Tech & UX Glossary for SaaS Founders Integritas Agency

Accessibility refers to designing and developing digital products that can be used by people with disabilities, including those with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments.

The percentage of users who take a key action (like completing onboarding) shortly after signing up. It’s a crucial SaaS metric for understanding initial user engagement.

An iterative approach to software development emphasizing flexibility, user feedback, and rapid delivery.

A set of rules that lets different software systems communicate. APIs are crucial in SaaS development for integrating third-party services and building scalable architectures.

A technique used to control how many API requests a user or system can make in a given time window. It's essential for scalability and security.

An auto scaling group automatically adjusts the number of cloud instances to maintain performance and cost-efficiency.

Backend performance refers to how efficiently a server processes requests, handles data, and scales under load.

A cloud service model that automates backend development, handling database, authentication, and server management.

Blue-green deployment involves running two environments to switch traffic during releases without downtime.

A build pipeline is an automated sequence that prepares code for deployment by running tests and validation steps.

The part of the application that encodes real-world rules for data exchange between the database and user interface.

The time it takes for a SaaS company to earn back the cost spent on acquiring a customer, typically measured in months.

A caching layer stores frequently accessed data in memory to reduce load times and database queries.

Canary deployment gradually rolls out changes to a small segment of users to minimize release risks.

Chaos engineering involves introducing failures to test system robustness in real-world scenarios.

A DevOps methodology for automating the software delivery process.

The circuit breaker pattern stops repetitive failed operations to prevent cascading system failures.

The delivery of computing services—servers, storage, databases—over the internet.

Code smells are patterns in the code that may indicate deeper problems and poor design choices.

A data analytics technique that segments users into groups (cohorts) based on shared traits or actions for better retention analysis.

A challenge faced by platforms that rely on user-generated content or data when they lack users at launch.

Containerization packages code and dependencies into isolated units to ensure consistency across environments.

The process of transferring data from one system or format to another.

A set of practices that combines software development and IT operations, improving collaboration and efficiency.

Edge computing brings computation closer to the data source to reduce latency and bandwidth use.

Elastic scaling allows cloud infrastructure to automatically allocate more or fewer resources (like RAM or CPU) depending on real-time user load.

The method of encoding information to prevent unauthorized access. Essential for SaaS platforms handling sensitive data.

A specific URL where an API can access resources on a server.

A feature flag is a software toggle that enables or disables functionality without changing the codebase — ideal for A/B testing and gradual rollouts.

A software development technique that allows features to be enabled or disabled dynamically without redeploying code.

Feature parity means that two versions or platforms of a product offer the same functionality and experience.

A feature toggle is a technique to control feature visibility without deploying new code.

A pre-built structure that developers use to build applications faster and more efficiently. Examples: Laravel, Express.js.

The part of a website or app users interact with, developed using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

A European Union law that governs how businesses collect and use personal data.

A version control system for tracking changes in code during development.

A software strategy that allows an application to continue functioning at reduced capacity when some components break.

A backend-only content management system that allows developers to deliver content across platforms via APIs.

A health check is an automated request sent to an application or service to verify it's running correctly.

A company that offers infrastructure and services to host websites or SaaS platforms.

Targeted messages sent within a SaaS application interface to guide, inform, or support users in real time.

Incident management is the process of identifying, responding to, and resolving unplanned IT disruptions.

Managing infrastructure using code and automation rather than manual processes.

A phase in software testing where individual modules are combined and tested as a group.

A programming language used in frontend and backend development for creating dynamic and interactive experiences.

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data format used for transmitting data between client and server in web applications.

A secure way to transmit information between parties as a JSON object. Commonly used in user authentication.

A project management methodology that uses visual boards to track work in progress and optimize workflow.

A measurable outcome tied to an Objective in the OKR framework, used to track performance and progress.

An open-source container orchestration system that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.

A PHP framework used for building robust web applications with elegant syntax and powerful features.

A system that distributes network or application traffic across multiple servers to ensure reliability and performance.

Load balancing distributes network traffic across multiple servers to ensure availability and responsiveness in SaaS applications.

A form of performance testing used to evaluate how a system behaves under expected or peak user loads.

An architectural approach that structures an application as a collection of loosely coupled services.

Middleware is software that connects different parts of an application, handling tasks like authentication, logging, and API communication.

The percentage of monthly recurring revenue lost from existing customers who downgrade or cancel.

A basic version of a product with core features released to validate the idea with minimal effort.

A JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 engine, used for building scalable backend services.

A type of database that stores data in formats other than relational tables (e.g., documents, key-value pairs).

An open standard for access delegation, often used for token-based authentication.

Observability is the ability to measure a system's internal state using logs, metrics, and traces.

A guided process within an app that introduces new users to key features and helps them get started quickly.

Software whose source code is freely available for use, modification, and distribution.

A cloud computing model offering a platform to develop, run, and manage applications without dealing with infrastructure.

Platform engineering focuses on building internal tools and environments to improve developer productivity and system stability.

An open-source, object-relational database known for reliability and performance.

A metric that compares daily or weekly active users to monthly active users, indicating habitual usage.

A PWA is a web app that uses modern browser APIs to deliver a native-like experience on mobile and desktop.

The process of ensuring software quality through systematic testing and process improvements.

A request for data from a database, often written in SQL.

A technique for limiting the number of allowed API requests per user or app within a set period to avoid overuse.

Rate limiting restricts the number of requests a user or system can make to an API in a given time frame to ensure stability and prevent abuse.

A JavaScript library for building interactive user interfaces, maintained by Meta.

Refactoring is the process of restructuring code to make it cleaner and more efficient without altering behavior.

A release pipeline automates the steps to safely deploy software into production.

An API based on REST (Representational State Transfer) principles, using standard HTTP methods.

A graph that visualizes user retention over a period, often used to measure product engagement and churn.

Roll forward is the practice of deploying a new fix instead of reverting to a previous version after a failed release.

A rollback restores a previous version of a system when a new release causes issues.

A cloud-based software delivery model where applications are accessed online via subscription.

A metric that compares how much money a company burns relative to how much new ARR it generates.

SaaS churn is the percentage of customers who stop using a service over a specific period. High churn indicates poor retention.

SaaS metrics are KPIs that measure product performance, revenue, churn, and user behavior.

Multitenancy allows a single application instance to serve multiple users (tenants) while isolating their data.

Scalability is a system's ability to handle increased load by expanding resources efficiently.

An agile project management framework based on iterative sprints and constant feedback.

A dedicated infrastructure layer that handles service discovery, load balancing, and security for microservices.

Shadow deployment is a technique where new versions run in parallel with production without impacting users.

An SLA breach occurs when a provider fails to meet agreed uptime or performance standards.

Single Sign-On allows users to authenticate once and access multiple applications with a single login.

The implied cost of future rework caused by choosing a quicker, limited solution now instead of a better approach.

Technical SEO involves optimizing infrastructure to help search engines index and rank your website efficiently.

The practice of logically or physically separating customer data in multi-tenant architectures to ensure privacy and performance.

A statically typed superset of JavaScript that improves code quality and development speed.

The visual elements and layout users interact with in a digital product.

Uptime is the percentage of time a SaaS application is available and functioning. High uptime is crucial for user trust and satisfaction.

A contractual guarantee of a minimum uptime percentage (e.g., 99.9%) that a SaaS provider commits to maintain.

The overall experience a user has when interacting with a SaaS product or website.

A system that records changes to files so developers can track and manage code history.

Versioning refers to labeling software or APIs with different versions (e.g., v1, v2) to manage updates without affecting existing users.

Automated messages sent from apps when something happens, often used in API integrations.

WebSocket is a communication protocol that enables real-time, two-way interaction between client and server.

A basic visual guide used to suggest layout and interface elements of a web page or app.

A markup language that defines rules for encoding documents in a format readable by both humans and machines.

A human-readable data serialization standard often used for configuration files and data exchange.

A deployment strategy that allows updating applications without taking the system offline.