Managed squad glossary: 20 terms every contract uses (and nobody defines)

MSA, SOW, DoR, DoD, substitution SLA, capacity-based pricing, T&M, outcome-based, ADR, FaaS... 20 terms that show up in squad contracts and nobody defines. Here is the glossary with the interpretation Revin uses across all contracts.

Por Victhor Araújo

Victhor Araújo

A managed-squad contract has 20+ acronyms and technical terms each vendor defines their own way. Client assumes one meaning, vendor another. Result: first-sprint fights about 'what should have been done' and 'how substitution works'. Almost no misalignment is technical — almost all are definitional.

Revin runs with a public glossary shared in every contract — not as a legal annex, but as a conversation baseline. When both sides use the same definitions from the first meeting, sprint one starts from the same place. This article is that glossary.

For founders, CTOs, and internal counsel about to negotiate a managed-squad contract — and who want to avoid interpretation surprises in review.

A shared glossary is what avoids 70% of misalignment at contract start

📖 The 20 terms (with Revin definition)

• MSA (Master Service Agreement): umbrella contract between the parties, defines general legal terms. Multi-year validity.
• SOW (Statement of Work): annex to the MSA with scope, deadline, price, and deliverables specific to one project.
• DoR (Definition of Ready): criteria for a ticket entering a sprint. No DoR, ticket becomes surprise.
• DoD (Definition of Done): criteria for a ticket leaving a sprint. Has 4 levels (feature complete, quality complete, deploy complete, adoption complete).
• Substitution SLA: contractual deadline to replace a squad member who leaves. Revin: 5-14 days.
• Capacity-based pricing: price for dedicated capacity (N devs × months), not for hours worked.
• T&M (Time & Materials): price per hour spent. Traditional model, low velocity incentive.
• Outcome-based pricing: price per validated delivery (feature shipped + adoption). Shared-risk model.
• ADR (Architecture Decision Record): short document recording technical decision, alternatives, trade-offs. Becomes a living artifact.
• Embedded tech lead: vendor's senior leading architecture, code review, and technical prioritization inside the squad.
• Discovery: initial 1-2 weeks for the squad to understand product before touching code.
• Strangler pattern: gradual migration strategy where the new system coexists with the old until full replacement.
• Burndown: ticket-progress chart inside a sprint. Process metric, not outcome.
• Feature flag: mechanism to turn features on/off in production without new deploy. Prerequisite for safe continuous deployment.
• Bus factor: number of people who need to leave for the project to stall. Healthy: ≥ 2 per critical area.
• Handoff doc: standard document filled by a leaving dev, with context, decisions, and known debt.
• Definition of pronto: Portuguese informal synonym for DoD. Same concept.
• Forecast accuracy: % of sprints closed on the estimated date. Predictability metric.
• Rework rate: % of PRs reopened or reverted within 14 days. Direct quality metric.
• Diagnostic Sprint: Revin's 2-week offer to diagnose a current squad or scope a new project. Not binding — assessment.

When both sides use the same definition, sprint one starts from the same place

🚧 Why a shared glossary matters

In 4 years of operation, 70% of initial client conflicts started with different interpretation of contract terms. Client assumed 'T&M' meant 'we can ask anything in any timeline'; vendor assumed 'we'll charge for hours regardless of outcome'. Both were wrong — and the contract didn't correct them.

A public glossary fixes this in 30 minutes of reading. Revin sends this glossary to every prospect before the MSA — not as a legal annex, but as a conversation baseline.

📢 Want the glossary as a PDF (full version with 35 terms)? Book a Discovery Call.

🎯 Conclusion: a shared glossary is the contract before the contract

An MSA signed without a glossary is a surfboard without a wave. Each party uses terms their own way, and at sprint one the 'right interpretation' becomes a dispute. Senior squads open the term conversation on day 0; generic squads hide it until conflict.

📢 Revin runs with a public glossary since 2023. See our delivery model.