CREATING AN OUTLINE DOCUMENT 35
Definitions
You must work from the realistic pretext that not everyone knows your business as well as
you do. Acronyms, jargon and unfamiliar terms should be defined in a glossary. It is not a
bad idea to put it here, right at the beginning of the main body of the document. Readers
might skip over it but they will discover it early – assuming that they read the report from
front to back – and can refer to it as necessary. Add to this section each time that you use
a term that needs defining.
Look at the readership from all angles. Certainly, it should be considered that bankers
will not understand manufacturing terminology and production managers will not be
familiar with financial buzz words. Or is it the other way around? Treat your readers as sen-
sible and competent – blissfully ignorant of anything outside of their tight specialisation
but eager to learn. If in any doubt, include rather than exclude a definition. Remember
that there are financiers who do not understand derivatives, information technologists
who do not know about TCP/IP (see below) and scientists who do not know how to tie
their own shoelaces.
Do not rely solely on the definitions section. When you are writing the main document
(and especially the executive summary) define an acronym or specialist term when it is
first encountered and anywhere else where it might be read in isolation. Save your read-
ers effort, help them understand your message and you will be well rewarded.
While thinking about definitions it is convenient to mention the need for consistency.
Try to use terminology consistently throughout the document. If you refer to the sales
department, do not call it the sales division elsewhere. If you refer to measurements stick
with metric, imperial, or whatever is appropriate for your readership. If necessary, include
conversions. A report written in Europe specifying distances in kilometres would sensibly
include equivalents in miles if it might also be read in America.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
TCP/IP is transmission control protocol/internet protocol – the technical rules
governing the way that information is exchanged over the Internet. I knew that you
would ask, and it was obvious that you would not really want to know. Apart from
anything else, the term demonstrates that computer geeks are every bit as poor at
naming things as accountants and statisticians (see Chapters 7 and 11).
It is interesting, actually. With TCP/IP, messages such as e-mail are broken into
small packets and sent by differing routes. If just one arrives at the destination,
communication has been established and the whole message will eventually be put
together for the recipient. Breaking activities into smaller parts, minimising risks and
providing a failsafe mechanism are useful techniques to copy in business planning.
t