Annex · Glossary

Software terms, in plain English.

A

API: An API, or application programming interface, is a defined way for two pieces of software to talk to each other. Your app uses APIs to take payments, send emails, show maps or call an AI model, and your own app often has an API that its website and mobile app share.

Backend: The backend is the part of an app that runs on servers rather than on the user's screen. It stores data in a database, checks who is allowed to see what, takes payments and talks to other services. Users never see it directly, but every button they press depends on it.
Bug-fix warranty: A bug-fix warranty is a period after launch during which the developer fixes defects in their own work at no charge. It covers anything that doesn't work as agreed in the specification, not new features or changes, and it's written into the contract with a clear start date and length.

Change request: A change request is a written proposal to add, remove or alter something in a project's agreed scope. It says what changes, what it costs and how it moves the timeline, and the work starts only after you approve it in writing. It's how a fixed-price project stays fixed when ideas evolve.
Code repository: A code repository is where a project's source code and its full history of changes are stored, usually on GitHub or GitLab. Whoever owns the repository controls the code: they can hire anyone to work on it, move it, or deploy it without asking the original developer's permission.

Discovery phase: A discovery phase is the planning step before development, where an idea becomes written specifications, user flows, screen designs and a priced plan. It answers what will be built, in what order and for how much, so the build itself starts from decisions instead of guesses.

Fixed-price contract: A fixed-price contract sets the total price for an agreed scope of work before the work starts. The developer carries the risk of their own estimate: if the work takes longer than planned, the price stays the same. Only a written change to the scope, approved by you, can change the price.
Frontend: The frontend is everything users see and touch in an app or website: the screens, buttons, forms and animations, running in their browser or on their phone. It sends what users do to the backend and shows the results, so it decides how fast and easy the product feels to use.

Milestone: A milestone is a finished, working part of a project with its own deliverables, due date and payment. Instead of paying for time, you pay when a milestone is delivered and you've checked that it works as agreed. A typical project has three or four milestones, each one building on the last.
MVP: An MVP, or minimum viable product, is the smallest version of your product that real users can sign up for, use and pay for. It does one job well instead of everything at once, so you can launch sooner, learn what people actually want and spend the rest of your budget on what they use.

Row-level security: Row-level security is a database rule that limits which rows of a table each signed-in user can read or change. With it switched on, a user asking for invoices gets only their own, even if the app's code forgets to filter. Supabase and other Postgres-based tools rely on it to keep data private.

Scope creep: Scope creep is the slow growth of a project beyond what was agreed, through small additions that nobody priced or scheduled. Each request seems minor, but together they push out deadlines, stretch budgets and blur what “done” means. It's a common reason software projects run late and over budget.

Webhook: A webhook is a message one service sends to your app automatically when something happens, such as a payment succeeding or a subscription being cancelled. Instead of your app asking “has anything changed?” every few seconds, the other service calls your app the moment it does.
Wireframe: A wireframe is a simple sketch of a screen that shows what goes where, such as the menu, the main content and the buttons, without colours, images or final text. Wireframes let everyone agree on the structure and flow of an app before anyone spends time on visual design or code.

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