BUSINESS AGILITY GLOSSARY OF TERMS

TERM	DEFINITION	APPLICATION
Continuous Improvement	See [Incremental Improvement]	Look to make small gains every week at low risk, rather than big gains with big risks. Use iteration to create inspection points
Definition of Done	A complete description of what a completed unit of work looks like. A description of the deliverables and any related work-quality measures or standards.	Use this to clearly define and communicate exactly what constitutes success with small units of work that are about 1 week of effort and time. Include any quality criteria.
Incremental Improvement	Small improvements that get implemented frequently as more user experience with the product or service helps to identify opportunities to improve. Also known as “Continuous Improvement”	Same as Continuous Improvement
Iteration	a fixed period of time, typically two weeks, when a specific list of work is completed for subsequent review when time runs out. Also known as a “Sprint”	Use this to create a small packages of work that can get done by your team in 1 or 2 weeks. Then inspect the results when the iteration “time box” has expired.
Last Responsible Moment	The absolute last moment before a deadline. Also known as the LRM or “the first irresponsible moment, minus one.” Waiting till the LRM to make a irrevocable decision is always a good idea.	Be slow to make decisions before they need to be made. Instead, allow time for more information and thinking. Time and thinking create potential for new perceptions. Decide at (and not before) the LRM. Resist the urge to decide until you absolutely HAVE to. Note: Waiting till the LRM is NOT procrastination but rather, a good decision-making practice.
Lean Startup		A key business book from 2011 that describes how to be adaptive when developing new products, or entering new markets, or reaching for a goal. This book introduced the term Minimum Viable Product (MVP,) Validated Learning, and many other popular terms in use in business today
Minimum Viable Product	The absolute minimum product or service that can be presented to users and stakeholders for feedback. Not a demo, but rather ann actual working product or service that is used to generate Validated Learning (see also.)	Use the MVP idea to shorten the time between concept and implementation. The MVP allows you to test your ideas quickly and cut losses and “pivot” when your idea is invalid.
Product Backlog	From Scrum, an ordered list of everything that must be completed for the product or service to be completed. Items have the following minimum attributes: Priority, Description, Definition of Done	Use a prioritized and detailed Product Backlog to describe everything that needs to be done for the product or service to be complete and ready for implementation.
Product Goal	From Scrum At Scale, the Product Goal is	Use the Product Goal as your “true north” for the entire effort. Without a Product Goal, the effort has at least the potential to be misunderstood of vague. During times of ambiguity and uncertainty during development, look to the Product Goal for clarity.
Roadmap	A physical timeline usually constructed with sticky notes on a wall. Can also be constructed using online sticky-note tools like Miro. Used to depict features, milestones, and projected dates. Used to develop team-wide agreement on plans, probabilities and projections.	Use a roadmap to visualize the entire timeline with your team. Also, use the roadmap to raise questions, identify gaps in planning and understand where your product plan needs mmore definition.
Sprint	From Scrum, a fixed period of time, typically two weeks, when a specific list of work is completed for subsequent review when time runs out. Also known as an “iteration”	Use Sprints and iterations to define and complete substantial amounts of work and provide a natural inspection point at the end.
Validated Learning	From the book Lean Startup, this is learning generated from end-user feedback, usually from the user-experience of an MVP (see also.)	Use Validated Learning to confirm or invalidate your hypotheses and ideas about the product or service you are building. By using Validated Learning, you are not guessing, you are acting on feedback from actual users.
Working Agreement	A set of explicit understandings about how a group will work, including roles and related decision-rights, rules, artifacts, events, schedules, and norms.	Use working agreements to eliminate ambiguity or roles, decision-rights, norms, commitments, expectations, etc.