Words we use

Plain explanations of the technical, product and business terms you will hear when building software with us.

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Technical debt Tech debt Engineering: The future cost of shortcuts in code, such as quick fixes, outdated dependencies or missing tests. Like financial debt, it grows if it is not paid down and slows every later change.; Find Technical debt in the list: #technical-debt

53 terms

A

Acceptance criteriaProduct: Specific, testable conditions a feature must meet to count as done. They are agreed in advance, so you and we judge the result by the same checklist.; RelatedStatement of work Scope creep End-to-end testing
Accessibility a11yWCAGWeb Content Accessibility GuidelinesEuropean Accessibility Act Design: Making a product usable by people with disabilities, including those who rely on screen readers, keyboard navigation or high contrast. The common standard is WCAG, and in the EU the European Accessibility Act makes it a legal requirement for many digital services.; RelatedDesign system Responsive design End-to-end testing
API Application programming interface Engineering: Application programming interface: a defined way for one piece of software to request data or actions from another. A mobile app, for example, talks to its server through an API.; RelatedREST API GraphQL Headless CMS

B

Brief Project briefAttachment Business: An optional file you attach to an inquiry to describe the project, such as a specification, a deck or screenshots. It can be a PDF, DOC, DOCX, PNG, JPG or WEBP file of up to 10 MB.; RelatedInquiry Discovery phase Non-disclosure agreement
Build phase BuildDevelopment Product: The third step of how we work, where we develop the product in short iterations with working previews, code review and tests. You see progress every week.; RelatedPlan phase Launch and support Preview deployment

C

CI/CD Continuous integrationContinuous deliveryContinuous deploymentPipeline Infrastructure: Continuous integration and continuous delivery: an automated pipeline that checks, tests and builds every change, then deploys it to a preview, staging or production environment. It keeps releases small, frequent and repeatable.; RelatedPreview deployment Staging environment Developer experience
Client project Client work Business: Software we build for a client, either directly or in cooperation with a partner studio. For example, in cooperation with BRACKETS by TRIAD we delivered Crowdberry and INSPIRE by EANM, and we built OK.Nails Salon directly.; RelatedProduct Partner studio Inquiry
Code review Pull request reviewRevízia kódu Engineering: A step in which another developer reads proposed code changes before they are merged, looking for bugs, security issues and unclear logic. It is part of every iteration in the Build phase.; RelatedBuild phase Technical debt CI/CD
Consent management Cookie consentCMP Business: Asking visitors for permission before non-essential cookies or analytics run, recording their choice and letting them change it later. On this site, analytics load only after you opt in.; RelatedGDPR Data processing agreement
Containerization DockerContainers Infrastructure: Packaging an application with everything it needs to run into a container, usually with Docker. The same container behaves the same way on a laptop, in CI and in production.; RelatedInfrastructure as code CI/CD Staging environment
Content delivery network CDNEdge network Infrastructure: A network of servers around the world that keeps copies of a site’s files and serves each visitor from a nearby location. It shortens load times and absorbs traffic spikes.; RelatedStatic site generation Incremental static regeneration Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals CWVLCPINPCLS Engineering: Three metrics Google uses to measure real-world page experience: Largest Contentful Paint (loading), Interaction to Next Paint (responsiveness) and Cumulative Layout Shift (visual stability). Google Search also uses them as a ranking signal.; RelatedServer-side rendering Content delivery network Responsive design
Cross-platform app React NativeExpoMobile app Engineering: One mobile app built from a single codebase that runs on both iOS and Android. We build them with React Native and Expo, on the same TypeScript and React stack as our web apps.; RelatedResponsive design Type safety Minimum viable product

D

Data processing agreement DPA Business: A contract the GDPR requires when one company processes personal data on behalf of another. It sets out what data is processed, for what purpose and how it is protected.; RelatedGDPR Non-disclosure agreement Consent management
Design system UI kitComponent library Design: A shared set of components, design tokens and usage rules that keeps an interface consistent as a product grows. We design straight into code, so the system lives in the codebase, not only in design files.; RelatedAccessibility Responsive design Prototype
Developer experience DX Engineering: How easy and fast it is for developers to work on a codebase: setup, tooling, conventions, feedback and documentation. We improve it with CI/CD, type checks and other quality gates that make a team faster and its releases safer.; RelatedCI/CD Type safety Feature-Sliced Design
Discovery phase DiscoverDiscovery Product: The first step of how we work: we learn the goal, the users and the constraints, then agree on scope, budget and what success looks like. Everything later in the project is measured against that agreement.; RelatedPlan phase Statement of work Minimum viable product

E

End-to-end testing E2E testingE2EPlaywright Engineering: Automated tests that drive the real application the way a user would, clicking through flows such as sign-up or a contact form in a browser. We write them with Playwright.; RelatedUnit testing CI/CD Acceptance criteria
Error monitoring Crash reportingSentry Infrastructure: Automatically capturing errors and crashes in production, with the context needed to reproduce them, and alerting the team. We use Sentry for this.; RelatedObservability Uptime monitoring Maintenance

F

Feature-Sliced Design FSD Engineering: An architecture method for frontend code that splits a project into layers, such as pages, features, entities and shared, and each layer into slices by business area, with imports allowed only from lower layers. We have used it to restructure legacy frontends so one feature can change without breaking another.; RelatedLegacy modernization Technical debt Developer experience
Fixed price Fixed bid Business: A pricing model in which the price is agreed upfront for a clearly defined scope. Changes to that scope are priced separately.; RelatedTime and materials Statement of work Scope creep

G

GDPR General Data Protection Regulation Business: The EU regulation that governs how personal data is collected, used and stored. It applies to any product that handles personal data of people in the EU, wherever the company is based.; RelatedData processing agreement Consent management Inquiry
GraphQLEngineering: A query language for APIs in which the client asks for exactly the fields it needs, often in a single request. We used it in cooperation with BRACKETS by TRIAD on INSPIRE by EANM.; RelatedAPI REST API Headless CMS

H

Headless CMS Headless content management systemSanityPayloadPrismic Engineering: A content management system that stores and edits content but leaves its display to a separate frontend, which fetches it through an API. We work with Sanity, Payload and Prismic.; RelatedAPI Incremental static regeneration Internationalization

I

Incremental static regeneration ISRRevalidation Engineering: A Next.js technique that serves pre-built pages and regenerates them in the background after a set time or on demand, for example when content changes in the CMS. Pages stay fast without a full rebuild.; RelatedStatic site generation Server-side rendering Headless CMS
Infrastructure as code IaCTerraform Infrastructure: Defining servers, databases, networks and other cloud resources in version-controlled files instead of setting them up by hand. We use Terraform, so every environment can be reviewed, recreated and changed like code.; RelatedContainerization CI/CD Staging environment
Inquiry Project requestContact form Business: A project request you send through the contact form on this site, optionally with a brief. It reaches us by email and is not stored by the site, and we usually reply within one business day.; RelatedBrief Discovery phase GDPR
Intellectual property transfer IP transferIP assignmentLicense Business: The contract terms that give the client ownership of, or exclusive rights to, the code and designs made for them. Under Slovak copyright law authorship cannot be transferred, so this usually takes the form of an exclusive, unlimited license.; RelatedStatement of work Non-disclosure agreement Client project
Internationalization i18nLocalizationl10n Engineering: Building software so it can support several languages, regions and formats for dates, numbers and currency without code changes. This site, for example, runs in English, Slovak, Ukrainian and Russian.; RelatedHeadless CMS Accessibility

L

Launch and support LaunchHandoverRelease Product: The fourth step of how we work: release to production, monitoring and a clean handover. Maintenance and improvements continue for as long as you need them.; RelatedBuild phase Maintenance Uptime monitoring
Legacy modernization Legacy migrationRefactoring Engineering: Moving an aging codebase to a modern, typed stack step by step, without pausing the product. Typical work includes adding TypeScript, replacing outdated frameworks and restructuring the code, for example with Feature-Sliced Design.; RelatedTechnical debt Feature-Sliced Design Type safety

M

Maintenance SupportOngoing support Engineering: Keeping software healthy after launch: dependency and security updates, bug fixes, monitoring and small improvements. It is usually covered by a retainer and continues for as long as you need it.; RelatedLaunch and support Retainer Technical debt
Minimum viable product MVP Product: The smallest version of a product that real users can use and that tests the core idea. It shows what works before you invest in the full feature set.; RelatedPrototype Discovery phase Scope creep

N

Non-disclosure agreement NDAConfidentiality agreement Business: A contract in which one or both parties agree to keep shared information confidential, such as business plans, data or source code. It is often signed before project details are discussed.; RelatedIntellectual property transfer Data processing agreement Brief

O

Observability o11yMonitoringLogging Infrastructure: Being able to tell what a running system is doing from its logs, metrics, traces and errors. It lets you find the cause of a problem in production instead of guessing.; RelatedError monitoring Uptime monitoring Maintenance

P

Partner studio CooperationWhite-label Business: Another studio we deliver a client project with, working inside their team or under their name. Several of our client projects were built in cooperation with BRACKETS by TRIAD, including Mavie.care, Crowdberry and INSPIRE by EANM.; RelatedClient project Non-disclosure agreement Intellectual property transfer
Plan phase ShapeArchitecture Product: The second step of how we work, where we settle the architecture, the interface and a delivery plan. The riskiest parts are prototyped first, so problems surface before the full build.; RelatedDiscovery phase Build phase Prototype
Preview deployment PreviewPreview environmentDeploy preview Infrastructure: A temporary, fully working copy of the app with its own URL, built automatically for a branch or pull request. Platforms such as Vercel create one for every change, so you can try it before it reaches production.; RelatedCI/CD Staging environment Build phase
Product Our products Product: Software we design, build and run ourselves, such as Lumina, GetReflect and NetCore. On the Work page, products come before client projects.; RelatedClient project Maintenance Minimum viable product
Prototype Proof of conceptPoC Design: An early, working model of a product or of its riskiest part, built to test an idea before full development. We prototype the riskiest parts first, during the Plan phase.; RelatedPlan phase Minimum viable product Design system

R

Responsive designDesign: Designing and building interfaces that adapt to any screen size, from phones to large monitors, from a single codebase. Layout, type and images adjust to the space available.; RelatedDesign system Accessibility Cross-platform app
REST API RESTRESTful API Engineering: An API style built on standard HTTP: each resource has its own URL, and methods such as GET, POST and DELETE read or change it. It is the most common way web services talk to each other.; RelatedAPI GraphQL
Retainer Maintenance agreementSupport retainer Business: An ongoing agreement in which you pay a regular monthly fee for reserved time or an agreed level of support. It is the usual way to cover maintenance and improvements after launch.; RelatedMaintenance Time and materials Fixed price

S

Scope creep Feature creep Product: The gradual growth of a project’s requirements beyond what was agreed, usually through many small additions. Without a change process, it erodes budgets and deadlines.; RelatedStatement of work Acceptance criteria Fixed price
Server-side rendering SSR Engineering: Generating a page’s HTML on the server for each request, so the browser receives content ready to display. It suits personalized or frequently changing pages and keeps them readable for search engines.; RelatedStatic site generation Incremental static regeneration Core Web Vitals
Staging environment StagingPre-production Infrastructure: A private copy of the live system, set up as close to production as possible, where changes are checked before release. Unlike a preview deployment, it is long-lived and mirrors the production configuration and integrations.; RelatedPreview deployment CI/CD End-to-end testing
Statement of work SOW Business: A document that defines what a project will deliver: scope, deliverables, timeline, acceptance criteria and price. It is the reference point when questions about scope come up later.; RelatedAcceptance criteria Scope creep Fixed price
Static site generation SSGStatic site Engineering: Generating pages as HTML once at build time and serving the same files to every visitor, often from a CDN. It suits content that changes rarely, such as marketing pages and documentation.; RelatedIncremental static regeneration Server-side rendering Content delivery network

T

Technical debt Tech debt Engineering: The future cost of shortcuts in code, such as quick fixes, outdated dependencies or missing tests. Like financial debt, it grows if it is not paid down and slows every later change.; RelatedLegacy modernization Maintenance Code review
Time and materials T&MHourly rate Business: A pricing model in which you pay for the hours actually worked, at an agreed rate. It suits projects whose scope is expected to change.; RelatedFixed price Retainer Scope creep
Type safety TypeScriptStatic typing Engineering: Catching mismatched data, such as a missing field or a value of the wrong type, while the code is written rather than when users run into it. We write TypeScript throughout and validate external data at runtime, for example with zod.; RelatedDeveloper experience Legacy modernization Unit testing

U

Unit testing Unit testsVitest Engineering: Automated tests that check small pieces of code, such as a single function, in isolation. They run in seconds, so they can run on every change; we write them with Vitest.; RelatedEnd-to-end testing CI/CD Type safety
Uptime monitoring Status monitoring Infrastructure: Checking from outside, at regular intervals, that a site or API responds, and alerting someone when it does not. It catches outages before users report them.; RelatedObservability Error monitoring Maintenance