Terms & definitions (non-developer onboarding)¶
Audience: Readers who are not professional developers but who use AI assistants, software products, and technical workflows (e.g. Cursor, GitHub, configs, data tools). Definitions favor plain language over precision-for-engineers.
How this relates to other docs
| Doc | Role |
|---|---|
| This file | Short definitions of concepts, acronyms, and stack words you’ll see in this workspace. |
PM_KNOWLEDGE.md |
Deeper PM/framework notes; §6 includes workspace-captured strategy vocabulary (e.g. defensibility in context). |
onboarding/ |
How to use Cursor, git, and workflows step by step. |
How entries grow: Session Glossary candidates (journal or /session-end) are drafts. Promote a row here when a term recurs or confused someone — keep definitions stable and one sentence when possible.
Persona note: We use one default reader (“confident learner, not coding-native”) instead of multiple fictional personas unless a doc truly serves contrasting audiences (e.g. exec vs implementer). That keeps tone consistent without extra ceremony.
How terms relate to goals (user-centered)¶
North-star outcome for this sheet: A non-developer can use AI-assisted tools and this repository with confidence — definitions match jobs readers are trying to do, not only internal engineering labels.
Layers (for reading and future filtering):
- Parent outcome (Category) — stable label below; use the same string in every row’s Category column so a future UI or export can filter (“show me only GitHub-related terms”).
- Section in this file (e.g. Git & GitHub essentials) — how humans skim; not the same as a backlog Epic name.
- Term — one row; a term may conceptually support more than one outcome, but we assign a single primary Category per row to keep the sheet sortable.
Backlog vs glossary: BACKLOG.md Epics track delivery of work. This sheet tracks reader vocabulary. Ongoing structure and harvest: BL-29 (Onboarding epic).
Controlled vocabulary — Parent outcome (Category)¶
Use only these labels in the Category column:
| Category (exact string) | Reader job |
|---|---|
| Work effectively with AI in Cursor | Rules, skills, chat limits, workspace files like activeContext.md, backlog IDs |
| Ship and sync changes with GitHub | Version control, PRs, Actions, Pages, CI/CD |
| Understand product and delivery language | Strategy, prioritization, MVP-style product vocabulary |
| Use configs, files, and the web safely | Formats, secrets, HTTP, static sites, APIs as a user |
| Read market and investing reports | Symbols and indicators in this repo’s financial/report context |
Parent outcome → primary backlog Epic(s)¶
Many-to-many in real life; this table is where delivery attention usually sits when we improve that area.
| Parent outcome (Category) | Primary Epic(s) (see BACKLOG.md) |
|---|---|
| Work effectively with AI in Cursor | Collaboration & Cursor workflow; AI skills; Foundational AI knowledge |
| Ship and sync changes with GitHub | Traditional technical foundations; Shipping & spin-outs |
| Understand product and delivery language | Product management (PM) |
| Use configs, files, and the web safely | Traditional technical foundations |
| Read market and investing reports | Shipping & spin-outs (e.g. public report); financial-agent work |
Core concepts¶
| Term | Category (Parent outcome) | Plain definition | See also |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durable documentation (durable docs) | Work effectively with AI in Cursor | Files in the repo (or otherwise versioned) that stay findable and editable across sessions — the ledger for decisions, vocabulary, and how-tos. Chat can be compacted or lost; durable docs are what you @‑reference as source of truth. | working-with-ai-context.md §4; .cursor/rules/non-technical-documentation.mdc |
| Defensibility (product strategy) | Understand product and delivery language | How hard it is for a competitor to copy your product and take your users or profit after you’ve shown the idea works. Not the same as “secure against hackers” — that’s security or attack surface. | PM_KNOWLEDGE.md §6.2 |
| Time to first user | Understand product and delivery language | How quickly you can put a small real version in front of someone who actually cares (not how polished the vision is). | PM_KNOWLEDGE.md §6.3 |
| Personal itch | Understand product and delivery language | Building something you keep wanting to use or fix — a sanity check for stamina through boring implementation work. | PM_KNOWLEDGE.md §6.3 |
| Compaction (AI chat) | Work effectively with AI in Cursor | When the product summarizes or trims older messages so the model fits in its context window — themes survive, exact wording and paths may not. | working-with-ai-context.md |
| Lost in the middle | Work effectively with AI in Cursor | Research observation: models often underweight facts buried in a long middle of text; put critical facts at start/end or in repo files. | Same guide + ai-context-reading-list.md |
This workspace & Cursor¶
Terms that show up in PROJECT_CONTEXT.md, journals, and onboarding/ when working in this repo.
| Term | Category (Parent outcome) | Plain definition |
|---|---|---|
| Workspace | Work effectively with AI in Cursor | The project folder you opened in Cursor (this repo is one workspace). |
| Plan mode vs Agent mode | Work effectively with AI in Cursor | Plan = discuss without auto-editing the repo; Agent = the assistant may edit files and run commands. Playbook: cursor-session-playbook.md. |
[Build] / [Discussion] |
Work effectively with AI in Cursor | In-chat labels: Build = this turn changes files or runs mutating commands; Discussion = read-only. Rule: .cursor/rules/agent-mode-signal.mdc. |
| Rule (Cursor) | Work effectively with AI in Cursor | A file under .cursor/rules/ with instructions the agent should follow repeatedly (like a style guide for AI). |
| Skill | Work effectively with AI in Cursor | A SKILL.md under .cursor/skills/ the agent reads when relevant — a packaged workflow or domain brief. |
| Slash command | Work effectively with AI in Cursor | A /name workflow defined under .cursor/commands/ (e.g. /journal, /session-end). |
| Hook | Work effectively with AI in Cursor | Optional event-driven step (e.g. after save) configured in .cursor/hooks — not “hooks” in the business sense. |
activeContext.md |
Work effectively with AI in Cursor | Short “where we left off” file at the repo root for the next session or chat. |
BACKLOG.md |
Work effectively with AI in Cursor | The single prioritized cross-session todo list for this repo (rows like BL-##). |
| BL-## | Work effectively with AI in Cursor | Backlog ID — one row in BACKLOG.md; details may live in BACKLOG_STORY_DETAILS.md. |
| Epic | Work effectively with AI in Cursor | A theme grouping backlog items (e.g. Onboarding, Financial agent). |
| Token (AI context) | Work effectively with AI in Cursor | A chunk of text the model can attend to; long chats hit limits, so big pastes cost attention budget. Not the same as an API key. |
Git & GitHub essentials¶
| Term | Category (Parent outcome) | Plain definition |
|---|---|---|
| Git | Ship and sync changes with GitHub | Version control on your computer — snapshots (commits) of files over time. |
| GitHub | Ship and sync changes with GitHub | Hosting for Git repos online — backup, collaboration, Actions, Pages. |
| Clone | Ship and sync changes with GitHub | Download a copy of a repo (first time). |
| Commit | Ship and sync changes with GitHub | Save a snapshot locally with a message. |
| Push | Ship and sync changes with GitHub | Upload your commits to GitHub. |
| Pull | Ship and sync changes with GitHub | Download others’ (or your) latest commits from GitHub. |
| Branch | Ship and sync changes with GitHub | A parallel line of changes; main is usually the primary line. |
| Remote | Ship and sync changes with GitHub | The GitHub-side copy of the repo (often named origin). |
| SHA / commit hash | Ship and sync changes with GitHub | Short unique ID for one commit (e.g. c6de212). |
| GitHub Actions | Ship and sync changes with GitHub | Automated jobs on GitHub (e.g. build HTML on a schedule or after a push). |
| GitHub Pages | Ship and sync changes with GitHub | Serves a static website from a repo branch or folder (common for reports). |
| CI / CD | Ship and sync changes with GitHub | Continuous integration = auto test/build on change; continuous delivery = auto ship closer to production. Often used loosely for “Actions ran green.” |
| PAT | Ship and sync changes with GitHub | Personal access token — a long password-like secret for GitHub API/Git over HTTPS; never paste into chat or commit. Prefer gh auth login. |
Step-by-step: onboarding/guides/git-basics-for-non-developers.md
Config, files & the web¶
| Term | Category (Parent outcome) | Plain definition |
|---|---|---|
| YAML | Use configs, files, and the web safely | A readable config format using indentation (many config.yaml files). |
| JSON | Use configs, files, and the web safely | A structured data exchange format with { } and "quotes" — common for APIs and configs. |
.env |
Use configs, files, and the web safely | A local secrets file (API keys); never commit it — see .env.example for names only. |
| SQLite | Use configs, files, and the web safely | A single-file database (no separate server) — used by some tools in this repo. |
| HTTP / HTTPS | Use configs, files, and the web safely | Web request protocol; S = encrypted (padlock in the browser). |
| Static site / HTML report | Use configs, files, and the web safely | Pre-built files served as-is (e.g. GitHub Pages) — not a live app talking to a database on each view. |
| URL | Use configs, files, and the web safely | Web address (link) to a page or API. |
Product & delivery shorthand¶
One-line pointers; detail in PM_KNOWLEDGE.md.
| Term | Category (Parent outcome) | Expands / means | Plain definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| OKR | Understand product and delivery language | Objectives and key results | Directional goal + a few measurable outcomes (often quarterly). |
| RICE | Understand product and delivery language | Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort | A scoring formula to compare ideas; still needs judgment. |
Acronyms & stack vocabulary¶
| Term | Category (Parent outcome) | Expands / means | Plain definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI | Work effectively with AI in Cursor | Artificial intelligence | Software that learns patterns from data or examples; in chat tools, often means “model that generates text or suggestions.” |
| API | Use configs, files, and the web safely | Application programming interface | A structured way programs talk to each other (like a menu of requests a server understands). You don’t need to build one to use tools that mention APIs. |
| CLI | Use configs, files, and the web safely | Command-line interface | Typing text commands in a terminal instead of clicking buttons; many dev tools expose a CLI for automation. |
| LLM | Work effectively with AI in Cursor | Large language model | The text-prediction engine behind assistants like ChatGPT / Claude; good at language, can be wrong (“hallucinate”). |
| Markdown | Work effectively with AI in Cursor | — | Simple text formatting (# headings, - lists); common for READMEs and journals in repos. |
| MVP | Understand product and delivery language | Minimum viable product | The smallest thing you can ship to learn whether you’re solving a real problem. |
| PWA | Understand product and delivery language | Progressive web app | A website that can feel app-like (offline bits, install prompt); one way to ship without app stores. |
| PR | Ship and sync changes with GitHub | Pull request | On GitHub: “please merge my proposed changes” — a reviewable package of edits. |
| repo | Ship and sync changes with GitHub | Repository | A folder of project files + its history, usually managed with git. |
| HTML | Use configs, files, and the web safely | HyperText Markup Language | The markup browsers render into web pages; static HTML = saved file, not generated live per click. |
| ETF | Read market and investing reports | Exchange-traded fund | A basket of stocks/bonds you buy like one ticker — used in journals for sector/market coverage. |
| FRED | Read market and investing reports | Federal Reserve Economic Data | Free economic data API (St. Louis Fed) — referenced in financial-agent / macro discussions. |
Optional: financial-report jargon¶
Only if you’re reading market-report or financial-agent notes; not general PM vocabulary.
| Term | Category (Parent outcome) | Plain definition |
|---|---|---|
| Ticker | Read market and investing reports | Stock/ETF symbol (e.g. AAPL, XLK). |
| VIX | Read market and investing reports | Volatility index — often called the “fear gauge”; high ≠ direction, it’s expected wobble. |
| RSI | Read market and investing reports | Relative strength index — a 0–100 momentum-style indicator; “overbought/oversold” labels are heuristic. |
Changelog¶
- 2026-03-20 — BL-29: Durable documentation defined; user-centered IA; Category (Parent outcome) column on all tables; Epic mapping; controlled vocabulary for future filtering.
- 2026-03-20 — Expanded from journals (2026 W12),
onboarding/guides,PROJECT_CONTEXT.md,cursor-session-playbook: Cursor/workspace tokens, GitHub Actions/Pages, compaction, YAML/.env, OKR/RICE one-liners, optional market-report terms. - 2026-03-20 — Initial sheet; defensibility + choice lenses + common acronyms for non-developer readers.