5 Commonly Used Idioms in the Tech Industry, Vol. 1
Bikeshedding, rubber ducking, dog fooding, bus factors, yak shaving…what the heck are my colleagues even saying?
People working in tech (developers especially) have an interesting vernacular that makes it difficult for many to understand. Our acronyms and idioms are packed with implied meaning, coming from academia, inside jokes, famous books, or thought experiments. People in the industry love using them because it acts like a secret code to be used amongst peers, giving a feeling of belonging.
If you’re a newcomer to the industry and are now having to decode what people say, you’ve probably heard a lot of these wacky phrases. Maybe you’ve asked your new colleagues what they mean, or looked them up on your favorite search engine after a conversation. Or, if you’re like most people, you’ve probably just smiled and nodded while thinking to yourself “What the hell does that mean?”
Acronyms and idioms should streamline communication, but if people don’t share the language it does the opposite! After being in industry for a decade, I hope to demystify some of these expressions to anyone who would like to assimilate into the tech industry. So, here’s an initial primer on five of the most used phrases I’ve heard in my career.
