Agile Glossary: 100 Essential Terms
- Michelle M
- Aug 24
- 6 min read
Agile has transformed the way organizations approach project management, product delivery, and continuous improvement. But with transformation comes terminology. The Agile world is filled with frameworks, roles, ceremonies, and practices that can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially to newcomers.
To help teams, leaders, and professionals speak the same language, this Agile Glossary provides more than 100 essential terms you need to understand and apply in daily practice.
Agile
A mindset and approach to product development and project management focused on adaptability, collaboration, and delivering value quickly.
Agile Coach
A professional who guides organizations, teams, and individuals in adopting Agile practices and fostering an Agile mindset.
Agile Manifesto
The foundational document created in 2001 that outlines values and principles behind Agile software development.
Agile Release Train (ART)
In SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework), an ART is a long-lived team of Agile teams working toward a common mission.
Agile Transformation
The process of shifting an entire organization toward Agile practices, culture, and mindset.
Acceptance Criteria
A set of predefined requirements a product or feature must meet before being accepted as complete.
Backlog
A prioritized list of work items, features, or requirements awaiting development.
Backlog Grooming (Refinement)
The ongoing process of reviewing and updating the backlog to ensure items are well-defined and prioritized.
Burndown Chart
A visual representation of remaining work versus time in a sprint.
Burnup Chart
A chart showing completed work toward a goal over time, often used to track progress against scope.
Cadence
The regular rhythm of Agile events, such as sprint planning, reviews, or program increments.
Capacity
The total amount of work a team can handle in a sprint or release cycle.
Continuous Delivery (CD)
The practice of ensuring software can be released to production at any time through automated testing and deployment.
Continuous Deployment
A step beyond CD, where every validated change is automatically deployed to production without manual intervention.
Continuous Integration (CI)
The practice of frequently merging code changes into a shared repository with automated builds and tests.
Cross-Functional Team
A team composed of members with all the skills necessary to deliver a product increment.
Customer Collaboration
An Agile principle emphasizing working closely with customers throughout development.
Daily Stand-up (Daily Scrum)
A short daily meeting where team members synchronize work and discuss impediments.
Definition of Done (DoD)
A shared understanding of what it means for work to be considered complete.
Definition of Ready (DoR)
Criteria that backlog items must meet before they are taken into a sprint.
DevOps
A culture and set of practices integrating development and operations for faster and more reliable delivery.
Emergent Design
An approach where design evolves as the system grows, instead of being fully defined upfront.
Empiricism
The Agile principle of making decisions based on observation, experience, and experimentation.
Epic
A large body of work that can be broken down into smaller user stories.
Extreme Programming (XP)
An Agile methodology emphasizing technical practices such as test-driven development and pair programming.
Feature
A service or functionality valuable to users, often larger than a user story but smaller than an epic.
Fibonacci Sequence
A numerical sequence (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13…) often used for relative estimation in Agile.
Flow
A state of continuous progress without delays or bottlenecks in delivering value.
Increment
The sum of all backlog items completed in a sprint, representing a step toward the product goal.
Information Radiator
A visible display, like a task board or burndown chart, that communicates status and progress.
INVEST
A mnemonic for writing good user stories: Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable.
Iteration
A fixed period, usually one to four weeks, where Agile teams deliver a product increment.
Iteration Review
A meeting to inspect the increment and adapt the backlog if needed.
Iteration Retrospective
A ceremony where teams reflect on what went well and what to improve in the next iteration.
Kanban
A visual workflow management method focused on limiting work in progress and optimizing flow.
Kanban Board
A tool used to visualize workflow stages and track tasks through them.
Kaizen
A Japanese term meaning “continuous improvement,” integral to Agile culture.
Lean
A philosophy focused on maximizing value while minimizing waste.
Lean Portfolio Management
A SAFe practice for aligning strategy and execution through Lean and Agile principles.
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
The smallest version of a product that delivers value and can be tested with users.
Pair Programming
A practice where two developers work together at one workstation to improve code quality and knowledge sharing.
Persona
A fictional character representing a user type to help guide product development.
PI Planning (Program Increment Planning)
A large-scale planning event in SAFe where teams align on shared goals.
Planning Poker
An estimation technique using cards with numbers (often Fibonacci) for consensus-based sizing of work.
Prioritization
The act of deciding which backlog items deliver the most value and should be completed first.
Product Backlog
The master list of work for a product, owned by the Product Owner.
Product Goal
A clear, long-term objective that provides direction for product development.
Product Increment
A usable and potentially shippable piece of functionality created during a sprint.
Product Owner (PO)
A Scrum role responsible for maximizing the value of the product and managing the product backlog.
Program Board
A visualization of dependencies and milestones across teams in a Program Increment.
Release
The delivery of a product increment to users or customers.
Release Planning
The process of forecasting what functionality can be delivered in upcoming releases.
Roadmap
A high-level visual summary that outlines a product’s direction and priorities over time.
SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework)
A framework for applying Agile practices at scale across large enterprises.
Scrum
One of the most widely used Agile frameworks, emphasizing sprints, roles, and ceremonies.
Scrum Board
A tool used to track sprint backlog items through development stages.
Scrum Master
A servant-leader role responsible for fostering Scrum practices and removing impediments.
Servant Leadership
A leadership style where the leader prioritizes team needs and facilitates growth.
Spike
A timeboxed research activity to explore technical or functional feasibility.
Sprint
A timeboxed iteration in Scrum, typically one to four weeks.
Sprint Backlog
The set of backlog items selected for completion during a sprint.
Sprint Goal
A concise objective for the sprint that provides focus and alignment.
Sprint Planning
A meeting at the start of a sprint to determine what work will be completed.
Sprint Retrospective
A ceremony at the end of a sprint where the team reflects and identifies
improvements.
Sprint Review
A meeting to demonstrate the increment and gather stakeholder feedback.
Story Mapping
A technique for organizing user stories to visualize workflows and prioritize features.
Story Points
A relative estimation unit used to size backlog items.
Sustainable Pace
The principle that teams should work at a pace that can be maintained indefinitely.
System Demo
In SAFe, a demonstration of the fully integrated system delivered by multiple Agile teams.
Task Board
A visual tool used to track the progress of tasks within a sprint.
Technical Debt
The cost of rework caused by taking shortcuts or poor-quality code.
Test-Driven Development (TDD)
A practice where tests are written before code to ensure quality and maintainability.
Timeboxing
Allocating a fixed amount of time for an activity to encourage focus and efficiency.
Transparency
Making work, progress, and issues visible to everyone.
User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
Testing performed by end users to ensure the product meets their needs.
User Story
A short, simple description of functionality told from the user’s perspective.
User Story Mapping
An activity to create a shared understanding of user needs and prioritize features.
Value Stream
The series of steps needed to deliver value to a customer.
Velocity
A measure of how much work a team completes in a sprint.
WIP (Work in Progress) Limit
A Kanban practice of capping the number of items allowed in progress at one time.
Working Agreement
A set of rules or norms agreed upon by the team to guide collaboration.
XP (Extreme Programming) Practices
A collection of engineering practices like refactoring, TDD, and pair programming used in Agile.
YAGNI (You Aren’t Gonna Need It)
A principle cautioning against adding functionality until it is absolutely necessary.
Zen of Agile
A mindset of simplicity, focus, and continuous improvement in Agile practices.
Final Thoughts - Agile Glossary
Agile is more than frameworks, ceremonies, and processes—it’s a mindset. But mastering the terminology helps build alignment, reduces confusion, and accelerates transformation. Whether you’re a Product Owner, Scrum Master, developer, or executive, having a glossary of Agile terms ensures everyone speaks the same language. By familiarizing yourself with these 100+ terms, you’ll be better prepared to lead, contribute, and succeed in Agile environments.
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