A quick checklist of technical terms everyproject/product/programme/account manager should be aware of. Knowing these will give you greater confidence when speaking to various takeholders.
SEO
Search engine optimisation. The term is used to make websites more attractive to search engines so that they are ranked higher in search results.
HTML
Hypertext markup language. The language that web pages are built upon. An HTML page consists of tags such as <body> <footer> <h1>
Knowing some basic HTML can be useful for SEO purposes. Meta tags are used to add descriptions, keywords and so forth to a page so that search engine spiders can crawl and gather the necessary information from a site.
Header tags (H1, H2, H3) are used to separate content into different headings. Both the order in which they are used can affect search engine optimisation. Plus, it also helps to use the keyword you trying to rank within a header tag.
CSS
Cascading style sheets. Used to style web pages. Without CSS the internet would be full of boring colourless content. Style sheets control many factors on a web page such as font size, the amount of padding, alignment and so forth.
CSS has evolved to become a pre-processor called Sass. For coders, Sass or SCSS (Syntactically awesome stylesheets) provide a mechanism to create styling that requires lines of code to be easier to manage and maintain. Whilst it does take longer to set up than normal CSS3.
IDE
Integrated development environment. It is a software application that is primarily used for software, (including web, API and app) development. Developers can create code files with the appropriate file extensions as well as the layout for a project without the need to create the basic required folders and configuration files. A good IDE will also include a debugger and run/build processor.
Common examples include Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code, Eclipse, PhpStorm and Android Studio.
SQL
Structured query language. The main scripting language to run queries in databases to select, update and delete data. Depending on the tech stack, the SQL language can differ slightly. Microsoft tends to use Transact-SQL, open source or PHP uses MySQL, and there is also Oracle’s own version of SQL. All are very similar.
NoSQL is a language that has gained more popularity within the past decade.
SaaS
Software as a service. A software platform that is commonly accessed via a web browser and uses cloud computing architecture. Common examples include Box, Trello, Google Workspace and GMail, as well as AWS and Microsoft Azure.
Repo
Repository. A good example is GitHub. Good IDEs today have a repository built-in, making it easier for developers to grab projects from a server as well as ‘check-in code’ to the repo so that other developers can view and access it. It is essentially to use a repository in software projects so that code is kept up-to-date, code can be merged together whilst spotting conflicts and also the latest release can be tested for bugs whilst a new release can be simultaneously worked on by using a method known as branching.
FTP
File transfer protocol. A method of sending and accessing files to and from a server without having to actually remotely log into a server. A user can access a specific directory to update specific files.
SFTP is a secure method of transferring files.
XML
Extensible markup language. This is a language and file type for storing and sending data, such as order information from an e-commerce website to a warehouse management system.
JSON
JavaScript Object Notation. Similar to an XML file for the purpose of storing and sending information. Because of the layout of a JSON file, it is easier to read and understand. A JSON file typically uses arrays to split information and works differently to parse data.
JS
JavaScript. A front-end scripting language that helped transform the web from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. Whilst CSS3 has the ability to create animations, JavaScript can do the same to help define the behaviours of a website. There is a lot you can do with JS from a front-end point of view
Front-end
Front-end in programming essentially means creating the front-end of a website, app or system. This could entail styling, displaying and parsing data to look presentable as well as adding graphics and animations. JavaScript and jQuery are considered front-end technologies
Back-end
Back-end programming usually refers to coding logic that speaks to the front end and also the database layer. Backend languages consist of C#, Java, Python and PHP.
API
Application Programming Interface. Software that allows two applications to communicate with each other without the need to directly access the database and to easily access required data about a variety of allowed information.
Kanban
As described in a previous post about Kanban boards – Kanban originates from Japan and is a workflow methodology that shows people’s statuses of a project by using columns, referred to as swimlanes. They are used to help control the flow and manage project expectations.
Populuar Kanban apps include Trello, Jira and Monday.
Scope
In project management, the scope is the term to define the deliverables for a project including the budget and quality assurance. Anything that has not been agreed before the project kick-off that has been agreed to be completed by the end of the project data should be considered out of scope. If a client wants to add a new feature, this is considered to be scope creep because the requirements have changed, which can alter the time to completion as well as the budget.
Sprint
Within agile or flexible project management, software projects are created in time blocks known as sprints. These can typically take between 2-3 weeks to complete. The purpose is so that the development team have a deadline to complete tasks, and the client can see progress and gain confidence that the project is heading in the right direction.
RAM
Random access memory, otherwise referred to as main memory. Used alongside the central processor chip, it is used to store live, working data. Typically, the more memory and the faster it is, the more your machine will be able to handle at a given time. RAM is volatile memory, meaning that when power from the machine has been disconnected it will lose what was being written to it. Unlike non-volatile memory such as a CD, or hard drive.
Cookie
Internet-cookie – not edible treat. Internet cookies are a small piece of software that is added to your machine when you browse the internet and track your usage. It is the reason when you visit a furniture store website, you will be bombarded with adverts online from that same store.
