One of the most important things about being a project manager or product manager is working with a team. Having teammates is not just helpful—it’s essential.

You rely on them to get things done, solve problems, and deliver the product. But here’s the truth: when you ask developers for updates, you may often hear phrases that sound confusing if you’re new to the role.

1. “The endpoint isn’t ready.”
2. “I’m still working on the API.”
3. “The screen conversion is pending.”
4. “I’m deploying—let’s wait and see.”

If you’ve ever thought, What does this even mean? — you’re not alone.

This guide will help you:

1. Understand common developer updates and jargon.
2. Learn how to interpret progress reports and blockers.
3. Summarize these updates in plain language for clients or other non-technical stakeholders.

Why this matters

1. When you don’t understand developer updates:
   1. You can’t give accurate feedback to clients.
   2. You risk delays because you don’t know what’s blocking progress.
   3. You feel unsure whether work is really moving forward.
2. When you do understand:
   1. You can ask better questions.
   2. You can track progress effectively.
   3. You build trust with developers.

Common terms developers use

Below are simple explanations of frequent terms, how to interpret them, and how to translate them for stakeholders.

1. API (Application Programming Interface)
   1. What it is: An API is like a waiter who takes your order and brings back your food from the kitchen. Your app makes a request, and the API returns the data or result.
   2. Developer Might Say: “The API isn’t ready.”
   3. How to Interpret: The system providing data isn’t built or stable yet, so no functionality can happen.
   4. How to Summarize for Non-Technical Stakeholders: “The system that provides the needed data is still under development. Once it’s ready, the feature will work as planned.”
2. Endpoint
   1. What it is: An endpoint is the specific address in the API where you get or send certain data.
   2. Developer Might Say: “The endpoint is failing.”
   3. How to Interpret: The app can’t get or send the specific data because that part of the system is broken.
   4. How to Summarize: “One of the connections between the app and the data source isn’t working right now. The team is fixing it.”
3. Consuming an API
   1. What it is: This means the app is actively using the API to get or send data.
   2. Developer Might Say: “We’re consuming the API but getting errors.”
   3. How to Interpret: They’ve connected the app to the data, but responses are failing.
   4. How to Summarize: “The team is testing how the app gets data, but it’s returning errors that must be fixed before moving forward.”
4. Screen Conversion
   1. What it is: Turning a design (like a Figma mockup) into a real, coded screen.
   2. Developer Might Say: “Screen conversion is pending.”
   3. How to Interpret: The designs haven’t been coded into actual usable pages yet.
   4. How to Summarize: “The design is done, but it’s still being turned into a working part of the product.”
5. Deploying
   1. What it is: Publishing code to a live or test environment.
   2. Developer Might Say: “I’m deploying to staging.”
   3. How to Interpret: They’re moving changes to a testing version of the product.
   4. How to Summarize: “The new feature is being moved to the testing environment so it can be reviewed.”

how to interpret comon progress reports and blockers 

Below are some common updates you’ll hear, what they actually mean, and examples of how you can translate them:

1. Developer says: “It’s in progress.”
   1. Interpretation: They are still actively working—coding, testing, or fixing bugs.
   2. How to translate: “The team is working on this now; it’s not yet ready for review.”
2. Developer says: “Waiting for the API.”
   1. Interpretation: They can’t proceed until the backend system is done.
   2. How to translate: “Development is paused until the backend team completes the system this feature depends on.”
3. Developer says: “Blocked by deployment issues.”
   1. Interpretation: They’ve tried publishing the feature, but something broke.
   2. How to translate: “The team is fixing issues that came up during publishing. This needs to be resolved before we can continue.”
4. Developer says: “Still testing edge cases.”
   1. Interpretation: They are testing unusual or rare scenarios to make sure nothing breaks.
   2. How to translate: “The team is checking all possible scenarios to ensure the feature works properly.”
5. Developer says: “Pending code review.”
   1. Interpretation: Another developer is reviewing the code to catch mistakes.
   2. How to translate: “A second review is in progress to ensure quality before we launch.”

How to respond and follow up

1. Clarify with Specific Questions
   1. Instead of saying: “Okay, thanks.”
   2. Ask:
      1. “What exactly is blocking progress?”
      2. “Do you have an estimate for when this will be resolved?”
      3. “What will be ready for testing?”
   3. Confirm Next Steps
      1. “Once the API is ready, will the feature be complete?”
      2. “After deploying, should we test immediately?”
   4. Document Everything
      1. Write simple notes in your tracker:
         1. What was discussed
         2. Who is responsible
         3. What the next milestone is

TL;DR

1. Developers use technical terms to describe progress and blockers.
2. Learn to interpret what they mean.
3. Always translate updates into plain language for clients and stakeholders.
4. Clarify, confirm, and document everything.

By practicing this, you’ll feel more confident in every update meeting—and your team will trust you as the bridge between the technical and non-technical sides of the project.