IT Dictionary
A survival manual for devs, dreamers, and those still pretending their job has structure.
Stop nodding at meetings when you don’t understand a word.
Welcome to IT Dictionary — a survival manual for anyone who has ever shipped code on a Friday, joined a “quick sync” that lasted two hours, or watched a harmless feature request turn into a full-blown platform rewrite.
This is not a normal dictionary. It won’t teach you Java syntax, Kubernetes internals, or how to center a div. Instead, it teaches you something far more useful: what people in tech actually mean when they talk. Especially when they pretend everything is fine.
After nearly two decades as a developer, DevOps engineer, consultant, and team lead, Adam Korga has seen modern tech culture from every angle — from tiny software houses held together by caffeine, through chaotic startups, to global enterprises where decisions go to meetings to die.
- “It’s a quick win” → your weekend just disappeared.
- “We’re building for scale” → we’re overengineering a to-do list.
- “The model is 94% accurate” → once, under perfect conditions.
Part technical glossary, part workplace anthropology, part group therapy session, IT Dictionary turns everyday IT frustration into painfully accurate comedy.
At a Glance
- Decodes what tech people say vs. what they mean.
- 1666 translations (the author swears it’s accidental)
- Written by a veteran of startups and enterprises.
- Definitions forged in real projects, not slides.
- Dark humor best understood from the trenches.
- Satire with a sharp meta-commentary underneath.
- Works as a full read or desk-side sanity aid.
- A perfect gift for engineers and PM survivors.
Table of Contents
How This Dictionary Speaks Five Different Dialects
Each part deliberately changes its tone and language — because in IT, how something is said usually matters more than what is said. War stories in the trenches, scripture in Agile, bureaucracy in Corpoland, hype in Startupistan, and confident nonsense in AI. Same chaos, different accents.
Part I: Core IT – Survival Mode Activated
There’s a reason people talk about 'experience in the trenches.' IT is a constant battlefield: impossible deadlines, accidental PM sabotage, servers on fire, and production incidents timed perfectly for 3 A.M. Survival depends on instincts, dark humor, and knowing exactly who to blame — usually DNS.
Part II: Agile Rituals and Other Cargo Cults
Modern Agile isn’t a methodology, it’s a religion. Let’s stop pretending otherwise. Rituals, artifacts, and velocity worship come mandatory; understanding why is highly optional.
Part III: Corpoland – Where Ideas Go to Get Aligned
Welcome to a managed democracy where decisions are made by consensus, accountability is optional, and the separation of powers belongs to HR, Legal, and Finance. Alignment is mandatory. Progress is negotiable.
Part IV: Startupistan – Chaos, Hoodie and Deadline
A revolutionary state permanently under construction. Agitprop replaces strategy, slogans replace plans, and every setback is reframed as necessary sacrifice for a better tomorrow. The revolution is always urgent, always underfunded, and always needs volunteers willing to work weekends.
Part V: AI – The New Kid in Town
AI as the charismatic transfer student: nobody fully understands it, everyone wants to befriend it, and somehow it’s already listed as a core competency. Confident hallucinations, vibe coding, and unquestioned optimism ship by default.
Is it worth the read?
"Hilarious, mostly because it feels so real. While it focuses on IT, the humor goes far beyond tech — you’ll recognize the same patterns if you’ve ever worked in design (like me) or any client-service job. The daily chaos, the strange requests, the awkward moments — it’s all here, and all too real."
"In operations, I often bridge the gap between tech teams and business. This IT dictionary has been a surprisingly handy resource, making it easy to get on the same page as all stakeholders fast, so we can focus on shared goals - not jargon."
"I can recommend this book to every professional working in IT, tech or not, Data/backend/testers/all engineers. Everyone will find something for themselves. I will be recommending this to all my IT folks!"
"I have to say I have rarely lost tears because of laughter and pain at the same time due to the hilarious yet hard hitting truths compiled in this book. Anyone in IT will find their wildest imaginations, and their lowest lows covered in this book. Absolute must read."
"What I love most is how it works as a conversation starter. Leave it on your desk or shelf, and sooner or later someone will pick it up, flip to a random page, and before you know it, you’re both laughing over how painfully accurate (and hilarious) the entries are."
"An essential desk companion for everyone working in tech! Few books capture the chaos and comedy of the working in the tech world like this one. (...) While reading it, I find myself nodding, chuckling, and selecting lines to quote in my next meeting. XD"
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