Project management glossary

The active collaborator definition is binary: one reply = active, no reply = lurker. This is intentional — Maven bills for participation, not presence. Someone CC'd on 50 emails who never replies costs you nothing.

Maven is not specifically an Agile or Scrum tool, but its continuous tracking and follow-up model is naturally iterative. Projects can be organized by phase or sprint, and Maven adapts to scope changes as they emerge in the conversation.

Maven is async by design. All coordination happens through email, which participants read and respond to on their own schedule. Maven's follow-up timing is calibrated for async workflows — it gives participants reasonable response windows before nudging, accounting for time zones where possible.

Maven actively detects blockers from conversation signals: a participant hasn't replied, a dependency hasn't resolved, or someone flagged an issue. Rather than waiting for you to notice, Maven surfaces blockers explicitly in the email thread and escalates to you when a decision is needed.

Maven sends a closing summary automatically when all deliverables resolve. You can also trigger it manually by replying "close this project" in the thread. The summary is sent to all thread participants and is the final message in the project thread.

Maven distinguishes between active collaborators (at least one reply in the billing month) and lurkers (received emails but never replied). Only active collaborators count toward billing. This is designed to match cost with actual project participation.

Maven extracts deliverables from your project brief and tracks them individually through the email thread. Each deliverable is assigned to a participant, given a status (pending, in progress, completed, blocked), and followed up on if it stalls. When all deliverables resolve, Maven closes the project.

Maven infers dependencies from your project brief and conversation (e.g., "design needs to be approved before development starts"). When a dependency is unresolved, Maven surfaces it as a blocker for the downstream task.

Maven escalates automatically. When a task is overdue or a participant is non-responsive beyond a threshold, Maven surfaces the issue in the thread and pings you specifically. You decide whether to reassign, extend, or take direct action.

Maven does not generate Gantt charts. Its representation of project timeline is conversational — deadlines, follow-ups, and status updates in the email thread. If you need a visual Gantt, tools like Asana, Monday.com, or ClickUp are better fits for that specific need.

Maven doesn't use a Kanban board. Task status is tracked in the email thread and communicated via replies. If you ask Maven for a status update, it provides one directly in the thread — "three tasks in progress, one blocked, two completed."

Maven's first reply to your project brief serves as the kickoff: it introduces the PM persona, confirms scope understanding, identifies deliverables, and assigns initial tasks. No meeting required.

Maven identifies milestones from your project brief and tracks them within the email thread. When a milestone is approaching, Maven surfaces it in the conversation. When it's reached, Maven acknowledges it and identifies the next phase of work.

Every Maven project gets a dedicated PM persona assigned at project creation. The persona persists through the entire project — you're always talking to the same "person." This creates consistency and continuity in long-running projects.

Your first email to maven@maven-pm.com is your project brief. Maven reads it to extract scope, deliverables, participants, and deadlines. The more context in your brief, the better Maven's initial task structure. You don't need a formal template — a few clear sentences work.

Maven routes escalations and decision requests to the project owner (the person who created the project by emailing maven@maven-pm.com). When a blocker requires a judgment call, Maven asks the owner directly in the thread.

Maven assigns responsibility based on thread signals: explicit mentions ("@Sarah can you handle design?"), role descriptions in the brief, subject-matter references, and historical reply patterns. When ownership is unclear, Maven asks directly in the thread rather than guessing.

Maven surfaces scope questions when the thread signals ambiguity — new requests that weren't in the original brief, conflicting requirements, or tasks that seem outside the original project boundary. Rather than silently absorbing scope changes, Maven flags them for your decision.

When thread signals indicate scope creep — new feature requests, additional deliverables, or "while we're at it" additions — Maven flags these as scope questions rather than silently adding them to the task list. You decide what's in scope.

Maven prompts for sign-offs on key deliverables when your brief indicates approval gates are needed. A stakeholder can sign off by replying with confirmation in the thread — Maven records it and advances the project to the next phase.

Maven doesn't enforce sprint cycles by default, but you can organize your project by phase. Email Maven with "sprint 1 goals" and it will track those deliverables as a unit, follow up at the sprint boundary, and summarize what was completed before moving to the next phase.

Maven tracks stakeholder participation through the email thread. Active stakeholders (those who reply) are monitored for task ownership and responsiveness. Passive stakeholders (CC'd but silent) remain informed via thread updates without incurring a charge.

Maven replaces the blocker-surfacing function of stand-ups through continuous thread monitoring. Rather than waiting for a scheduled meeting, Maven detects blockers as they emerge in the conversation and escalates them immediately. Async by design.

You can request a status update from Maven at any time by replying "what's the current status?" or similar in the thread. Maven will reply with a structured summary: tasks completed, tasks in progress, blockers, and upcoming deadlines. Maven also sends proactive updates at key project milestones.

Maven extracts tasks from your project emails, assigns them to participants based on thread signals, and tracks their status. When a task is overdue or blocked, Maven follows up with the assignee directly in the email thread.

Each Maven project is exactly one email thread. Maven threads use standard email Reply All to keep all participants in sync. The thread subject line is the project name. When you search your email for a project, the thread is the complete project history.

Maven tracks deadlines and milestones from your brief and thread conversation. It surfaces upcoming deadlines proactively and flags tasks that are behind. Maven doesn't generate a visual Gantt chart — its timeline is expressed through follow-ups and status summaries in the email thread.

Vendors are first-class participants in Maven projects. Because Maven works through email, vendors participate by simply replying to threads — no account required, no tool adoption needed. Maven tracks vendor commitments, follows up when they're late, and escalates when they go silent.

Maven tracks in-progress tasks across the email thread and surfaces them in status updates when asked ("which tasks are still open?"). Maven also detects when too many tasks are blocked simultaneously and escalates the situation to the project owner.