Want to learn about Product Management or just look smart at your interview for a new job in tech? Learn about the terms and acronyms used in technical product management. Ever want to understand the difference between Agile and Lean? User Testing and UAT? This deck covers that and soooo much more!

1. DECIPHERING
PM LINGO
WHAT DOES THE PM SAY?

2. WHO’S WHO
Product Manager (PM)
Program Manager (PM)
Project Manager (PM)
Product Owner (PO)
Business Analyst (BA)
Product Marketing Manager (PMM)

3. Software
development
process which
places the
highest value on
working
software.
AGILE

5. Plan ahead
Design in advance
Build once design is complete
Test for bugs
Release to the public
WATERFALL

6. Short (1-6 week) periods of development
SPRINT / ITERATION

7. User Stories - have user value
and acceptance criteria
Chores - no user value, but
have to get done anyway
Bugs - issues with something
that is already accepted
STORIES, CHORES, BUGS

8. EFFORT vs. POINTS
Estimation of
time that will be
invested
Estimation of
relative complexity

9. Regularly scheduled meeting (daily)
where the team stands up and discusses
current progress and blockers.
STANDUP

10. RETROSPECTIVE

11. Flavor of Agile with self
organizing teams and
a Scrum Master
SCRUM

12. AGILE LEAN

13. Strategy that
guides product
based on
validating
assumptionsand
reducing risk.
LEAN

14. “just worked like magic”
A Minimum
Viable Product is
the smallest
thing you can
build that allows
you to validate a
hypothesis
MVP

15. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT

16. VALIDATION
Plan next
iteration
Development and
Testing
Determine
Objective
Identify
Risks
Process of
checking if
you’re going
in the right
direction

17. “just worked like magic”
Methodology for
measuring
metrics which will
validate your
hypothesis and
identify
opportunities for
improvement
ANALYTICS

18. Anything known
about that can
negatively impact
the deliverables
RISK

19. Getting on the same page about the next phase
KICKOFF / INCEPTION

20. How a user gets from A → B → C → B …..
USER FLOW

21. Either…
A list of prioritized
features in this
release
OR…
A list of all
upcoming
releases for the
next few years
RELEASE PLAN

22. RELEASE CANDIDATE

23. An outline of where the product is headed in
the next few months (or years)
ROADMAP

24. BETA
The not-entirely finished product
given to select users

25. USER TESTING

26. A/B TESTING

27. Either…
The phases
needed to launch
a product and it’s
later features
Or…
The phases a
product will go
through once it’s
in the market
PRODUCT LIFECYCLE

28. GOVERNANCE
A group of people at a company who
are entrusted to make sure projects
are in line with organization’s goals

29. COMPLIANCE
Team the ensures products
follows rules generated by
government agency regulators

30. ACRONYMS

31. Costs Benefits
Time Future time savings / Stability
$$$ $$$
Public Perception Public Perception
Relationships (Customers, Investors) Relationships (Customers, Investors)
CB ANALYSIS

32. CHANGE
REQUEST
Process to note or
request an update
to the existing
specification
CR

33. KEY
PERFORMANCE
INDICATORS
The metrics
established that
will validate
assumptions
KPIs

34. MARKET
REQUIREMENTS
DOCUMENT
Includes
justification and
vision for a
product and
signoff to develop
it for a market
MRD…

35. PRODUCT
REQUIREMENTS
DOCUMENT
Includes every
detail needed to
build a product
PRD

36. RESPONSIBILITY ASSIGNMENT MATRIX
Chart to clarify who is responsible for what on a
cross-functional team for compliance
RACI

37. REQUEST
FOR PROPOSAL
Clients call for
consultants to
propose what
they could do to
help
RFP

38. SWOT ANALYSIS

39. QUALITY
ASSURANCE
Team which makes
sure things aren’t
broken
QA

40. USER
INTERFACE
The elements
which the users will
see, touch, or hear
UI Patterns
Flat UI
UI

41. USER
EXPERIENCE
Continuous concern
for how the user will
feel while interacting
with the product
UX

42. UAT
USER ACCEPTANCE TESTING

43. QUESTIONS?