Welcome to the Collaboration & Communication Jargon Guide – a critical section for Product Managers who operate at the intersection of multiple teams. These terms help you communicate with clarity, align stakeholders, and move projects forward efficiently.
Alignment
Ensuring all stakeholders (engineering, design, marketing, leadership) share
the same understanding of goals and priorities.
Use Case: Before kicking off a sprint, a PM runs a kickoff meeting to align everyone on scope and success metrics.
Standup
A short, daily meeting where team members share what they did, what they’ll
do today, and if they’re blocked.
Use Case: Helps PMs stay aware of progress and surface roadblocks early without micromanaging.
PRD (Product Requirements Document)
A detailed document outlining the problem, goals, user stories, scope, success metrics, and edge cases for a feature.
Example: A PRD for “Saved Items” in an e-commerce app would cover user
flows, tech dependencies, and key metrics.
Stakeholder Communication
Ongoing interaction with individuals or groups impacted by the product — from leadership to customer support.
Use Case: PMs write weekly updates or create stakeholder decks to keep everyone informed on roadmap and risks.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Working jointly with people from different functions (Design, Engineering, QA, Marketing, etc.) to build and ship products.
Use Case: A PM facilitates a cross-functional meeting to plan the go-to-market strategy for a new feature.
Single Source of Truth (SSOT)
A centralized and reliable location for storing product documentation, decisions, or roadmaps.
Example: A Notion workspace or Confluence page used to align the whole org on current plans and progress.
Design Handoff
The process where designers share final designs (with annotations and specs) with developers to begin implementation.
Use Case: PMs ensure the design handoff includes interaction guidelines,
assets, and mobile/desktop states.
Feedback Loop
A continuous cycle of gathering input, making improvements, and validating them with users or stakeholders.
Use Case: Used across design reviews, beta testing, and post-launch retros to ensure you’re building the right thing.
The ProductBrain 