Agile & Delivery Process
Sprints, boards, tickets and the rituals around shipping.
Backend Engineer track
Junior
Write correct code, ship small changes safely, ask good questions.
Core: start here
- Acceptance CriteriaThe conditions a story must meet to be done.
- Definition of DoneThe team's checklist for when work is truly finished.
- Ticket / IssueA tracked unit of work in Jira, Linear or GitHub Issues.
- Writing a Bug ReportSteps to reproduce, expected vs actual behavior, and environment.
14 more junior concepts
- AgileDelivering in small increments and adapting to feedback.
- BacklogThe prioritized list of work that hasn't started yet.
- Backlog RefinementClarifying and sizing upcoming work.
- Daily StandupA short daily sync on progress and blockers.
- EpicA large body of work split into smaller stories.
- KanbanVisualizing work on a board and limiting work in progress.
- RetrospectiveA regular meeting to reflect on how the team works and improve it.
- ScrumAn agile framework with sprints, roles and ceremonies.
- Software Development LifecycleThe stages from idea to production to maintenance.
- SprintA fixed period, often two weeks, to deliver planned work.
- Sprint PlanningChoosing the work for the next sprint.
- Sprint Review / DemoShowing what was built to stakeholders.
- User Story"As a user, I want… so that…": a requirement from the user's point of view.
- WaterfallSequential phases from requirements to release.
Mid-level
Own a feature end to end without hand-holding.
- Continuous Improvement (Kaizen)Small, ongoing improvements to how the team works.
- Definition of ReadyWhat a ticket needs before work on it starts.
- Iterative DeliveryShipping a thin working slice first, then improving it.
- MVPThe smallest product that tests whether an idea works.
- TriageSorting incoming bugs and requests by urgency and impact.
- VelocityHow much work a team finishes per sprint, and how it gets misused.
- Vertical SliceA feature built through every layer, end to end.
- WIP LimitCapping how many tasks are in progress at once.
Senior
Own a system, its failure modes, and its trade-offs.
- Cycle Time and Lead TimeHow long work takes from start, or from request, until it's done.
- Lean Software DevelopmentEliminating waste and optimizing the flow of work.
- Shape UpBasecamp's six-week cycles with shaped, fixed-time bets.
Staff
Shape how many teams build, across systems.
Nothing here yet.
Principal
Set technical direction for the organization.
Nothing here yet.
Data Analyst track
Junior
Write correct SQL, build trusted dashboards, ask good questions.
Nothing here yet.
Mid-level
Own an analysis end to end, from vague question to recommendation.
- Acceptance CriteriaThe conditions a story must meet to be done.
- User Story"As a user, I want… so that…": a requirement from the user's point of view.
Senior
Own experimentation and metrics design; call out bad numbers.
Nothing here yet.
Staff
Shape how the organization measures and decides.
Nothing here yet.
Principal
Set measurement strategy across the company.
Nothing here yet.
Data Engineer track
Junior
Build and fix pipelines from clear specs; write correct SQL.
Core: start here
- Acceptance CriteriaThe conditions a story must meet to be done.
- Definition of DoneThe team's checklist for when work is truly finished.
- Ticket / IssueA tracked unit of work in Jira, Linear or GitHub Issues.
- Writing a Bug ReportSteps to reproduce, expected vs actual behavior, and environment.
14 more junior concepts
- AgileDelivering in small increments and adapting to feedback.
- BacklogThe prioritized list of work that hasn't started yet.
- Backlog RefinementClarifying and sizing upcoming work.
- Daily StandupA short daily sync on progress and blockers.
- EpicA large body of work split into smaller stories.
- KanbanVisualizing work on a board and limiting work in progress.
- RetrospectiveA regular meeting to reflect on how the team works and improve it.
- ScrumAn agile framework with sprints, roles and ceremonies.
- Software Development LifecycleThe stages from idea to production to maintenance.
- SprintA fixed period, often two weeks, to deliver planned work.
- Sprint PlanningChoosing the work for the next sprint.
- Sprint Review / DemoShowing what was built to stakeholders.
- User Story"As a user, I want… so that…": a requirement from the user's point of view.
- WaterfallSequential phases from requirements to release.
Mid-level
Own pipelines and models end to end, including their quality.
- Continuous Improvement (Kaizen)Small, ongoing improvements to how the team works.
- Definition of ReadyWhat a ticket needs before work on it starts.
- Iterative DeliveryShipping a thin working slice first, then improving it.
- MVPThe smallest product that tests whether an idea works.
- TriageSorting incoming bugs and requests by urgency and impact.
- VelocityHow much work a team finishes per sprint, and how it gets misused.
- Vertical SliceA feature built through every layer, end to end.
- WIP LimitCapping how many tasks are in progress at once.
Senior
Design the platform's storage, processing and modeling choices.
- Cycle Time and Lead TimeHow long work takes from start, or from request, until it's done.
- Lean Software DevelopmentEliminating waste and optimizing the flow of work.
- Shape UpBasecamp's six-week cycles with shaped, fixed-time bets.
Staff
Shape how the whole organization produces and uses data.
Nothing here yet.
Principal
Set data strategy and architecture across the company.
Nothing here yet.
Frontend Engineer track
Junior
Build UI that works, ship small changes safely, ask good questions.
Core: start here
- Acceptance CriteriaThe conditions a story must meet to be done.
- Definition of DoneThe team's checklist for when work is truly finished.
- Ticket / IssueA tracked unit of work in Jira, Linear or GitHub Issues.
- Writing a Bug ReportSteps to reproduce, expected vs actual behavior, and environment.
14 more junior concepts
- AgileDelivering in small increments and adapting to feedback.
- BacklogThe prioritized list of work that hasn't started yet.
- Backlog RefinementClarifying and sizing upcoming work.
- Daily StandupA short daily sync on progress and blockers.
- EpicA large body of work split into smaller stories.
- KanbanVisualizing work on a board and limiting work in progress.
- RetrospectiveA regular meeting to reflect on how the team works and improve it.
- ScrumAn agile framework with sprints, roles and ceremonies.
- Software Development LifecycleThe stages from idea to production to maintenance.
- SprintA fixed period, often two weeks, to deliver planned work.
- Sprint PlanningChoosing the work for the next sprint.
- Sprint Review / DemoShowing what was built to stakeholders.
- User Story"As a user, I want… so that…": a requirement from the user's point of view.
- WaterfallSequential phases from requirements to release.
Mid-level
Own a feature end to end without hand-holding.
- Continuous Improvement (Kaizen)Small, ongoing improvements to how the team works.
- Definition of ReadyWhat a ticket needs before work on it starts.
- Iterative DeliveryShipping a thin working slice first, then improving it.
- MVPThe smallest product that tests whether an idea works.
- TriageSorting incoming bugs and requests by urgency and impact.
- VelocityHow much work a team finishes per sprint, and how it gets misused.
- Vertical SliceA feature built through every layer, end to end.
- WIP LimitCapping how many tasks are in progress at once.
Senior
Own an app's architecture, performance, and failure modes.
- Cycle Time and Lead TimeHow long work takes from start, or from request, until it's done.
- Lean Software DevelopmentEliminating waste and optimizing the flow of work.
- Shape UpBasecamp's six-week cycles with shaped, fixed-time bets.
Staff
Shape how many teams build, across apps.
Nothing here yet.
Principal
Set technical direction for the organization.
Nothing here yet.