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CTO facts & stats

7 fact-checked facts about the chief technology officer role, tech leadership and engineering management, each with the reason behind it. 5 more are in today's round and join this page after it closes.

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The basics

What does CEO stand for?

AnswerChief Executive Officer

The CEO is the top executive of a company.

What does CFO stand for?

AnswerChief Financial Officer

The CFO oversees a company's finances.

Going deeper

What is 'technical debt'?

AnswerThe future cost of choosing quick fixes over better solutions

Shortcuts in code create extra work later.

How does a CIO's role typically differ from a CTO's?

AnswerThe CIO usually focuses on internal IT systems

CIOs often run internal IT; CTOs often focus on product technology.

In tech operations, what does SLA stand for?

AnswerService Level Agreement

An SLA defines promised service levels like uptime.

Expert level

Who coined the term 'technical debt'?

AnswerWard Cunningham

Cunningham introduced the metaphor in 1992.

Brooks's law, from The Mythical Man-Month, says what about late software projects?

AnswerAdding people makes them later

Fred Brooks noted that new people add ramp-up and communication overhead.

Know these cold?Today's round is five questions like these, 20 seconds each. Your streak and level follow you to every arena.Play today's round