Engineering & AI glossary
Understand the metrics, models, and methods behind modern engineering. Clear definitions, practical examples, and a closer look at what the numbers actually mean.
All terms
2,008 termsDependency resolution time
Dependency resolution time is a concept used in software delivery planning to describe a condition, relationship, estimate, or decision about engineering work.
Flow and capacity planningDependency review
Dependency review is a practical concept in a pull-request workflow that shapes how people examine, discuss, own, or integrate a proposed change.
Code reviewDependency risk
Dependency risk is a concept used in software delivery planning to describe a condition, relationship, estimate, or decision about engineering work.
Flow and capacity planningDependency update
Dependency update is a software maintenance concern describing a condition that can make future changes, verification, operation, or ownership harder. Its practical importance depends on supported behavior, rate of change, and the consequences of delay.
Code quality and technical debtDependency update automation
Dependency update automation is a release engineering and DevOps concept for controlling how software changes are prepared, introduced, or understood.
DORA and DevOpsDependency vulnerability
Dependency vulnerability is a software maintenance concern describing a condition that can make future changes, verification, operation, or ownership harder. Its practical importance depends on supported behavior, rate of change, and the consequences of delay.
Code quality and technical debtDependency wait
Dependency wait is the elapsed period caused by a required input or action outside the item's current processing step. It is a specific form of queue or blocked time.
Flow and capacity planningDependent change
Dependent change is a practical concept in a pull-request workflow that shapes how people examine, discuss, own, or integrate a proposed change.
Code reviewDeployment automation
Deployment automation is a software delivery concept used to describe a specific event, interval, control, or operating condition in the path from source change to production behavior. A useful definition names the boundary, unit, and decision the measure supports.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment batch size
Deployment batch size is the amount of change included in a single production deployment. It can be measured through files, commits, pull requests, user stories, or another defined unit of change.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment contract
Deployment contract is a release engineering and DevOps concept for controlling how software changes are prepared, introduced, or understood.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment debt
Deployment debt is a software maintenance concern describing a condition that can make future changes, verification, operation, or ownership harder. Its practical importance depends on supported behavior, rate of change, and the consequences of delay.
Code quality and technical debtDeployment drift
Deployment drift is a release engineering and DevOps concept for controlling how software changes are prepared, introduced, or understood.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment duration
Deployment duration is a software delivery concept used to describe a specific event, interval, control, or operating condition in the path from source change to production behavior. A useful definition names the boundary, unit, and decision the measure supports.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment event
Deployment event is a software delivery concept used to describe a specific event, interval, control, or operating condition in the path from source change to production behavior. A useful definition names the boundary, unit, and decision the measure supports.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment freeze
Deployment freeze is a software delivery concept used to describe a specific event, interval, control, or operating condition in the path from source change to production behavior. A useful definition names the boundary, unit, and decision the measure supports.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment frequency
Deployment frequency describes how often a service or application is deployed to production. It can be expressed as deployments per period or as the time between deployments, using a consistent definition of a deployment.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment frequency definition
Deployment frequency definition is a release engineering and DevOps concept for controlling how software changes are prepared, introduced, or understood.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment gate
Deployment gate is a release engineering and DevOps concept for controlling how software changes are prepared, introduced, or understood.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment guardrail
Deployment guardrail is a software delivery concept used to describe a specific event, interval, control, or operating condition in the path from source change to production behavior. A useful definition names the boundary, unit, and decision the measure supports.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment interval
Deployment interval is a software delivery concept used to describe a specific event, interval, control, or operating condition in the path from source change to production behavior. A useful definition names the boundary, unit, and decision the measure supports.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment marker
Deployment marker is a software delivery concept used to describe a specific event, interval, control, or operating condition in the path from source change to production behavior. A useful definition names the boundary, unit, and decision the measure supports.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment observability
Deployment observability is a software delivery concept used to describe a specific event, interval, control, or operating condition in the path from source change to production behavior. A useful definition names the boundary, unit, and decision the measure supports.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment path
A deployment path is the sequence of decisions, checks, environments, approvals, and automation through which a software change moves from a validated state to production. It includes the events that release the change and the feedback that confirms or rejects the result.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment pipeline
Deployment pipeline is a software delivery concept used to describe a specific event, interval, control, or operating condition in the path from source change to production behavior. A useful definition names the boundary, unit, and decision the measure supports.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment queue time
Deployment queue time is a software delivery concept used to describe a specific event, interval, control, or operating condition in the path from source change to production behavior. A useful definition names the boundary, unit, and decision the measure supports.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment readiness
Deployment readiness is a release engineering and DevOps concept for controlling how software changes are prepared, introduced, or understood.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment recovery time
Deployment recovery time is a release engineering and DevOps concept for controlling how software changes are prepared, introduced, or understood.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment rework
Deployment rework is a release engineering and DevOps concept for controlling how software changes are prepared, introduced, or understood.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment rework rate
Deployment rework rate is the proportion of deployments that are unplanned and occur in response to a production incident. It describes incident-driven release work, rather than every code edit, reopened ticket, or revised pull request.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment ring
Deployment ring is a release engineering and DevOps concept for controlling how software changes are prepared, introduced, or understood.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment rollback rate
Deployment rollback rate is a software delivery concept used to describe a specific event, interval, control, or operating condition in the path from source change to production behavior. A useful definition names the boundary, unit, and decision the measure supports.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment strategy
Deployment strategy is a release engineering and DevOps concept for controlling how software changes are prepared, introduced, or understood.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment success rate
Deployment success rate is a software delivery concept used to describe a specific event, interval, control, or operating condition in the path from source change to production behavior. A useful definition names the boundary, unit, and decision the measure supports.
DORA and DevOpsDeployment verification
Deployment verification is a release engineering and DevOps concept for controlling how software changes are prepared, introduced, or understood.
DORA and DevOpsDeprecation
Deprecation is a software maintenance concern describing a condition that can make future changes, verification, operation, or ownership harder. Its practical importance depends on supported behavior, rate of change, and the consequences of delay.
Code quality and technical debtDesign debt
Design debt is a software maintenance concern describing a condition that can make future changes, verification, operation, or ownership harder. Its practical importance depends on supported behavior, rate of change, and the consequences of delay.
Code quality and technical debtDesign review
Design review is a practical concept in a pull-request workflow that shapes how people examine, discuss, own, or integrate a proposed change.
Code reviewDesired state
Desired state is a release engineering and DevOps concept for controlling how software changes are prepared, introduced, or understood.
DORA and DevOpsDeveloper contribution
Developer contribution is a developer productivity concept that helps teams understand developer contribution in the context of software delivery.
Developer productivityDeveloper documentation
Developer documentation is a way to organize, support, or evaluate software work so that teams can make useful progress with less avoidable friction. It is most valuable when connected to a concrete outcome and the local conditions of the team using it.
Developer productivityDeveloper effort
Developer effort is a developer productivity concept that helps teams understand developer effort in the context of software delivery.
Developer productivityDeveloper experience
Developer experience is how developers experience the tools, processes, and organizational conditions involved in doing their work. It includes the ease of understanding a system, obtaining feedback, collaborating, and making progress without unnecessary friction.
Developer productivityDeveloper friction
Developer friction is a developer productivity concept that helps teams understand developer friction in the context of software delivery.
Developer productivityDeveloper portal
Developer portal is a way to organize, support, or evaluate software work so that teams can make useful progress with less avoidable friction. It is most valuable when connected to a concrete outcome and the local conditions of the team using it.
Developer productivityDeveloper productivity
Developer productivity describes how effectively developers turn their time, expertise, and tools into useful software outcomes. It includes the quality and impact of the work as well as the conditions that make sustained progress possible.
Developer productivityDeveloper productivity change size
Change size is a developer productivity concept that helps teams understand change size in the context of software delivery.
Developer productivityDeveloper productivity decision latency
Decision latency is a developer productivity concept that helps teams understand decision latency in the context of software delivery.
Developer productivityDeveloper productivity deep work
Deep work is a developer productivity concept that helps teams understand deep work in the context of software delivery.
Developer productivityDeveloper productivity flow predictability
Flow predictability is a developer productivity concept that helps teams understand flow predictability in the context of software delivery.
Developer productivity