Ref 100: Term Glossary

Before completing the labs it might be important to ensure that you are familiar with the following terminology before discussing and demonstrating Apptio Targetprocess:

• Agile – A methodology that is a people-focused, results-focused approach to
  software development that embraces a rapidly changing world. It is centered on
  adaptive planning, self-organization, and short delivery times. It’s flexible, fast,
  and aims for continuous improvements in quality.
• Lean – A set of management practices to improve efficiency and effectiveness by
  eliminating waste. The core principle of lean is to reduce and eliminate nonvalue-adding activities and waste.
• Portfolio – A set of value streams that deliver a continuous flow of valuable
  solutions to customers within a common funding and governance model. A
  portfolio contains all the work items such as: Portfolio Epics, Epics, Features,
  User Stories, and Bugs.
• Initiative – High-level business investment or plan. Sits at the top of the work
  item hierarchy in Targetprocess, contains smaller work items such as Epics and
  Features.
• Strategic request – An idea for work, but not a work item. Business leaders review
  and prioritize them. They are developed into Strategic Objectives and Initiatives.
• Objectives & Key Results (OKRs) – A goal-setting framework. There are three
  levels to an OKR:
  • Company goal – The highest level in the OKR, sometimes referred to as an
    Ultimate Objective.
  • Strategic objective – The next level in the OKR. Statement of the overall
    vision with measurable steps to a desired outcome. Linked to Key Result.
  • Tactical objective – Composed of short-term objectives to meet a strategic
    objective. The Agile team’s commitment to deliver the planning interval
    (PI).
• Epic – represents solution capabilities, initiatives, or large features. They are
  significant enough to span several product releases or planning intervals.
• Key result – a specific and measurable metric that is used to track progress
  toward achieving a broader goal or Objective in the Objectives and Key Results
  (OKRs) framework. It helps individuals and teams stay focused, aligned, and
  accountable in their efforts to achieve their goals.
• User story – In consultation with the customer or product owner, the team
  divides up the work to be done into functional increments called "user stories."
• Red, Amber, Green (RAG) – Visual representation for risk.
  • Red = At Risk
  • Amber = Needs Attention
  • Green = On Schedule
• Agile Release Train (ART) – A team of Agile Teams that align to a shared business
  and technology mission. It is a virtual organization that plans, commits, develops, and deploys together. An ART is organized around an enterprise’s significant Development Value Streams and exists solely to realize the promise of that value
  by building and delivering Solutions that benefit the Customer.
• Planning Interval (PI) – A timebox during which an Agile Release Train (ART)
  delivers incremental value in the form of working, tested software and systems.
  PIs are typically 8 – 12 weeks long.
• Flow velocity – The total effort estimates associated with user stories that were
  completed during an iteration.
• Project Management Office (PMO) – A group or department that defines,
  maintains, and ensures project management standards across an organization.
• Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) – A set of organizational and workflow patterns
  for implementing agile practices at an enterprise scale. The framework is a body
  of knowledge that includes structured guidance on roles and responsibilities, how
  to plan and manage the work, and values to uphold. It promotes alignment,
  collaboration, and delivery across many agile teams.
• Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) – (pronounced “whiz-jiff”) A prioritization
  model that estimates the relative cost of delay of each job in a backlog and
  sequences them based on their economic value. A team calculates each
  initiative’s score as the cost of delay that is divided by the job’s size or duration.
  The team then prioritizes those items that receive the highest ratings.
• Story point - Story points are a useful unit of measurement in agile, and an
  important part of the user story mapping process. A number is assigned to each
  story to estimate the total effort that is involved in bringing a feature or function
  to life. Story points help demonstrate the relative effort between each story and
  each sprint.

It is also recommended that you become familiar with the entity types in the
Targetprocess data model, available here.