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Software Engineering vocabulary · Agile and Team Workflow

Blocker

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/ˈblɑːkər/nounCommon term

In software engineering, blocker means: A problem that stops someone from continuing their work until it is solved, such as missing access, an unanswered question or a broken environment.

In Turkish: engel, engelleyici sorun, işi durduran sorun

How it is used

A standard stand-up word: 'Any blockers?', 'No blockers from me.' People also say 'I'm blocked on the API' or 'This is blocking the release.' In bug trackers, 'Blocker' is also the highest priority level.

Example sentences

  1. My only blocker is access to the production logs.

  2. I'm blocked until the design team sends the final screens.

Common collocations

  • any blockers
  • no blockers
  • be blocked on
  • release blocker
  • remove a blocker
  • stand-upA short daily team meeting, often 15 minutes, where each person says what they did, what they will do next and whether anything is blocking them.
  • ticketA record in a tracking tool such as Jira that describes one piece of work, like a bug, task or feature, and shows who owns it and its status.
  • sprintA fixed period, usually one or two weeks, in which a team commits to finishing a chosen set of work items.
  • sync upTo have a short meeting or chat to share updates and make sure everyone has the same information and plan. Also a noun: 'a quick sync'.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Agile and Team Workflow

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