AgilePM� - Agile Project Management - Glossary (EN)

80:20 rule

A rule of thumb stating that 80% of consequences stem from 20% of causes. Also known as the Pareto Principle; it advocates pragmatism on a DSDM project. The value of the Pareto Principle is that it reminds you to focus on the 20% that matters.

BAD

The Business Area Definition. An element of the Solution Foundations product produced during the Foundations phase.

Bottom Up

Using this approach, each component is estimated individually and then the estimates estimating are summed to find the total effort.

Burn-down chart

A publicly displayed chart or graph counting the number of features/requirements remaining [work remaining] or time to complete the outstanding work [time remaining] for the current Increment or Timebox. Time to complete is always re-estimated, rather tha

Burn-up chart

A publicly displayed chart showing features/requirements that have been completed and the value earned so far.

Cheese

A colloquialism for the Feasibility and Foundations phases which are represented on the DSDM lifecycle diagram as a cheese shape.

DAD

The Development Approach Definition. An element of the Solution Foundations product produced during the Foundations phase.

Deployment

The DSDM phase which focuses on getting the solution or part of it into operational use.

Engineering

The DSDM phase used iteratively and incrementally to evolve the solution created during Exploration.

Exploration

The DSDM phase which is used iteratively and incrementally to investigate the detailed requirements and translate them into a form which can then be evolved into a viable solution.

Feasibility

The DSDM phase which gives the first opportunity for deciding whether or not the project is viable from a technical or business perspective.

Foundations

The DSDM phase to establish firm and enduring foundations from the three perspectives on a project of business, solution and management.

Function/Feature

See requirement.

Increment

1. A partial delivery of the final product, preferably into operational use if possible.
2. A part of the project which creates the partial delivery.

Iteration

1. A general term for working in a cyclic way, where several attempts are made in order to get a more accurate or beneficial result.
2. One cycle of Identify, Plan, Evolve and Review which takes place one or more times inside a Development Timebox.

MoSCoW

An DSDM prioritisation technique, mainly used on requirements although also useful in other areas (such as Testing). M stands for Must Have, S stands for Should Have, C stands for Could Have and W stands for Won't Have This Time.

Minimum Usable Subset (MUS)

The minimum set of requirements that can be delivered to meet the business need.
This is defined as the Must Haves.

Pizza

A colloquialism for either the Exploration phase or the Engineering phase which are shown as round circles on the DSDM lifecycle diagram.

Post-Project

The DSDM phase which takes place after the last planned Deployment. It is used to assess the business value delivered by the project.

Pre-Project

The DSDM phase where the initial idea or imperative is formalised in order to initiate a project.

Principle

A 'natural law' which acts as an attitude to take and a mindset to adopt on a DSDM project.

PRL

Prioritised Requirements List - A document holding a list of requirements for the final solution which have been prioritised using the MOSCOW technique. It may also hold other information, such as estimates and actuals.

Prototype

A piece of work that demonstrates how a given objective can be or has been achieved.

Requirement

Something the final solution needs to be able to do or to do to a certain level of performance. Similar to the words Function and Feature.

Retrospective

A facilitated workshop to look back on a recent event and to assess what went well and what could be improved.

ROI

Return on Investment.

SAD

The System Architecture Definition. An element of the Solution Foundations product produced during the Foundations phase.

Scope

A description of what the solution will do and what it will not do. This could be a list of features and/or a description of areas of the business which may or may not be affected.

Story points

A relative unit of size, used for estimating, planning and tracking in an Agile project.

TCO

Total Cost of Ownership. The cost of the whole life of a project, including support (rather than just considering the development cost).

Timebox

A fixed period of time, at the end of which an objective has been met. The objective would typically be a deliverable of some sort. Typically Timeboxes operative at development level, but timeboxing can also be applied at project and increment level. A -t

Top-Down

A technique for estimating using approximate sizings and groupings. For example, 10 estimating small components at typically one day each, 20 medium components at typically three days each, three complex components at typically five days each. These group

User Story

A requirement expressed from a user point of view. The usual format is:
As a <role> I need <the requirement or feature> so that <benefit to be gained>

Velocity

Velocity is a simple measure of the rate at which a team delivers business value. Velocity (initially estimated but soon validated by the team's track record of delivery) is used for forward planning. E.g. In an Increment of 4 x 2 week Timeboxes, a team w