tech + casing vocab

5000-feet view / 10000-feet view

A high-level overview of a situation

80/20 rule (Pareto principle)

The principle stating that 80 percent of outcomes result from 20 percent of causes

Actionable insight

Information that directly guides decision-making

Action item

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

Add value / Value-add

A contribution that improves performance or outcomes

Bandwidth

The available capacity to take on additional work

Benchmark / Benchmarking

Comparing performance metrics against peers or industry standards

Best practice

A method considered most effective for achieving desired results

Bottom line

The final result or profit of a business activity

Break-even

The point where total revenue equals total costs

Business case

A justification for initiating a project or investment

Business model

How a company creates delivers and captures value

Capability / Core capability

A key skill or resource that provides competitive advantage

Change management

The structured approach to transitioning individuals or organizations to a new state

Client alignment

Ensuring client and consulting team agreement on goals and metrics

Constraints

Limitations that restrict potential solutions

Cost structure

The breakdown of a company’s fixed and variable costs

Deliverable

A tangible project output such as a report or presentation

Due diligence

A comprehensive assessment before a major business decision

EBITDA / EBIT / Margin

Financial metrics for measuring profitability

Economies of scale

Cost advantages gained by increasing output

Economies of scope

Cost advantages from producing multiple products with shared resources

Ecosystem

A network of stakeholders and partners within a business environment

Gap analysis

Identification of differences between current and desired performance

Hypothesis / Hypothesis tree

A structured framework for testing business assumptions

Key performance indicator (KPI)

A measurable value showing progress toward a goal

Value levers

Factors that can significantly impact outcomes when adjusted

Low-hanging fruit

Easily achievable quick wins requiring minimal effort

Margin

Profit expressed as a percentage of revenue

Milestone

A key checkpoint or event in a project timeline

Minimum viable product (MVP)

The simplest version of a product that delivers value and collects feedback

Opportunity cost

The value of the next best alternative forgone

Organizational structure

The arrangement of roles and responsibilities within a company

Outsourcing

Contracting operations or services to an external provider

Portfolio

A collection of projects products or investments

Prioritization

Ranking initiatives by importance and impact

Ramp-up / Ramp-down

Gradually increasing or reducing resources or effort

Risk mitigation

The process of reducing or controlling potential risks

Return on Investment (ROI)

A metric that measures profitability relative to cost

Scenario planning

Developing and analyzing possible future situations

Scope / Scope creep

The boundaries of a project and unplanned work expansion

Segmentation

Dividing a market or audience into distinct groups

Sensitivity analysis

Examining how results change with varying inputs

Synergies

Combined benefits that exceed individual contributions

Trade-off

A decision balancing competing factors such as cost and quality

Value chain

The series of steps that add value from raw materials to customer delivery

Value proposition

The promise of value a product or service offers customers

Voice of Customer (VoC)

Collection of customer feedback and expectations

Workstream

A focused set of related tasks within a project

Terms of Reference (ToR)

A document defining project purpose and deliverables

MECE (Mutually Exclusive Collectively Exhaustive)

A framework ensuring no overlap or gaps in analysis

Boil the ocean

Trying to solve everything at once instead of focusing on priorities

Bucket / Bucketize

Grouping items or data into categories

Answer first

Presenting the main conclusion before supporting evidence

Circle back

Returning to a topic later in discussion

Sniff test

A quick plausibility or reasonableness check

Blanks

Rough draft slides created before final formatting

AOB (Any Other Business)

Miscellaneous agenda items in a meeting

Beach

Consultant downtime between client engagements

BoP / Bottom of the pyramid

The lowest income segment of a market

Cannibalization

When a new product reduces sales of an existing one

Change curve

The stages of adaptation individuals experience during change

Turnaround

Actions taken to reverse business decline

Digital transformation

Adoption of digital technologies to improve business performance

Disruption

Innovations that fundamentally alter markets or industries

Margin erosion

The decline of profit margins due to costs or competition

API (Application Programming Interface)

A set of rules that allows software systems to communicate

Agile

An iterative methodology focused on flexibility and collaboration

Architecture

The structural design of software systems and their interactions

Blockchain

A decentralized digital ledger technology ensuring secure transactions

Cloud computing

Delivery of computing services like storage and processing over the internet

Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment (CI/CD)

Automated processes for testing and releasing code

Data governance

Policies ensuring data quality security and compliance

Data lake

A centralized repository storing raw data in its native format

Data warehouse

A structured system storing organized data for analysis

Database

A structured collection of stored and managed data

DevOps

Collaboration between development and operations teams to improve efficiency

Digital twin

A virtual replica of a physical product process or system

Edge computing

Processing data near the source of generation instead of a central server

Encryption

The process of converting data into a secure coded format

Identity and Access Management (IAM)

Systems controlling user authentication and permissions

Integration

The process of connecting different systems or software to work together

Internet of Things (IoT)

A network of connected devices that collect and share data

Latency

The delay between input and system response

Machine Learning (ML)

Algorithms that allow systems to learn from data and improve automatically

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The simulation of human intelligence processes by machines

Microservices

An architectural style dividing applications into independent services

Middleware

Software that connects different applications or components

Multi-tenant

A single instance of software serving multiple customers securely

On-premises

Software hosted and managed on local company servers

PaaS (Platform as a Service)

A cloud model providing a platform for developers to build applications

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

A cloud service model offering computing infrastructure resources

SaaS (Software as a Service)

Software provided online on a subscription basis

Platform

A foundation enabling development of related products or services

Privacy / GDPR

Regulations ensuring user data protection and privacy rights

Real-time processing

Instant data handling with minimal delay

Scalability

The ability of a system to grow without performance loss

Cybersecurity

Protecting systems from unauthorized access or cyberattacks

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

A contract specifying expected service performance and reliability

Serverless

A cloud model where the provider automatically manages server operations