Tech and Casing Terms

5

000-feet view / 10

80/20 rule (Pareto principle)

States that roughly 80 % of results come from 20 % of causes and helps prioritize efforts

Actionable insight

A conclusion or observation that can directly inform or guide decisions

Action item

A specific task or step that must be completed after a meeting or plan

Add value / Value-add

Any contribution that improves performance

Bandwidth

The available capacity or time someone has to take on additional work

Benchmark / Benchmarking

Comparing performance metrics to peers or industry standards

Best practice

A method that is widely accepted as superior for achieving results

Bottom line

Refers to net profit or the final takeaway

Break-even

The point where total revenue equals total costs

Business case

A structured justification for a project or investment

Business model

Explains how a company creates

Capability / Core capability

A company’s unique skill or asset that provides competitive advantage

Change management

The structured approach for transitioning people or organizations to a new state

Client alignment

Ensuring client and consulting team agree on goals

Constraints

Limits on resources

Cost structure

The breakdown of costs within a company or project

Deliverable

A tangible output such as a report

Due diligence

A thorough review before an investment or major decision

EBITDA / EBIT / Margin

Metrics measuring profitability before taxes and other factors

Economies of scale

Cost advantages from increased output

Economies of scope

Cost advantages from producing multiple products using shared resources

Ecosystem

The network of partners

Gap analysis

Identifying the difference between current and desired performance

Hypothesis / Hypothesis tree

A structured way to break down and test assumptions in a case

Key performance indicator (KPI)

Metrics that measure progress toward objectives

Value levers

High-impact actions that drive business improvement

Low-hanging fruit

The easiest

Margin

Profit expressed as a percentage of revenue

Milestone

A key checkpoint or stage in a project timeline

Minimum viable product (MVP)

The simplest version of a product that delivers core value to users

Opportunity cost

The value of the next best alternative forgone

Organizational structure

Defines roles

Outsourcing

Delegating operations to external parties

Portfolio

A collection of products

Prioritization

Ranking initiatives by importance

Ramp-up / Ramp-down

Gradually increasing or decreasing resource allocation

Risk mitigation

Strategies to reduce or control potential risks

Return on Investment (ROI)

Measures profitability by comparing benefit to cost

Scenario planning

Exploring possible future scenarios to stress-test a strategy

Scope / Scope creep

The boundaries of project work and unplanned expansion

Segmentation

Dividing markets or customers into meaningful groups

Sensitivity analysis

Testing how results vary when inputs change

Synergies

Combined gains from merging resources or operations

Trade-off

A situation requiring balance between competing objectives

Value chain

Sequence of activities adding value from inputs to output

Value proposition

The promise of value that attracts customers

Voice of Customer (VoC)

Captures customer feedback and expectations

Workstream

A focused set of related activities within a larger project

Terms of Reference (ToR)

Document outlining project purpose

MECE (Mutually Exclusive

Collectively Exhaustive)

Boil the ocean

Trying to tackle everything at once instead of focusing

Bucket / Bucketize

Grouping data or ideas into logical categories

Answer first

Start with your main conclusion and support it with data

Circle back

Return to a previous topic later

Sniff test

A quick plausibility or reasonableness check

Blanks

Rough draft slides before final formatting

AOB (Any Other Business)

A catch-all category for remaining meeting topics

Beach

Consultant downtime between projects

BoP / Bottom of the pyramid

Refers to lower-income customer segments

Cannibalization

When a new product reduces sales of an existing one

Change curve

Describes the stages of adaptation during change

Turnaround

Efforts to reverse a company’s decline

Digital transformation

Using digital technology to fundamentally change operations

Disruption

Innovation that displaces existing markets or products

Margin erosion

Declining profit margins over time

API (Application Programming Interface)

Set of rules that allow systems to communicate

Agile

An iterative project management and development approach

Architecture

The structural design of systems and how components interact

Blockchain

A secure

Cloud computing

Delivery of computing services over the internet

Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment (CI/CD)

Automation of software building and release processes

Data governance

Framework ensuring data quality and compliance

Data lake

Repository for storing raw

Data warehouse

Centralized system for storing structured

Database

Organized collection of structured data

DevOps

Collaboration between development and operations for faster delivery

Digital twin

A virtual model of a physical process or object

Edge computing

Processing data near the source rather than a central server

Encryption

Encoding data to prevent unauthorized access

Identity & Access Management (IAM)

Systems controlling who can access what

Integration

Connecting systems so they work together seamlessly

Internet of Things (IoT)

Network of connected physical devices sharing data

Latency

Delay in processing or transmitting data

Machine Learning (ML)

Algorithms that learn from data to make predictions

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Systems that simulate human learning and reasoning

Microservices

Architecture of loosely coupled independent services

Middleware

Software that connects applications or systems

Multi-tenant

Software instance serving multiple users or organizations

On-premises

Software or hardware hosted within an organization’s facilities

PaaS (Platform as a Service)

Cloud platform providing development environments

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

Cloud-based computing infrastructure resources

SaaS (Software as a Service)

Software delivered via the internet on subscription

Platform

A foundation enabling other products or services to build upon it

Privacy / GDPR

Regulations governing the use and protection of personal data

Real-time processing

Instant or near-instant data analysis

Scalability

Ability of a system to handle increased workload

Cybersecurity

Protecting systems from unauthorized access or attacks

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Contract defining expected performance levels

Serverless

Cloud execution where providers manage server allocation