Product Management Glossary: 50+ Terms

PRODUCT
MANAGEMENT
GLOSSARY
50+
terms
1
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
The most basic version of a
product that can be released
to gather user feedback.
“The team launched an MVP with
essential features to validate
their product concept.”
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2
Product Roadmap
A strategic plan outlining product
development goals and priorities
over time.
“The product roadmap includes a
timeline for launching new features
and improvements.”

3
Agile
A flexible product development
methodology that focuses on
iterative, incremental progress
“The development team used Agile
to release small features frequently,
improving the product continuously”

4
Backlog
A prioritized list of tasks, features,
or user stories awaiting
implementation.
“The product manager maintained
a backlog of user feature requests
for future development.”

5
User Story
A brief, user-centric description of
a feature's functionality
and purpose.
"As a customer, I want to be able to
reset my password so I can regain
access to my account."

6
KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
Metrics used to assess the success
and impact of a product.
"User engagement and conversion
rate are essential KPIs for our
product's performance.."

7
Market Research:
The process of gathering
information about customers,
competitors, and the industry.
“The product manager conducted
extensive market research to identify
customer needs and preferences.”

8
Persona
A fictional representation of a
typical user, helping in user-centric
design and decision-making.
“The team created user personas
to understand the diverse needs
of their target audience.”

9
A/B Testing
Comparing two or more variations
of a feature to determine which
one performs better.
“We used A/B testing to assess
whether a red or blue
call-to-action button led to
more conversions.”
10
Scrum
An Agile framework for managing
and delivering complex products.
“The development team follows
Scrum to organize their work into
time-bound sprints.”

11
Stakeholder
Individuals or groups with an
interest or influence in the
product's success
“The CEO, marketing team, and
customers are all stakeholders with
different perspectives.”

12
Feature Creep
Uncontrolled expansion of a
product's features, leading to
complexity.
“Feature creep derailed the project
timeline and increased development
costs.”

13
Sprint
A time-boxed period
(usually 2-4 weeks) during which
a specific set of tasks is completed.
“In the last sprint, the team focused
on bug fixes and performance
improvements.”

14
User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
The final testing phase where users
validate the product's functionality.
“The UAT phase revealed some
critical issues that needed to be
addressed before the launch.”

15
Product Owner
The person responsible for
defining and prioritizing product
features.
“Jane is the product owner and
works closely with the development
team to set priorities.”

16
Feature Freeze
A point in development where no
new features are added to the
product to prepare for release.
“We're in feature freeze mode now
to ensure a stable product for the
upcoming launch.”

17
SWOT Analysis
An evaluation of a product's
Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats.
“The SWOT analysis highlighted our
strengths in user experience but
weaknesses in marketing.”

18
Churn Rate
The rate at which customers stop
using a product over a specific
time frame.
“The company reduced churn rate
by improving customer support and
product features.”

19
Product-Market Fit
The stage when a product perfectly
satisfies its target market's needs.
“We achieved product-market fit
when our user base rapidly grew
after a feature update.”

20
Usability Testing
Evaluating the product's ease of
use through real user interactions.
“Usability testing helped uncover
navigation issues in our mobile app.”

21
Prototype
A preliminary model of a product

used for testing and validating
concepts.
“The product manager created a
prototype to gather early feedback
from stakeholders.”

22
Feature Prioritization
The process of ranking and
selecting features based on
their importance.
“We used a scoring system to
determine feature prioritization,
focusing on customer impact.”

23
Product Lifecycle
The stages a product goes through,
from introduction to decline.
“Understanding the product lifecycle
helps plan for updates and
eventual retirement.”

24
User Journey
Mapping the steps a user takes
when interacting with a product.
“We analyzed the user journey to
identify pain points and improve
the onboarding process.”

25
Cross-Functional Team
A group consisting of individuals
from different departments
working on a common goal.
“Our cross-functional team includes
developers, designers, and
marketers to launch the new
feature.”
26
Product Backlog Grooming
Regularly reviewing and refining
the items in the backlog.
“During backlog grooming, the
team removed outdated tasks
and added new ones based on
current priorities.”

27
Pivot
A fundamental change in the

product's direction to adapt to
market feedback.
“After a pivot, the product

shifted from a B2C model to a
B2B model to better serve
business needs.”
28
User Feedback
Input and comments from users

about the product's
performance and features.
“ The product team used user

feedback to fix bugs and
enhance the user experience.”

29
BETA Testing
The phase where a limited

group of users test the product
before its public release.
“AThe BETA testing phase

allowed us to identify issues
and improve the product
before launch.”
30
ROI (Return on Investment)
A measure of the financial

return gained from product
development and marketing
efforts.
“The ROI for the recent

marketing campaign was 150%,
indicating a successful effort.

31
Product Manager
The person responsible for the

overall success and strategy of
a product.
“As the product manager,

John leads the product team
and defines the product's
vision.”
32
Competitive Analysis
Evaluating the strengths and

weaknesses of rival products in
the market.
“The competitive analysis

revealed opportunities to
differentiate our product from
competitors.”

33
Feature Flag
A control mechanism to enable

or disable specific features
without code changes.
“Feature flags allowed us to roll

out a new feature gradually
and test its impact.”

34
User Retention
The ability to keep users
engaged and using the product
over time.
“ Improving user retention through
personalized recommendations led
to increased user loyalty.”

35
Product-Market Expansion
Identifying and targeting new
markets or customer segments.
“The company's growth strategy
includes product-market expansion
into international markets.”

36
Technical Debt
The backlog of technical work

that accumulates when quick
solutions are favored over
robust development.
“Addressing technical debt

became a priority as system
performance suffered due to
shortcuts.”
37
Release Notes
Documentation that
communicates changes and
updates to users when a new
version of the product is released.
“The release notes for the

latest update explained new
features and bug fixes to
users.”

38
Customer Development
The process of engaging with

potential customers to validate
and refine the product idea.
“Before building the product,

we conducted customer
development interviews to
understand their pain points.”

39
Milestone
Significant points in a project or

product development, used to
track progress.
“Achieving the milestone of

10,000 active users marked a
critical point in our product's
growth.”
40
Quality Assurance (QA)
The process of systematically

ensuring the product's quality
through testing and validation.
“The QA team rigorously

tested the product to find and
fix any issues before launch.”

41
In-App Purchase
The ability for users to buy

additional features or content
within the app.  
“The in-app purchase of

premium filters and stickers
boosts the app's revenue.”

42
Product Differentiation
Highlighting unique features or
benefits to set the product
apart from competitors.
“Our product's AI-powered
recommendation engine is a key
differentiator in the market.”

43
Escalation Process:
A defined procedure for
handling and resolving critical
product issues.
“When a major bug is reported,
the escalation process ensures
it's addressed promptly.”

44
Product Adoption
The rate at which users start
using and integrating the
product into their routine.
“High product adoption
indicates that users find value
in the product and are using it
regularly.”

45
SaaS (Software as a Service)
A software distribution model

where software is hosted and
accessed via the internet.
“Many companies offer SaaS

solutions for project
management, allowing teams
to collaborate online.”

46
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
The cost incurred to acquire a

new customer.
“The CAC includes marketing

expenses and sales team
salaries.”

47
Product Design
The process of defining the

product's appearance, layout,
and user experience.
“The product design team

created wireframes and
prototypes to visualize the new
feature.”
48
Champion
A user or customer who is highly

satisfied with the product and
promotes it to others.
“Sarah, a champion of our

product, referred several new
customers through word-of-
mouth.”
49
Roadmap Prioritization
Deciding which features and

improvements to prioritize on
the product roadmap.
“The team used customer

feedback and market trends to
guide roadmap prioritization.”

50
NPS (Net Promoter Score)
A metric to measure customer

satisfaction and willingness to
recommend the product.
“Our NPS score of 40

indicates a high level of
customer satisfaction and
loyalty.”

51
OKRs (Objectives and Key Results)
A goal-setting framework that
helps teams and individuals set
clear objectives and measurable
key results to drive progress and
focus on results.
“The product team used OKRs to set
the objective of increasing user
engagement by 15% and key results
included a 10% reduction in bounce rate
and a 20% increase in daily active users.”

52
Flywheels
A metaphor for a self-

reinforcing process that gains
momentum over time, often
applied to growth and user
engagement strategies.
“The referral program acted as a

flywheel, as each new customer
referred more users, creating a
self-sustaining growth mechanism.”

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PRODUCT

Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

The most basic version of a

product that can be released

to gather user feedback.

“The team launched an MVP with

essential features to validate

their product concept.”

Grab our top free product resources hellopm.co/join

A strategic plan outlining product

development goals and priorities

“The product roadmap includes a

timeline for launching new features

Grab our top free product resources hellopm.co/join

A flexible product development

methodology that focuses on

iterative, incremental progress

“The development team used Agile

to release small features frequently,

improving the product continuously”

Grab our top free product resources hellopm.co/join

A prioritized list of tasks, features,

or user stories awaiting

“The product manager maintained

a backlog of user feature requests

for future development.”

Grab our top free product resources hellopm.co/join

A brief, user-centric description of

"As a customer, I want to be able to

reset my password so I can regain

Grab our top free product resources hellopm.co/join

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

Metrics used to assess the success

and impact of a product.

"User engagement and conversion

rate are essential KPIs for our

Grab our top free product resources hellopm.co/join

The process of gathering

information about customers,

competitors, and the industry.

“The product manager conducted

extensive market research to identify

customer needs and preferences.”

Grab our top free product resources hellopm.co/join

typical user, helping in user-centric

design and decision-making.

“The team created user personas

to understand the diverse needs

of their target audience.”

Grab our top free product resources hellopm.co/join

Comparing two or more variations

of a feature to determine which

one performs better.

“We used A/B testing to assess

whether a red or blue

call-to-action button led to

An Agile framework for managing

and delivering complex products.

“The development team follows

Scrum to organize their work into

Grab our top free product resources hellopm.co/join

Individuals or groups with an

interest or influence in the