Glossary
From personal development through technology and AI to Lean, Kata and quality: the most important terms at a glance.
Lifelong Learning
Lifelong learning is the ongoing, deliberate development of knowledge and skills across your entire working life and beyond formal education.
Learn more →Competence
Competence is the ability to put existing knowledge and skills into successful action in a real situation.
Learn more →Habit
A habit is an automatic behavior pattern that forms through repeated action in a consistent context and runs without conscious decision-making.
Learn more →Self-Reflection
Self-reflection is the deliberate practice of examining your own thinking, actions, and their outcomes in order to learn from them and act differently next time.
Learn more →Feedback
Feedback is targeted information about how your behavior, work, or results are landing with others, given so you can consciously adjust your next steps.
Learn more →Growth Mindset
A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, practice, and learning rather than being fixed traits.
Learn more →SMART Goals
SMART goals are goals defined by five criteria, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, so that progress toward them can be checked without ambiguity.
Learn more →Deliberate Practice
Deliberate practice is focused training just beyond your current skill level, built around specific sub-goals, full concentration, and immediate feedback.
Learn more →Requirements Specification (Lastenheft)
Document created by the client that defines what a project or product must achieve and why, ideally in verifiable, measurable requirements.
Learn more →Functional Specification (Pflichtenheft)
Document created by the supplier that describes the concrete technical implementation for every requirement listed in the requirements specification.
Learn more →Milestone
Defined checkpoint in a project timeline with a measurable outcome that makes progress visible, while taking up no duration itself.
Learn more →Critical Path
The longest chain of dependent tasks in a project network, whose duration sets the shortest possible total project duration.
Learn more →Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Hierarchical breakdown of a project into sub-tasks down to individual work packages, forming the basis for schedule, cost, and resource planning.
Learn more →Agility
Agility is a team's or organization's ability to respond quickly to change by organizing work in short, checkable cycles with direct feedback.
Learn more →Scrum
Scrum is an agile framework that helps teams tackle complex work in short, iterative cycles through fixed roles, events, and artifacts.
Learn more →Sprint
A sprint is a fixed-length work cycle, typically one to four weeks and most often two, that ends with a concrete, usable result.
Learn more →Risk Management
Risk management is the systematic process of identifying, assessing, and controlling risks in a project or business before they turn into real problems.
Learn more →Requirements Management
Requirements management is the structured process of gathering, documenting, validating, prioritizing, and tracking the requirements for a product, system, or project throughout its life cycle.
Learn more →Stakeholder
A stakeholder is any person, group, or organization with a genuine interest in a project or process, or who is affected by its outcome.
Learn more →Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
A Minimum Viable Product, or MVP, is the smallest version of a product that real users can actually use and that gives you meaningful feedback in return.
Learn more →Design Thinking
Design thinking is an iterative problem-solving approach that starts with a deep understanding of what users actually need, then moves through prototyping and testing to arrive at solutions that work in real life.
Learn more →ERP System
Integrated IT system that represents and controls core business areas such as procurement, production, sales, and finance on a shared data foundation.
Learn more →Interface (API)
Defined connection point between two systems through which data or signals are exchanged according to fixed rules.
Learn more →Media Break
A change of medium within a workflow, for example from digital to paper and back, that costs time and creates sources of error.
Learn more →Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems that perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as recognizing patterns, understanding language, or making decisions.
Learn more →Machine Learning
Machine learning is a branch of artificial intelligence in which systems identify patterns in data and use them to make predictions or decisions, rather than following explicitly programmed rules.
Learn more →Large Language Models (LLM)
Large language models (LLMs) are AI systems trained on huge volumes of text that can understand, generate, and work with human language across many different tasks.
Learn more →Automation
Automation means letting machines or software carry out repetitive tasks on their own, without constant manual input.
Learn more →Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) uses software robots that automatically carry out rule-based, repetitive tasks on existing user interfaces, the same way a person would at a keyboard.
Learn more →Predictive Maintenance
Predictive maintenance uses condition data and forecasting models to catch wear or failures before they happen, so maintenance gets done exactly when it's needed rather than on a fixed schedule or after a breakdown.
Learn more →Digital Twin
A digital twin is a virtual model of a real process, product, or system that stays synchronized with live data so it can be simulated and tested.
Learn more →Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 is the networking of machines, systems, and data in production through digital technologies such as IoT, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence.
Learn more →Poka-Yoke (Error Proofing)
Poka-Yoke is a design approach that makes errors impossible or immediately detectable. It builds quality into the process rather than relying on inspection after the fact.
Learn more →Jidoka (Autonomation)
Jidoka means 'automation with a human touch'. Machines detect abnormalities and stop automatically. It separates human work from machine work and builds quality into the process.
Learn more →Ishikawa / Fishbone Diagram
The Ishikawa diagram organizes potential causes of a problem into categories along a fish-bone structure. It ensures systematic root cause analysis instead of jumping to conclusions.
Learn more →5-Why Analysis
5-Why is a root cause analysis technique that asks 'Why?' repeatedly until the fundamental cause of a problem is uncovered. Simple, fast, and effective for most process problems.
Learn more →Pareto Analysis (80/20 Rule)
Pareto analysis uses the 80/20 principle to identify the vital few causes that create the majority of problems. It ensures improvement efforts focus where they deliver the greatest impact.
Learn more →DMAIC (Six Sigma)
DMAIC is the structured problem-solving methodology of Six Sigma. Its five phases, Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control, systematically reduce variation and defects in processes.
Learn more →First Pass Yield (FPY)
First Pass Yield measures the percentage of units that pass through a process correctly the first time, without any rework, repair, or rejection. It reveals the true quality of a process.
Learn more →Scrap Rate / Rejection Rate
Scrap rate measures the percentage of production that is irreparably defective and must be discarded. It directly impacts material cost, OEE quality factor, and environmental waste.
Learn more →FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis)
A preventive analysis method that evaluates and prioritizes possible failures in a product or process before they ever occur.
Learn more →ISO 9001
An international standard defining minimum requirements for an effective quality management system, and the only certifiable standard in the ISO 9000 family.
Learn more →8D Method
A structured eight-step approach for sustainably resolving quality problems, used mainly in handling customer complaints.
Learn more →Control Chart
A diagram for ongoing process monitoring based on samples taken over time, the core tool of statistical process control.
Learn more →OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness)
OEE is the key metric for machine and equipment productivity. It combines availability, performance, and quality into a single percentage value.
Learn more →Takt Time
Takt time is the pace at which a product must be completed to meet customer demand. It is determined by the market, not by the machine.
Learn more →Cycle Time
Cycle time measures how long a single process step actually takes, from start to finished result. It is the foundation of every process analysis.
Learn more →Lead Time
Lead time measures the total duration from order receipt to delivery, including all waiting, storage, and transport times. It determines delivery capability.
Learn more →SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die)
SMED is a method for drastically reducing setup times. Goal: Every changeover in under 10 minutes, in the single-digit minute range.
Learn more →5S Method
5S is a systematic method for workplace organization and cleanliness. The five steps: Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain.
Learn more →Kaizen
Kaizen means 'change for the better' and describes the philosophy of continuous, incremental improvement by all employees, every day, everywhere.
Learn more →PDCA Cycle
PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) is the fundamental improvement cycle: Plan, Execute, Verify, Standardize. It structures every improvement process into four clear phases.
Learn more →Gemba Walk
Gemba Walk means: Go to the actual place to observe processes with your own eyes. Don't optimize from a desk, but where value creation happens.
Learn more →Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
Value Stream Mapping visualizes the entire material and information flow of a product, from raw material to customer. It makes waste and bottlenecks visible at a glance.
Learn more →Kanban
Kanban is a visual pull system that controls the flow of work and materials using signal cards. It limits work in process and ensures that production only happens when there is actual demand.
Learn more →Andon (Visual Management)
Andon is a visual signaling system that immediately alerts the team when an abnormality occurs. It empowers every worker to stop and fix problems before they escalate.
Learn more →Heijunka (Production Leveling)
Heijunka smooths production volume and mix over time to eliminate peaks and valleys. It creates a steady, predictable flow that reduces waste and stress throughout the value stream.
Learn more →Standard Work / Standardized Work
Standard Work documents the current best-known way to perform a task. It defines the sequence, timing, and inventory needed to produce consistent results safely and efficiently.
Learn more →SWIP (Standard Work in Process)
SWIP defines the minimum inventory needed within a process to maintain smooth, uninterrupted flow. It prevents both starvation and overproduction between workstations.
Learn more →Bottleneck Analysis
Bottleneck analysis identifies the process step that limits the throughput of the entire system. The bottleneck determines maximum output. Improving anything else first is waste.
Learn more →REFA Time Study
REFA time study is a systematic method for measuring and analyzing work times. It breaks operations into elements and establishes standard times as the basis for planning and improvement.
Learn more →Changeover Time / Setup Time
Changeover time is the duration from the last good part of the previous product to the first good part of the next product. It directly impacts batch sizes, flexibility, and OEE.
Learn more →Downtime
Downtime is any period when a machine or process is not producing although it is scheduled to. It is the primary driver of availability losses in OEE.
Learn more →Throughput
Throughput is the rate at which a system produces finished output. It measures actual productive capacity and is limited by the bottleneck of the process.
Learn more →Capacity Utilization
Capacity utilization measures the percentage of available production capacity that is actually used. It reveals how well resources are deployed but must be balanced against flexibility.
Learn more →One-Piece Flow
One-Piece Flow means processing and passing one unit at a time through all process steps without batching or waiting between stations. It is the ideal state for minimizing lead time and waste.
Learn more →Contribution Margin
The amount left from revenue after subtracting variable costs, used first to cover fixed costs and then to generate profit.
Learn more →Break-Even Point
The volume or revenue at which total contribution margin exactly covers fixed costs, resulting in neither profit nor loss.
Learn more →Return on Investment (ROI)
A metric that relates profit earned to capital employed, showing how that capital was returned.
Learn more →Contract for Work (Werkvertrag)
A contract type under Section 631 of the German Civil Code (BGB) where a specific result is owed, not merely the activity.
Learn more →Service Contract (Dienstvertrag)
A contract type under Section 611 BGB where the activity itself is owed, not a specific result.
Learn more →Statutory Warranty (Gewährleistung)
The seller's or contractor's statutory liability for defects in the delivered goods or completed work.
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