Product Manager
Defines what to build, prioritizes the backlog, and connects product, data, and business.
Essential vocabulary
MVP
Minimum Viable Product
The smallest version of something that already delivers real value and lets you learn from real usage.
MVP also shows up in
Used to test a new campaign or channel at a small scale before committing the whole budget.
A commercial "pilot" with a few customers before training the whole sales team on a new offer.
Backlog
The organized list of everything still to be done, prioritized by importance.
Backlog also shows up in
Finance teams also keep a backlog of process improvements, reports, and automations.
Used to prioritize which analyses, dashboards, or data pipelines to build first.
OKR
Objectives and Key Results
A way to set goals: a qualitative objective plus measurable results that prove it was reached.
OKR also shows up in
Sets acquisition/awareness goals in a measurable way, aligned with the company's objective.
The data team is often responsible for measuring and reporting progress on other teams' Key Results.
NPS
Net Promoter Score
A score from 0 to 10 that measures how likely customers are to recommend the company/product to someone else.
NPS also shows up in
Promoter customers become a source of referrals and sales case studies.
Promoters are invited to leave public testimonials and reviews.
Conversion funnel
The stages someone goes through from first learning about something to actually buying or using it.
Conversion funnel also shows up in
Used to understand at which onboarding step users abandon the product.
Represents the stages of a negotiation, from first contact to signed contract.
Good to know too
ROI
Return on Investment
How much money came back relative to what was invested, as a percentage.
ROI also shows up in
Used to justify investing in a new tool, hire, or sales campaign.
Used to prioritize which features are worth building first, comparing team effort against expected impact.
Churn
Cancellation / drop-off rate
The share of customers (or revenue) that leave the company in a given period.
Churn also shows up in
Analyzed through usage behavior to spot signs a customer is about to cancel before they actually do.
Used to project future revenue and to calculate the real LTV of the customer base.