
In a sentence
“This feature has to land in the PI — let’s make sure the stories under it are ready.”
In an interview
A scaling question: “How does work flow from epic to feature to story in a large organisation?”
A horizontal bar chart of tasks against a timeline showing start dates, durations and dependencies. The classic plan-driven schedule view.
Tasks as bars on a timeline, showing overlap and dependencies.
On the job
Used on waterfall and hybrid projects to communicate timeline and dependencies to stakeholders.
In a sentence
“Leadership wants a Gantt for the milestones, even though the build itself runs in sprints.”
In an interview
Common in hybrid roles: “You run Agile delivery but your sponsor wants a timeline — how do you reconcile that?”
Anything slowing or blocking the team that they can’t easily remove themselves — a dependency, a decision, a missing access, a noisy environment.
On the job
Surfacing and clearing impediments is core Scrum Master work; you escalate the ones above the team’s reach.
In a sentence
“The access request has blocked us for two days — I’m escalating it today, it’s a real impediment.”
In an interview
Almost always hidden: “Tell me about a time you removed a blocker for your team.” The keyword ‘impediment’ rarely appears.
A concrete, usable step toward the Product Goal produced during a sprint. Each increment adds to the last and must meet the Definition of Done.
On the job
Used to keep value flowing every sprint; a sprint can produce several increments.
In a sentence
“Every sprint we ship a usable increment — even if it’s small, it works and it’s done.”
In an interview
A Scrum-artifact check: “What are the three Scrum artifacts?” (Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Increment).
A fixed, repeating time period in which a team plans, builds and reviews a slice of work. ‘Sprint’ is Scrum’s name for an iteration.
On the job
Used generically across Agile methods; the rhythm matters more than the label.
In a sentence
“Each iteration we deliver something real and learn from it — that cadence is the point.”
In an interview
Mostly a vocabulary check linking generic Agile to Scrum’s ‘sprint’.
A flow-based method that visualises work on a board, limits work in progress, and optimises for smooth, continuous delivery rather than fixed sprints.
Work pulled left to right; a WIP limit caps how many sit in Doing.
On the job
Used by support, ops and steady-stream teams; pull the next item when capacity frees up.
In a sentence
“We moved support to Kanban — no sprints, just a WIP limit and a fast flow.”
In an interview
A Scrum-vs-Kanban question: “When would you choose Kanban over Scrum?” (continuous, unpredictable, interrupt-driven work).
The total time from when a request is made to when it’s delivered — including the wait before work starts. The customer’s view of speed.
From request to delivery — it includes the wait before work starts.
On the job
Used to measure responsiveness end to end; lead time minus cycle time is your queue time.
In a sentence
“Cycle time looks fine, but lead time is three weeks — requests sit in the queue too long.”
In an interview
A flow-metric distinction worth knowing: “What’s the difference between lead time and cycle time?”
A philosophy from manufacturing focused on maximising value and eliminating waste — anything that doesn’t help the customer. Underpins Agile and Kanban.
On the job
Used to challenge busywork: if a step doesn’t add value, question it.
In a sentence
“That approval adds three days and no value — lean thinking says cut it.”
In an interview
Hidden in a process-improvement prompt: “How do you decide which parts of a process to remove?”
A significant checkpoint in a plan — a date or event marking the completion of a phase or deliverable. Milestones have zero duration; they mark, not do.
On the job
Used to track progress and report to stakeholders; a missed milestone is an early warning.
In a sentence
“The security sign-off milestone is at risk — let’s flag it before it blocks go-live.”
In an interview
A status-reporting question: “How do you communicate project progress to a steering committee?”
The smallest version of a product that delivers real value and lets you learn from actual users — not a half-built product, but a complete thin slice (MVP).
On the job
Used to test the riskiest assumption fast and avoid building the wrong thing for a year.
In a sentence
“Let’s ship an MVP to ten real users before we build the full feature set.”
In an interview
Hidden in a prioritisation question: “The deadline’s tight and scope is huge — how do you decide what to build first?”
A cadence-based, two-day event where all teams on an Agile Release Train plan the upcoming Program Increment together, surfacing dependencies and risks face to face.
On the job
Used to align many teams at once; it’s the heartbeat of SAFe and a frequent enterprise interview topic.
In a sentence
“We found the cross-team dependency at PI planning — far cheaper than finding it mid-PI.”
In an interview
Asked directly in enterprise interviews (“Walk me through PI planning”) and hidden (“how do you align many teams?”).
A consensus estimation technique where the team reveals story-point estimates simultaneously on cards, then discusses the gaps to reach a shared number.
On the job
Used in refinement or planning to surface different understandings of a story, not just to get a number.
In a sentence
“The spread on planning poker was huge — that’s the signal we don’t understand the story yet.”
In an interview
Hidden in an estimation question: “How do you get a team to a shared estimate without the loudest voice winning?”
The single, ordered, emergent list of everything that might improve the product. The Product Owner is accountable for its content and order.
On the job
Used as the one source of work for the team; if it isn’t on the backlog, the team doesn’t work on it.
In a sentence
“If you want it built, let’s get it on the backlog and ordered against everything else.”
In an interview
A core Scrum question, often hidden: “Five stakeholders all want their thing first — how do you handle it?” (one ordered backlog, PO decides).
The long-term objective the Scrum Team is working toward; it lives in the Product Backlog and gives every sprint a direction. A commitment of the Product Backlog.
On the job
Used to keep sprints pointed at something bigger than the next story.
In a sentence
“Every sprint goal should move us toward the product goal — otherwise we’re just busy.”
In an interview
A 2020-Scrum-Guide check: “What commitment is attached to the Product Backlog?” (the Product Goal).
The single person accountable for maximising the value of the product by owning and ordering the Product Backlog. One of the three Scrum accountabilities.
On the job
Used as the decisive voice on ‘what’ and ‘in what order’; one person, not a committee.
In a sentence
“The PO makes the call on priority — that’s the whole point of having one accountable owner.”
In an interview
Often hidden in a conflict scenario: “The team and a stakeholder disagree on priorities — who decides and how?”
In SAFe, a fixed timebox (usually 8–12 weeks) in which an Agile Release Train delivers value, made up of several sprints plus an innovation-and-planning iteration (PI).
On the job
Used as the planning and delivery cadence for a whole train of teams.
In a sentence
“We commit to PI objectives at PI planning, then deliver them across the sprints inside it.”
In an interview
A scaling question: “How does planning work when a dozen teams have to stay aligned?”
The person accountable for delivering a project’s outcome — owning scope, schedule, budget, risk and stakeholders. Owns ‘what ships and when’, often across teams.
On the job
Used on plan-driven, hybrid and blended delivery roles; distinct from a Scrum Master, who owns ‘how the team works’.
In a sentence
“As PM I own the date and the risks; the Scrum Master owns the team’s way of working.”
In an interview
The blended-role question: “What’s the difference between a project manager and a Scrum Master?”
A responsibility matrix that marks who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed for each task or decision. One person accountable per row.
On the job
Used to kill the ‘I thought you had it’ problem; clarifies ownership across a project.
In a sentence
“The RACI says one person is Accountable for sign-off — so we stop waiting on a committee.”
In an interview
Hidden in an ownership question: “Work keeps falling through the cracks between teams — what tool would you use?”
A register tracking Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Dependencies for a project, each with an owner and an action. The PM’s early-warning system.
On the job
Used in status reporting and steering meetings; reviewed regularly so nothing festers in someone’s head.
In a sentence
“It’s on the RAID log with an owner and a date — we’re not relying on anyone’s memory.”
In an interview
An IT PM staple, sometimes hidden: “How do you keep track of everything that could derail a project?”
Improving the internal structure of code without changing what it does, to keep it easy to change. Pays down technical debt deliberately.
On the job
Used continuously so the codebase stays workable; skipping it is how delivery slowly grinds to a halt.
In a sentence
“We’ll refactor the payment module this sprint — it’s slowing every change we make.”
In an interview
Hidden in a quality-vs-speed question: “The team says they need to slow down to clean up code — how do you handle that with the business?”
The servant leader who facilitates an Agile Release Train in SAFe — effectively the chief Scrum Master for the train, driving PI planning and removing cross-team impediments (RTE).
On the job
Used in scaled enterprises; a common ‘next step up’ for an experienced Scrum Master.
In a sentence
“As RTE I clear the impediments no single team can solve and keep the train aligned.”
In an interview
A scaling-career question: “Where does a Scrum Master go next in a SAFe organisation?”
The sprint’s closing event where the team inspects how it worked — people, process, tools — and commits to one or two concrete improvements. Not a blame session.
On the job
Run every sprint; the test of a good retro is whether anything actually changes afterward.
In a sentence
“Great retro — but it only counts if that one action ships next sprint.”
In an interview
Hidden in a continuous-improvement question: “How do you make a team actually get better over time, not just vent?”
A risk is something that might happen (future, uncertain); an issue is something that has happened (present, real). You mitigate risks and resolve issues.
On the job
Used to keep a RAID log honest; conflating the two leads to surprises being managed as if they were hypotheticals.
In a sentence
“That’s not a risk anymore — it happened. It’s an issue now, so it needs a fix, not a mitigation.”
In an interview
A precision check: “What’s the difference between a risk and an issue?” Sloppy answers blur them.
The gradual, unmanaged expansion of a project’s scope as small additions sneak in without adjusting time or budget. Death by a thousand ‘quick asks’.
On the job
Controlled through a clear baseline and change control; the goal isn’t to say no, it’s to make the cost of yes visible.
In a sentence
“Each add-on seems small, but together it’s scope creep — let’s run them through change control.”
In an interview
A management-maturity question: “How do you handle a stakeholder who keeps adding ‘just one more thing’?”
A lightweight framework for delivering complex work in short cycles, built on empiricism, with three accountabilities, five events and three artifacts. It’s a framework, not a full methodology.
On the job
Used by single teams to deliver iteratively; the framework is deliberately incomplete — you add practices around it.
In a sentence
“Scrum tells you the events and accountabilities — it doesn’t tell you how to estimate or test.”
In an interview
A foundational question, often probed: “Is Scrum a methodology or a framework, and why does the distinction matter?”
The person accountable for the Scrum Team’s effectiveness — a true leader who serves the team, coaches good practice, and removes impediments. Leads through influence, not authority.
On the job
Used to grow a self-managing team; not a project manager, not the team’s boss, not a secretary for the board.
In a sentence
“I don’t assign work — I help the team work well and clear what’s in their way.”
In an interview
Almost always probed for depth: “What does a Scrum Master actually do all day?” Weak answers list ceremonies; strong ones describe coaching and impediment removal.
A scaling technique where representatives from several Scrum teams meet regularly to coordinate work and surface cross-team dependencies.
On the job
Used to keep multiple teams aligned without forcing everyone into one giant meeting.
In a sentence
“We raised the shared dependency at scrum of scrums before it bit two teams at once.”
In an interview
A light-scaling question: “How do a handful of teams stay coordinated without a heavyweight framework?”
A team that decides internally who does what, when and how, rather than being directed by a manager. A goal of Scrum, supported by the Scrum Master.
On the job
Used to move from ‘told what to do’ to ‘owns how to deliver’; it’s built over time, not declared.
In a sentence
“My job is to make the team self-managing — if they need me to assign tasks, I’ve failed.”
In an interview
Hidden in a leadership-style question: “How do you lead a team you have no authority over?”
A leadership style focused on serving the team — removing obstacles, growing people and enabling their success — rather than commanding them. Core to the Scrum Master stance.
On the job
Used to describe how a Scrum Master leads: influence, coaching and support over authority.
In a sentence
“Servant leadership means I succeed when the team does — my job is to clear their path.”
In an interview
Often the heart of ‘why do you want this role?’ — they’re listening for leadership without authority.
A timeboxed piece of research or experimentation to reduce uncertainty before committing to building something — e.g. a day to test whether an approach works.
On the job
Used when a story is too uncertain to estimate; you buy knowledge first, then plan.
In a sentence
“We can’t size this yet — let’s run a one-day spike to learn enough to estimate it.”
In an interview
Hidden in an estimation question: “What do you do when the team genuinely can’t estimate a story?”
A fixed timebox of one month or less in which a usable increment is created. The container event for all other Scrum work; the next starts as the last ends.
A fixed, repeating cycle that ends with a usable increment.
On the job
Used as the team’s heartbeat; length stays consistent so the team builds a reliable rhythm.
In a sentence
“We keep sprints to two weeks — same length every time, so our forecasting actually improves.”
In an interview
A foundations check, sometimes hidden: “Why does it matter that the sprint length stays the same?”
The Sprint Goal plus the set of Product Backlog items chosen for the sprint plus the plan to deliver them. Owned by and changeable only by the Developers.
On the job
Used as the team’s live plan for the sprint; it flexes as they learn, as long as the goal holds.
In a sentence
“We can re-shape the sprint backlog mid-sprint — what we don’t change is the sprint goal.”
In an interview
A precision question: “Who owns the sprint backlog and can it change mid-sprint?”
The single objective for the sprint that gives the work coherence and focus. A commitment of the Sprint Backlog — the ‘why’ behind the stories.
On the job
Used to make trade-offs mid-sprint: keep the goal, flex the scope around it.
In a sentence
“If we have to drop a story to hit the sprint goal, we drop the story — the goal is the commitment.”
In an interview
A 2020-Scrum-Guide check, sometimes hidden: “Half the stories are at risk mid-sprint — what do you protect?”
The event that starts the sprint, where the team agrees why this sprint matters (Sprint Goal), what it can deliver, and how it will start the work.
On the job
Used to set a realistic, goal-focused commitment; it’s collaborative, not the PO dictating a list.
In a sentence
“Planning is three conversations: why, what, and how — not just pulling stories off the top.”
In an interview
Hidden in a scenario: “Your planning runs four hours and the team over-commits every time — what do you change?”
A working session near the end of the sprint where the team and stakeholders inspect the increment and adapt the Product Backlog together. More than a demo.
On the job
Used to get real feedback and re-order the backlog; stakeholders are participants, not an audience.
In a sentence
“The review isn’t a show-and-tell — it’s where stakeholders’ feedback actually changes the backlog.”
In an interview
A common confusion to test: “What’s the difference between a sprint review and a retrospective?”
Anyone affected by or able to affect the work — sponsors, users, leadership, other teams. Managing them is a core part of both SM and PM roles.
On the job
Used constantly: knowing who cares, what they need, and how to keep them aligned.
In a sentence
“Let’s map the stakeholders before launch so no one feels blindsided by the change.”
In an interview
Almost always hidden in a story: “Tell me about a difficult stakeholder you had to win over.”
A unit of relative effort, complexity and uncertainty used to size stories — not hours. Common practice in Agile, though not part of official Scrum.
On the job
Used to estimate and forecast; they work because relative sizing is faster and more honest than guessing hours.
In a sentence
“It’s a 5 — about twice the effort of that 3 we did last sprint, give or take.”
In an interview
Often probed: “Why estimate in story points instead of hours?” Strong answers stress relative sizing and uncertainty.
The future cost of taking a shortcut now — quick-and-dirty code or skipped quality — that makes later changes slower and riskier. Sometimes taken on deliberately.
On the job
Used to make trade-offs visible to the business; unmanaged debt is why ‘simple’ changes start taking weeks.
In a sentence
“We can hit the date by adding tech debt — but let’s log it and pay it down next sprint.”
In an interview
Hidden in a delivery-pressure question: “The business wants it faster — what do you trade, and how do you make the cost visible?”
A fixed maximum amount of time allotted to an activity; when the time’s up, you stop and inspect, rather than running over. Every Scrum event is timeboxed.
On the job
Used to protect focus and force decisions — a spike, a meeting, a sprint all have a hard limit.
In a sentence
“Let’s timebox this to fifteen minutes — if we can’t resolve it, we take it offline.”
In an interview
A facilitation question: “Your meetings always overrun — how do you keep them tight?”
The balance of scope, time and cost (with quality at the centre) — change one and you change at least one other. Also called the iron triangle.
Change one of scope, time or cost and at least one other must give.
On the job
Used to explain trade-offs to stakeholders: you can’t add scope, hold the date and not add cost.
In a sentence
“You want more scope and the same date — the triple constraint says cost or quality has to give.”
In an interview
A negotiation question: “A sponsor wants more scope, sooner, for less — how do you respond?”
A small, user-centred description of a need in the form ‘As a [user], I want [goal], so that [benefit]’. A placeholder for a conversation, not a spec.
On the job
Used to slice work around user value and keep the ‘why’ attached to the ‘what’.
In a sentence
“Write it as a user story so we keep the user’s benefit front and centre, not just the feature.”
In an interview
Often hidden: “How do you make sure the team builds for the user and not just ships features?”
The amount of work (usually story points) a team completes per sprint on average. A planning aid for the team — not a productivity score to compare teams.
Work completed per sprint — a forecasting aid, not a target to chase.
On the job
Used by the team to forecast how much to take on; it’s a capacity signal, not a target to inflate.
In a sentence
“Our velocity’s about 30 — so committing to 45 this sprint is setting ourselves up to fail.”
In an interview
A classic trap: “How would you increase a team’s velocity?” The mature answer pushes back on velocity as a target.
A sequential, plan-driven approach where each phase (requirements, design, build, test, release) completes before the next begins. Predictable when requirements are stable.
On the job
Used where scope and regulation are fixed; many real projects are hybrid — waterfall governance over agile delivery.
In a sentence
“The hardware is waterfall by necessity, but the software around it runs in sprints.”
In an interview
A hybrid-reality question: “When is waterfall actually the right call over Agile?”
A cap on how many items can be in a given workflow state at once. Limiting work in progress is the core lever of Kanban — it forces finishing over starting.
Cap the number of items in progress — finish before you start more.
On the job
Used to expose bottlenecks and improve flow; when a column is full, you help finish before you start new work.
In a sentence
“We hit the WIP limit on review — stop pulling new work, go help clear the column.”
In an interview
Hidden in a flow question: “Your team starts lots and finishes little — what one change would you make?”
A hierarchical decomposition of all the work in a project into smaller, manageable deliverables and tasks. A plan-driven way to make sure nothing’s missed (WBS).
On the job
Used in traditional planning to build estimates and schedules from the bottom up.
In a sentence
“We built a WBS so every deliverable has an owner and nothing falls between the cracks.”
In an interview
A traditional-PM question, sometimes hidden: “How do you make sure you’ve captured all the work in a large project?”
Weighted Shortest Job First — a SAFe prioritisation model that sequences work by dividing the cost of delay by the job size, so you do the highest-value, smallest jobs first.
On the job
Used in Lean-Agile portfolios to decide what to build next based on economics, not the loudest voice.
In a sentence
“By WSJF this small high-value item beats the big one — cost of delay over job size.”
In an interview
An advanced scaling question: “How do you prioritise a backlog of features at the portfolio level?”
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Knowing the words isn’t the same as living them
Reciting definitions won’t carry an interview — telling a real story behind each one will, and that takes practice. A strategy call is where we look at where you’re stuck and whether our mentorship is the right fit to get you there.
About OAKKTREEUNII. OAKKTREEUNII mentors career changers into Scrum Master and IT Project Manager roles across North America. These definitions are written the way practitioners actually use them, not copied from a textbook. Learn more about us →
