Project Management Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms small teams and solo developers actually use. No enterprise jargon, no fluff.
B
- Backlog
An ordered list of everything a team might work on — features, bugs, improvements, and ideas — that hasn't been started yet. Items are pulled from the top of the backlog when there's capacity, so the order encodes priority.
- Burndown chart
A line chart that tracks remaining work against time over a sprint. The line 'burns down' toward zero as tasks are completed, giving an at-a-glance read on whether a team is on pace to finish.
C
D
- Daily standup
A short, recurring team sync — traditionally 15 minutes, held standing up — where each member shares what they did, what they're doing next, and what's blocking them. Core to scrum, optional everywhere else.
- Due date
The date by which a task is meant to be completed. Due dates create accountability and let a tool surface what's overdue or coming up, but over-using them turns a board into a wall of false deadlines.
E
F
K
- Kanban
A workflow method that visualizes tasks as cards on a board, where cards move left-to-right through columns representing stages of work. Originated at Toyota in the 1940s; adapted to software in the 2000s.
- Kanban board
A visual workspace divided into columns where each column represents a stage of work, and tasks are represented as cards that move through the columns from left to right as they progress.
P
S
- Sprint
A fixed-length time-boxed iteration (commonly 1–4 weeks) during which a software team commits to completing a specific set of tasks. Core to the scrum framework.
- Story points
A unit of relative estimation used in agile teams to express how much effort a task will take, without committing to hours. Points capture complexity and uncertainty rather than wall-clock time.
- Subtask
A smaller, checklist-style item nested under a parent task. Subtasks break a single task into concrete steps without cluttering the board, and the parent isn't done until its subtasks are.