Glossary of terms

Acceptance Criteria

Acceptance criteria are the detailed set of conditions the backlog has to meet to be accepted by the Owner/Users.

Area

Areas are functional capabilities or sub-products of a very large product. Requirements of the product is managed area wise for ease of management.

Automated Step

An automated step enables the pipeline to invoke a user-defined script. This automated step script can be run in any of the defined resources at the stage level.

Backlog is an ordered list of everything that is known to be needed in the product.

Breakdown

Breakdown enables a large backlog item to be broken down into smaller child items. Eg. Initiatives are broken down into features. Features are broken down into stories.

Burn-down

A burn-down chart is a graphic representation of how quickly the team is working on the backlogs. The burn-down chart shows the Story Points done against the total amount of work (Story Points) for each iteration.

Business Value

Business value defines the value delivered by a backlog item. Traditionally they are measured using metrics like ROI, NPV, IRR etc. Agile teams use a relative scoring measured in business value points.

CFD

Cumulative Flow Diagram is an area chart that shows the progress of the backlogs for a particular period.

Components

Components are software systems or applications or technical components that are built to realize a product. For E.g. a Consumer Banking Product can be implemented using a core banking software, an online banking portal and a mobile app. Features can be derived based on the components.

Constraints

Constraints are non-functional requirements that restrict or enforce a certain design or implementation decisions on a Backlog. Constraints could be a business constraint or a technology constraint.

Defect

Defect is a condition where the software does not meet the end user need or an error or fault in the software system. These are reported by the customers or end users during the actual usage of the product.

Definition of Done

The definition of done (DoD) is a set of all conditions that a software product or a backlog item must satisfy to be accepted by a user.

Definition of Ready

The definition of done (DoR) is a set of all conditions that a backlog item must satisfy to be marked as ready for implementation.

Dependency

Dependency is a condition where a story cannot be marked as done without another story being completed

Done Date

The Done date is the date when the backlog is moved to Done status.

Done Pile

Done Pile is a list of all the completed backlog items. All backlog in the done state will move to the done pile when the release schedule or iteration schedule is closed or it can be manually moved into the done pile.

Epic

Epics are large stories that can be broken down into smaller set of stories

Feature

Feature is a high level solution behavior addressing one or more stakeholder needs.

Modules

Modules forms the core definition of a way of working. They define the various capabilities supported by each way of working. These capabilities support the end to end solution development and delivery processes. E.g. Vision, Stories, Iteration, Tests, Collaboration etc.

Goals

Goals are specific metrics defined for each initiative to be achieved within a specific time frame. Goals should be quantifiable and achievable and can be tracked against the target as per defined frequency.

Impediments

An Impediment is anything that keeps the team from getting work done and slows velocity or throughput.

Initiative

An Initiative is a container for solution development effort large enough to require analysis, a light weight business case and financial approval before implementation.

Issues

Issues are defects found during the in-sprint testing process.

Iteration Schedule

An Iteration schedule is a short one or two week time-box where the team implements the stories and creates a working software.

Iteration Backlog

Iteration Backlog is a subset of the Release backlog and consists of the user stories that are planned in the iteration.

Iteration Capacity

Iteration capacity is the amount of work that the agile team can take in the iteration. This is derived based on the sum of velocity of the participating scrum teams.

Jile

Jile is an enterprise agile planning and delivery platform that helps enterprises build and deliver innovative software solutions to the market faster.

Job

Job is a logical collection of steps to fulfil a required action. Jobs can be executed either sequentially or parallelly within a stage.

Kanban

Kanban is a lean tool that helps teams to manage work by visualizing the workflow, minimize the amount of work in process, optimize the flow and be agile.

Kanban Team

Kanban Teams can define their work-items as backlogs or a generic support work items and track the progress of such work items on a board.

Key Member

A Key Member is a person responsible for the success of the product but do not participate in development activities. They provide strategic guidance and management support required for the teams.

Key Results

Key Results are specific metrics defined for each objective to be achieved within a specific time frame. Key results should be quantifiable and achievable and can be tracked against the target as per defined frequency.

Large Product

A Large Product consists of multiple sub-products each addressing a specific functional area or business apability, each of which is managed by a Team of Agile Teams.

Lead time

Lead time is the time it takes for the backlog item to move from the start state to the done state.

Level

Levels are level within the hierarchy of the organization. Each level can have its own set of Functions depending on the kind of work that gets executed at that level. E.g. It could be Portfolio, Program, Project etc.

Manual Step

Manual steps allow users to configure steps that can be executed and marked as completed manually. These steps require manual intervention or checks by an authorized person.

Objectives

Objectives are short to medium term business and product goals that must be achieved by a specified timeline. Objectives help product teams to align their work towards the business and product goals.

Parameters

Parameters are variables that are required to complete any step or stage. Parameter can be defined at the pipeline level or stage level and used in the corresponding steps.

Pipeline

A pipeline is an automated process that helps the teams to build, deploy and test their code into different environments and finally into the hands of the users.

Personas

Personas are fictional characters created to represent the users of your product. They help you to understand the user's needs, challenges and goals and identify potential features or capabilities that help them achieve their goals or solve their challenges.

Plannable Entity

Plannable Entity refers to the backlog item type that can be planned into a specific time-box. Jile provides 3 levels of Backlog item types namely Capabilities, Features and Stories.

Planning Model

Planning model defines how the team plans and delivers the backlog items. It can either follow a time-box model or a flow model.

Plug-in

A plug-in is an out-of-box component or add-on that performs a specific function. This can be availed from the plug-in store and added as a automated step in the deployment pipeline.

Plug-in Step

Plug-in Step is a pre-configured step that provides specific feature or functionality. These can be selected from the plug-in store and set up as steps in your stages.

Plug-in Store

Plug-in store is a repository of plug-ins in Jile.

Portfolio

Portfolios are business segments or Line Of business which your enterprise is organized into. These portfolios are made up of multiple products which address key business capabilities.

Product

A Product is anything that can be offered to a market or to internal customers that might satisfy a want or a need. A product can have one or more software systems or components associated with it. Products have a long life-cycle and evolve from an Idea stage to development to implementation and finally retirement.

Product Centric Delivery Model

A product-centric delivery model is a way of working where outcome oriented biz-dev-ops teams are organized and funded around key IT enabled business capabilities or products that Think-Build-Deliver innovative software solutions to their customers and provide continuous value to all stakeholders.

Ready Date

Ready date is the date when the backlog is moved to Ready status.

Release Backlog

Release Backlog is a subset of the product backlog and consists of the features that are planned in a specific release.

Release Capacity

In scrum, capacity is the amount of product backlogs that a team can satisfy during a time box. This is derived based on the participating teams' velocity and number of iterations.

Release Schedule

Release Schedule or time-box represents a longer term planning horizon which enables teams to plan and deliver backlog items to achieve a larger goal. Release Schedule has a fixed start and end date and contains multiple Iteration time-boxes.

Release Version

Release versions is the increment of the product which is released or planned for release to the market. This is referenced from the release.

Retrospective

Retrospective is an opportunity for the scrum teams to inspect itself about the development process and practices and identify areas for improvement.

Release Roadmap

Release Roadmap helps the product teams to visualize the features planned in the upcoming release timelines which sketches the product evolution journey.

Reports

Reports helps you to view the information in Jile across portfolios and products and teams in a structured format. View the complete data set through tables, organize data in the way you require through Pivots and analyze different trends through Charts.

Resources

A resource for a stage is a physical or a virtual system, where a script based pipeline step (automated step or plugin step) can be executed. Every stage will invoke step scripts on one or more defined resource.

Split

Split functionality enables teams to split a backlog item (feature/story) into multiple backlog items. Typically If the backlog item is big and cannot be completed in the time-box (release or iteration), then they are split so that they can planned across time-boxes.

Stage

Stage is a collection of jobs and steps which typically denotes the set of activities to be performed to complete the deployment in that particular resource.

Step

Step is a set of instructions or scripts that need to be executed.

Story

A Story is a high level definition of a system requirement containing just enough information addressing one or more stakeholder needs. Story is the leaf most item of the backlog hierarchy. Stories can either originate from a Feature or can be an independent item.

Story Point

A story point is an abstract measure of effort required to implement a user story. It is derived based on a relative estimation.

Success Criteria

Success criteria are more of an introspection to check how well the project has been executed in terms of a set of Measurable criteria or Key Metrics. Measurable criteria can be established at the beginning of the project which will define the project success rate later.

Tasks

Tasks are development work that the teams performs to complete a Story. Tasks are small enough to be completed by one person in a few hours or a maximum of a day. Stories are usually broken down into tasks during the grooming process and estimated in hours.

Team

An agile team consists of people working intensively together to deliver value to the users and customers of their products or services and the stakeholders. Agile teams are cross functional and have everything to produce a working, tested increment of the product. They follow a whole-team approach where everyone is responsible for the quality and success of the product.

Team Availability

Team availability enables setting the availability of individual team members for an iteration.

Team Backlog

Backlog items owned by a specific team

Tenant

The Tenant is the container for items of your Organization that owns and manages a specific instance of Jile.

Terminologies

Terminologies defines alternate labels for different entities in Jile. This helps to customize or define your specific vocabulary to suit your organizational needs.

Test Library

Test Library is a repository of test suites and its associated test cases that may be planned and executed in a release/iteration.

Test Suites

Test suite is a collection of test cases that can be executed for validating the quality of the product increment. These test suites are planned at iteration level.

Tests

Tests are formal specifications that validate the features, stories and non-functional constraints. They are defined as set of conditions with the expected outcome.

Throughput

Throughput is the amount of work delivered over a certain period of time.

Time-box

Time-box is fixed time schedules where a limited set of work is planned to be delivered

User Name

User Name is the unique email id which is used to login to Jile.

Velocity

Velocity is the average story points that the team delivers per iteration.

Vision

Vision is an overarching goal that defines the purpose of the Portfolio/Product. Vision provides a continued purpose for program and guides the team towards a common directive.

Wait Time

Time a story is waiting for work to get done.

Way of working

A way of working defines the specific working model each product or team chooses to use. It helps the teams to decide what agile methods, processes and practices they want to use.

Work-Area

A work-area is a logical container for teams to manage product development and delivery processes

Work In Process

Work In Process is count of stories which is currently beng worked on.

Work Items

Work Items is a list of items that are planned by the Kanban teams. The Work Items can in form of backlog or generic support work items.

Worklog

Work Log are tracked against the tasks. Work Log store and manage information about the time spent by users on activity.

Workspace

A workspace is a logical container for teams to manage product development and delivery processes and contain one or more work areas.

Workspace Navigator

Workspace Navigator helps the teams to view the list of workspace and its details, its child work-areas, and navigate to a specific workspace / work-area