Working in an Agile team with international colleagues? Whether you’re joining a sprint planning call, writing a bug report, or giving estimates in a daily standup, the right English phrases make you sound confident and professional. This lesson covers the language you need for every phase of an Agile sprint.
🗣️ Key Phrases to Say Out Loud
Practice these until they feel natural. Say each one three times before your next meeting.
| Phrase | IPA | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| rough estimate | /rʌf ˈestɪmɪt/ | When you haven’t analysed fully but need to give a number |
| ballpark figure | /ˈbɔːlpɑːrk ˈfɪɡər/ | Informal synonym for rough estimate, common in standups |
| spike needed | /spaɪk ˈniːdɪd/ | When research/investigation is required before estimation |
| acceptance criteria | /əkˈseptəns kraɪˈtɪriə/ | The conditions a story must meet to be “done” |
| blocking issue | /ˈblɒkɪŋ ˈɪʃuː/ | Something stopping you from progressing |
| edge case | /edʒ keɪs/ | An unusual or extreme scenario that may break the feature |
Tip: Record yourself saying each phrase. Vietnamese speakers often soften the hard /k/ in “spike” and “blocking” — make it crisp and clear.
📚 Vocabulary
1. Scope creep /skəʊp kriːp/ Noun. When a project’s requirements expand beyond the original plan. Example: “We need to avoid scope creep — let’s add that feature to the backlog instead.”
2. Velocity /vəˈlɒsɪti/ Noun. The amount of work a team completes in a sprint, measured in story points. Example: “Our velocity last sprint was 32 points, so let’s plan for that this time.”
3. Reproduce /ˌriːprəˈdjuːs/ Verb. To make a bug happen again in order to investigate it. Example: “I can reproduce this bug on Chrome but not on Safari.”
4. Regression /rɪˈɡreʃən/ Noun. A previously working feature that breaks after a new change. Example: “This looks like a regression — the login worked fine before the last deploy.”
5. Triage /ˈtriːɑːʒ/ Verb/Noun. To assess and prioritise issues by severity. Example: “Let’s triage these bugs before the sprint review so we know what’s critical.”
6. Sign off /saɪn ɒf/ Phrasal verb. To formally approve that work meets requirements. Example: “Can the product owner sign off on this story by end of day?”
🎯 Practice Now
Sprint Planning Dialogue
Setting: A Vietnamese developer (Dev) and a Scrum Master (SM) in a sprint planning call.
SM: Okay, let’s look at the next story — user profile photo upload. Can you give us a rough estimate?
Dev: I need a bit more information. What are the acceptance criteria exactly?
SM: The user should be able to upload a JPG or PNG, max 5 MB, and see the preview before saving.
Dev: Got it. I’d say around five to eight story points. There might be some edge cases with file validation that could take extra time.
SM: Is there anything blocking you on this one?
Dev: Not yet, but I think we’ll need a spike for the image compression logic. I’m not sure which library to use — that could take half a day of investigation.
SM: Fair enough. Let’s add a one-point spike first, then we can re-estimate the main story next sprint.
Dev: That works for me. One more thing — I noticed a regression in the current upload feature. Should I log that as a separate bug?
SM: Yes please, log it with steps to reproduce and we’ll triage it after this meeting.
Dev: Will do. I’ll have it in Jira before the end of standup.
SM: Perfect. Let’s move on to the next story.
Bug Report Template
Use this structure every time you write a bug report in English:
Title: [Component] Short description of the problem
Environment:
- Browser / Device: Chrome 124 / MacOS
- App version: v2.3.1
- Test environment: Staging
Steps to Reproduce:
1. Navigate to [page/feature]
2. [Do action]
3. [Do action]
4. Observe the result
Expected Result:
[What should happen]
Actual Result:
[What actually happens]
Severity: Critical / High / Medium / Low
Additional Notes:
- This appears to be a regression introduced in PR #[number]
- I can reproduce this consistently (100% reproduction rate)
- Workaround: [if any]
Attachments: [screenshots / video / logs]Example title: [Profile] Photo upload fails silently on files over 3 MB
Common Estimation Phrases
Use these in planning meetings and standups:
- “I estimate X story points for this task.”
- “Based on our velocity, we can take about 30 points this sprint.”
- “This is just a ballpark figure — I’ll have a better estimate after I look at the code.”
- “We need a spike for this. I can investigate it in half a day and report back.”
- “This could be 3 to 5 days, depending on how complex the API integration is.”
- “I’m not confident in my estimate — there are too many unknowns. Can we break this story down?”
- “If we include the edge cases, I’d add two more points to be safe.”
- “That’s out of scope for this sprint. Let’s move it to the backlog and revisit it.”
Quick Confidence Check
Before your next sprint meeting, ask yourself:
- Can you explain a blocking issue in one sentence?
- Can you give a rough estimate and say why you’re uncertain?
- Can you write a bug report with clear steps to reproduce?
If yes — you’re ready. If not — reread this lesson and run through the dialogue one more time out loud. The goal is fluency under pressure, not just knowing the words on paper.