Organization Glossary

Browse 18 organization terms defined in plain English, from the cultural dictionary of computing.

18 Organization Terms

Asset Management
The organization, tracking, versioning, and delivery of files such as images, fonts, scripts, styles, and other non-code resources used by an application. In...
Code Organization
The way files, modules, folders, and responsibilities are arranged within a codebase. Good code organization makes dependencies and ownership clearer, while...
Code Park
A shared friendly area of code or tooling where many teams can gather, reuse components, and move around without much friction. In engineering slang, code park...
Code Structure
The arrangement of code into files, functions, classes, modules, and layers, along with the dependencies between them. Clear code structure makes it easier to...
Conway's Law
The observation that organizations design systems that mirror their communication structures. A company with four teams will produce a four-component...
Conway's Law
'Organizations which design systems are constrained to produce designs which are copies of the communication structures of these organizations.' In other...
Data Structure
A data structure is a specialized format for organizing, storing, and accessing data efficiently in a computer program. Different data structures are optimized...
Dunbar's Number
The theoretical cognitive limit (~150) on the number of stable social relationships a human can maintain. In tech organizations, explains why communication...
Maker vs Manager Schedule
Paul Graham's observation that makers (programmers, writers) need long uninterrupted blocks (half-days minimum) for productive work, while managers work in...
Module
A self-contained unit of code — typically a file or package — that encapsulates related functionality and exposes a defined interface for other parts of the...
Namespace
A container that holds a set of identifiers (names) and provides a scope to avoid collisions — allowing two different libraries to define a function with the...
Not Invented Here
NIH Syndrome — the reluctance to use external solutions and the compulsion to build everything in-house. Sometimes justified (unique requirements), usually...
Project Structure
The directory layout and file organization conventions of a software project, defining where source code, tests, configuration, assets, and documentation live....
Repository Structure
The layout and organizational pattern of files, modules, documentation, and automation within a repository. In team environments, repository structure is one...
SOC
Security Operations Center — a dedicated facility or team that monitors, detects, analyzes, and responds to cybersecurity incidents around the clock, typically...
Two-Pizza Team
Amazon's principle that no team should be larger than can be fed by two pizzas (roughly 6-10 people). Small teams have less communication overhead (n²...
Unstructured
Lacking a predefined schema, formal format, or consistent organization. The term appears in data work, writing, communication, and sometimes in criticism of...
Workspace
A project configuration that manages multiple related packages or crates in a single repository. Supported by Cargo (Rust), npm/yarn/pnpm (JS), and other build...

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