As a Product Owner, you don’t have to be a developer. But you do need to understand how your development team thinks and communicates. When the team says, “We need to refactor this part” or “The API has to be updated,” you should know what that means, how much effort it implies, and how it ties to your product goals. In this post, I’ll walk through common technical terms you’ll hear from your dev team, explain what they mean, and share smart questions to clarify scope and impact.
Part 1: Key Technical Terms Every Product Owner Should Know. Here are common words you’ll hear during standups, sprint planning, or daily chats. The goal isn’t to code — it’s to understand the conversation so you can make better decisions and manage priorities effectively.
API (Application Programming Interface): An interface that lets different systems communicate and exchange data. If your team says, “We need a new API,” it usually means a new data connection or integration is needed.
Frontend: The part of the product users see and interact with. If the change is only on the frontend, it’s usually a visual or interaction update.
Backend: Where the core logic, computation, and data processing happen. Backend changes often take longer and require deeper testing.
Database: Where data is stored. A change in database structure can require migration planning and careful validation.
Git/Branch: Version control for code. “I’ll create a new branch” means the work happens in isolation and will be merged later.
Pull Request (PR) / Merge Request (MR): A request to merge code into the main branch. “PR is ready” means changes are complete and ready for review.
Refactor: Improving existing code without changing behavior. Refactoring reduces tech debt and prevents future issues.
Testing levels: Unit tests check small pieces; integration tests verify how parts work together; E2E tests simulate real user flows.
Environments: Staging is a pre‑production copy used for final checks; Production is live for users.
Architecture concepts: Microservices split a system into smaller, independent services; Caching stores temporary data to improve speed but needs careful invalidation.
Part 2: Questions Every Product Owner Should Ask. Just knowing the words isn’t enough — the key is asking the right follow‑ups.
When it’s about APIs or Backend: What data moves through this API? Does it affect other services or users? What’s the failure risk and mitigation?
When you hear “Refactor”: Is it required now or can it wait? What problems does it solve? What risks do we accept if we skip it? How long will it take?
When it’s about Testing: Which parts are covered? Do we need new test cases for this change?
When it’s about Deployment: What features are in this release? Has it been tested on staging? Do we have a rollback plan?
When it’s about Caching or Microservices: How will this affect performance and reliability? Are there data consistency or coordination risks?
Final Thought. You don’t need to write code to lead a tech team effectively. But understanding how developers think helps you make better decisions, build trust, and manage conversations with confidence. What other technical terms have you run into as a PO that were tricky at first? I’d love to hear your experience.