PM Glossary
(2026 Edition)
50+ product management terms across metrics, frameworks, experimentation, strategy, execution, research, and SaaS — clearly defined with context.
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DAU / MAU
Daily / Monthly Active Users. Stickiness ratio (DAU:MAU) >20% is healthy for consumer apps.
North Star Metric
Single metric that captures value delivered AND is leading indicator of business health.
Retention Curve
% of users from a cohort still active N days after signup. Healthy curves flatten; unhealthy ones trend to zero.
Churn Rate
% of customers lost per period. Inverse of retention.
LTV
Lifetime Value. Total expected revenue from a customer over their lifetime.
CAC
Customer Acquisition Cost. Marketing + sales cost to acquire one paying customer.
Funnel Conversion
% of users progressing from one funnel step to the next.
Cohort Analysis
Grouping users by signup date and tracking their behaviour over time separately.
Frameworks & Methodologies
RICE
Prioritisation formula: Reach × Impact × Confidence ÷ Effort.
JTBD
Jobs To Be Done. Framing user needs as 'jobs' users hire the product for.
OKR
Objectives and Key Results. Goal-setting framework: qualitative O + measurable KRs.
AARRR
Pirate Metrics: Acquisition → Activation → Retention → Referral → Revenue.
MoSCoW
Prioritisation method: Must / Should / Could / Won't have.
Kano Model
Feature categorisation: Basic needs, Performance, Delighters.
Opportunity Solution Tree
Teresa Torres framework: Outcome → Opportunities → Solutions → Experiments.
Experimentation
A/B Test
Randomly split users into two groups to compare a change (treatment) against the current state (control).
Statistical Significance (p-value)
Probability the result is due to chance. p < 0.05 is standard threshold.
MDE
Minimum Detectable Effect. The smallest effect size your test can reliably detect.
Guardrail Metric
Metric that must NOT degrade, even if the primary metric wins.
Statistical Power
Probability of detecting an effect if there is one. 80% is standard.
Novelty Effect
Short-term metric lift from users trying something new; often fades after 1–2 weeks.
Product Strategy
TAM / SAM / SOM
Total / Serviceable / Obtainable market. Sizing framework from broad to realistic.
Moat
Durable competitive advantage. Network effects, switching costs, scale economies.
Product-Market Fit
When a product serves a real market need strongly enough to sustain growth.
Platform
Infrastructure that enables other products or teams to build on top.
Network Effects
Product becomes more valuable as more users join (e.g. WhatsApp).
Moonshot
Ambitious, 10x-improvement bet with long time horizon and high uncertainty.
Execution
PRD
Product Requirements Document. The written spec for a feature — problem, solution, success metrics.
Feature Flag
Toggle that lets you enable/disable features in production without redeploying.
Staged Rollout
Releasing to % of users progressively — 1% → 10% → 50% → 100%.
Sprint
1–2 week iteration cycle in agile development.
Backlog
Prioritised list of features and fixes waiting to be built.
MVP
Minimum Viable Product. Smallest version that delivers core value and tests key assumptions.
Technical Debt
Accumulated cost of shortcuts in code that slow future development.
User Research
Persona
Representation of a user segment — demographics, behaviours, needs, goals.
User Interview
1:1 conversation to understand user behaviour, pain points, and context.
Usability Test
Watching users complete tasks to find UX friction.
NPS
Net Promoter Score. %promoters - %detractors on 'how likely to recommend?' scale.
Jobs Map
Breakdown of the full journey a user takes to complete a job — define, prepare, execute, resolve.
SaaS & B2B
ARR / MRR
Annual / Monthly Recurring Revenue. Standard SaaS revenue metrics.
NRR / GRR
Net / Gross Revenue Retention. NRR includes upsell; GRR doesn't. Healthy: NRR >110%, GRR >90%.
PLG
Product-Led Growth. Acquisition and expansion driven by the product itself, not sales.
Freemium
Free tier + paid upgrade model. Tension: generous free = good acquisition, bad conversion.
Expansion Revenue
New revenue from existing customers (upsell, new seats, new features).
CAC Payback
Months of revenue needed to recover CAC. <12 months is healthy.
FAQ
How should PMs use this glossary?
As a reference, not a memorisation list. Skim through once to spot terms you don't know. Learn those 5–10 in depth. Revisit when you encounter terms in work or interviews. The goal is fluency — being able to use terms correctly in context, not quote definitions.
Do I need to know all of these for a PM interview?
No, but you should be conversant with ~70% for a mid-level PM role. Metrics terminology (DAU, retention, funnel) is non-negotiable. Strategy terms (TAM, moat, network effects) come up at senior levels. Framework names (RICE, JTBD, OKR) come up in interviews asking how you'd approach problems. Depth in a few beats breadth across all.
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