Management Abbreviation Guide: Master MGMT, KPI, ROI, and 100 More

Management abbreviations are everywhere: in emails and reports, job titles, and project names. So, you need a survival guide to decode this alphabet and business terminologies.

I gathered 150 abbreviations from finance, productivity, project management and other fields, so you’re never left wondering what MGMT, KPI, or EOD actually mean.

This guide is for everyone, from students to seasoned executives and new hires looking to communicate more effectively.

Note: I’ve organized these abbreviations into logical categories for easy reference.

About abbreviations in business

Abbreviation forms are the shortened versions of different words or series of words. Abreviate management words are typically used often in conversations. Hence, users started using the short forms out of convenience instead of repeatedly using the same particular long word.

Abbreviations for management words are like regular internet slang but in the business world. They are used in finance mgmt, software design, banking mgt, real estate mgmt, and all industries.

See what I did there? I already introduced you to the first abbreviations on our list: MGMT and MGT. But let’s dive straight into abbreviation forms by category.

General management

The most common abbreviation for management is “MGMT.” This shorthand is widely used in business contexts, from job titles to department names and academic courses. Let’s explore this and other important management-related abbreviations:

• MGMT – Management (most popular, used in telecommunication, text messaging, and virtually anywhere in the business world)
• MNGMT – Management (abbreviate management used mostly in business)
• MGT – Management (shortest form, used in army and technology)
• MIB – Management Information Base
• MIS – Management Information System
• MA – Management Association (organizations that bring together management professionals)
• MS – Management Systems
• MMS – Management Service
• MY – Management Year (Fiscal or operational year used for planning and reporting)
• MA – Management Agency
• M.S. – Management Science

Management practices and systems

Each organization relies on structured frameworks and methodologies to operate efficiently. These help standardize processes, improve outcomes, and ensure consistent quality across the enterprise.

Let’s explore some of the most widely abbreviations in this field:

• BPM – Business Process Management
• CRM – Customer Relationship Management
• ERM – Enterprise Risk Management (Framework for identifying and managing organizational risks)
• GRC – Governance, Risk, and Compliance
• HCM – Human Capital Management
• KM – Knowledge Management
• MPM – Marketing Performance Management
• OPM – Operations Performance Management (Systems for monitoring operational efficiency)
• PRM – Partner Relationship Management
• QBR – Quarterly Business Review
• SCM – Supply Chain Management
• TQM – Total Quality Management (Organization-wide approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction)

Productivity abbreviations

One of the most sought-after outcomes of an employee is productivity, and it is measured in many shapes and forms at work. Let’s check some of the used productivity-related abbreviations:

• GTD – Getting Things Done (A productivity system popularized by David Allen focused on capturing, clarifying, organizing, and reviewing tasks)
• MITs – Most Important Things
• GPP – Gross Primary Productivity
• HPCS – High Productivity Computing Systems
• PI – Productivity Index (Metric used to measure and compare productivity levels across time periods or teams)
• SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound
• KPI – Key Performance Indicator
• OKR – Objectives and Key Results
• PDCA – Plan, Do, Check, Act
• DMAIC – Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (Data-driven improvement cycle used in Six Sigma methodology)
• WBS – Work Breakdown Structure
• SLA – Service Level Agreement
• ROI – Return on Investment
• ZTD – Zen To Done (Productivity system developed by Leo Babauta that simplifies GTD with mindfulness elements)
• EOD – End of Day (Which many times somehow means 11:59 PM)
• COB – Close of Business
• WIP – Work In Progress
• FIFO – First In, First Out
• ROT – Redundant, Outdated, Trivial

Time management and time tracking

Time is perhaps the most valuable resource in any business, and using a time-tracking system is pivotal for productivity and profitability. From attendance monitoring to deadline management, these abbreviations represent the systems and concepts used to measure, allocate, and optimize time usage in professional settings.

• AA – Attendance Allowance (Financial benefit provided to individuals with attendance requirements or disabilities)
• AMS – Attendance Management System
• ASAP – As Soon As Possible (Corporate code for “drop everything else you’re doing”)
• ETA – Estimated Time of Arrival
• EoW – End of Week
• TM – Time Management
• TTM – Time To Market (Period between product conception and its availability for sale)
• TBD – To Be Determined (The project manager’s favorite way to say “I have no idea”)
• TMF – Time Management Framework
• TPS – Task Priority System
• RTT – Real Time Tracking (Technology in which people track time, processes, and assets are monitored for better resource allocation and optimization)

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• CTT – Critical Time Tracking
• HRIS – Human Resource Information System
• PTO – Paid Time Off
• OOO – Out of Office (Translation: “I’m at the beach but will pretend to check emails once a day”)
• LOA – Leave of Absence
• OT – Overtime
• TOIL – Time Off In Lieu (Compensatory time given instead of overtime pay for extra hours worked)

Start-ups & business development

If you’ve ever worked in a startup, I doubt you don’t know these words, but let’s see the commonly used abbreviations:

• SaaS – Software-as-a-Service (Business model where the software is licensed on a subscription basis and centrally hosted)
• SU – Start-Up
• VC – Venture Capital
• MVP – Minimum Viable Product (Initial version of a product with enough features to satisfy early adopters and validate ideas, but launched on a low budget)
• IPO – Initial Public Offering (That stage, all startups want to reach at some point in their growth – to be listed in the market)
• SME – Small and Medium-sized Enterprise
• POC – Proof of Concept (Demonstration that verifies that a concept or theory has practical potential)
• ARR – Annual Recurring Revenue
• MRR – Monthly Recurring Revenue
• CAC – Customer Acquisition Cost
• CLV – Customer Lifetime Value
• KYC – Know Your Customer (Deep understanding of customer profiles, preferences, behaviors, and pain points)
• MMR – Minimum Marketable Release
• PMF – Product-Market Fit
• YOY – Year Over Year

Information technology abbreviations

Internet & networking

Robust networking infrastructure and Internet technologies are the backbone of communication and operations at work. These foundational abbreviations are the protocols, systems, and technologies that enable digital connectivity and information exchange.

Whether you’re in IT or simply using these systems, familiarity with these terms will help you be more confident in any tech-related conversation.

• IP – Internet Protocol (Fundamental communications protocol that routes packets across network boundaries and enables the internet)
• IT – Information Technology
• ASCII – American Standard Code for Information Interchange (Character encoding standard for electronic communication that assigns numerical values to letters, digits, and special characters)
• LAN – Local Area Network
• WWW – World Wide Web
• DNS – Domain Name System
• ISP – Internet Service Provider
• ISO – International Standards Organization (Independent NGO that develops and publishes international standards)
• OS – Operating System
• QA – Quality Assurance
• VPN – Virtual Private Network
• API – Application Programming Interface (Set of definitions, protocols, and tools for building application software that specifies how software components should interact)
• ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning
• AI – Artificial Intelligence
• URL – Uniform Resource Locator
• DES – Data Encryption Standard (Set of definitions, protocols, and tools for building application software that specify how software components should interact)
• WAP – Wireless Application Protocol

Software development & IT operations

All the words in this category are for sure part of the internet slang mgmt system if there is one, or part of some Reddit threads with engineers:

• SDLC – Software Development Life Cycle
• CI/CD – Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (DevOps practice of automating code integration and delivery to production)
• IaaS – Infrastructure as a Service
• PaaS – Platform as a Service
• SQL – Structured Query Language
• NoSQL – Not Only SQL (Database technology designed for specific data models with flexible schemas for modern applications)
• UI – User Interface
• QA – Quality Assurance
• QC – Quality Control
• CMS – Content Management System
• IoT – Internet of Things (Network of physical objects embedded with sensors, software, and connectivity to exchange data)
• ML – Machine Learning
• NLP – Natural Language Processing
• DL – Deep Learning
• AR – Augmented Reality
• VR – Virtual Reality
• API – Application Programming Interface
• JSON – JavaScript Object Notation
• HTML – HyperText Markup Language
• CSS – Cascading Style Sheets
• WYSIWYG – What You See Is What You Get (Interface that allows content to be edited in a form resembling its appearance when published)
• SEO – Search Engine Optimization

Project management abbreviations

• PM – Project Manager/Project Management
• PMO – Project Management Office
• PMP – Project Management Professional
• PERT – Program Evaluation and Review Technique (Statistical tool used to analyze and represent the tasks in a project)
• CPM – Critical Path Method
• EVM – Earned Value Management
• CPI – Cost Performance Index
• SPI – Schedule Performance Index (Measure of schedule efficiency expressed as the ratio of earned value to planned value)
• BAC – Budget at Completion
• EAC – Estimate at Completion
• ETC – Estimate to Complete
• RAM – Responsibility Assignment Matrix (Grid that shows resources assigned to each work package in a project)
• RAID – Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies
• SME – Subject Matter Expert
• MoSCoW – Must have, Should have, Could have, Won’t have
• RAG – Red, Amber, Green (status reporting)
• SWOT – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

Financial and accounting terms

So many of us don’t understand accounting and finances in general, but financial literacy is crucial in business.

Accounting has its own specialized vocabulary. From balance sheet components to performance metrics, these terms form the language of business finance and help stakeholders understand a company’s financial health and operations.

• AP – Accounts Payable (Money a company owes to vendors or suppliers for goods or services purchased on credit)
• AR – Accounts Receivable
• COGS – Cost of Goods Sold
• NP – Net Profit
• ROE – Return on Equity
• NPV – Net Present Value
• EBITDA – Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization
• EPS – Earnings Per Share (Portion of the company’s profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock)
• P/E – Price to Earnings Ratio
• YTD – Year To Date
• GAAP – Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
• IFRS – International Financial Reporting Standards
• M&A – Mergers and Acquisitions (Consolidation of companies through various financial transactions)
• CPA – Certified Public Accountant
• VAT – Value Added Tax (Consolidation of companies through various financial transactions)
• GST – Goods and Services Tax
• OCF – Operating Cash Flow
• WC – Working Capital
• PE – Private Equity

Other abbreviations

Each particular word for a managerial position has an abbreviation, as it’s quite difficult to write an entire title for a manager (title mgt) in signatures and conversations. Here are twelve abbreviation forms for your leadership team:

• CEO – Chief Executive Officer
• CFO – Chief Financial Officer
• COO – Chief Operating Officer
• CIO – Chief Information Officer or Chief Investment Officer
• CISO – Chief Information Security Officer
• CMO – Chief Marketing Officer
• CTO – Chief Technology Officer
• CKO – Chief Knowledge Officer
• CXO – Chief Experience Officer
• SVP – Senior Vice President
• GM – General Manager
• BoD – Board of Directors

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Conclusions

Though not all of these words made it into the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it will save you next time you’re in doubt. You don’t need a word management platform to keep track of the abbreviations, but just add the link to this article to use it in your texting mgmt process.

So the next time you receive an email asking for the MVP by EOD for the SME’s QBR presentation, you won’t break a sweat. You’ll understand exactly what’s needed and when. And that kind of clarity is a positive ROI on your time investment.