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Description: Say What?
Say What?
To avoid excessive writing or speaking, people often resort to acronyms for describing complex systems and procedures — even to the point of using acronyms to refer to other acronyms. Government agencies are masters of acronym-ese, and whenever water/wastewater automation projects are underway, acronyms abound and can quickly become stumbling blocks. In some cases, acronym reliance serves a purpose, especially when used within a group of technical peers. However, larger projects call for additional working groups, so all parties should minimize jargon and acronyms.
Author(s)
Jonathan Shores
SourceArticle of WE&T Magazine
Project IDWET45
SubjectTraining; Design; Automation
Document typeMagazine article
PublisherWater Environment Federation
Print publication date Dec 2019
Volume / Issue31 / 12
Content sourceWE&T Magazine
First / last page(s)52 - 57
Copyright2019
Word count2,289
Subject keywordsCommunicationproject communicationsystems integratorsautomation terms

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Description: Say What?
1. Learn Your Audiences
Say What?
Communicating during technical projects happens in many ways: project meetings, technical workshops, submittals, plans, specifications, diagrams, conference calls, emails, instant messages, and more. For those working on projects, time is money, so technical folks have a tendency to jump right into the topic at hand. However, it is always beneficial to pause for a moment to understand the...
PublisherWater Environment Federation
Copyright2019
Word count308
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Description: Say What?
2. Leverage SI Coordination
Say What?
For a multidiscipline team to engage successfully with each other during any kind of project communications, they may need to take some active steps beyond their basic technical work. On automation projects, control systems integrators (SIs) often find themselves in this role — whether explicitly contracted for the task or not. This is because the SI is uniquely positioned to coordinate...
PublisherWater Environment Federation
Copyright2019
Word count831
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Description: Say What?
3. Define the Rules of Engagement
Say What?
There are a few options in how to bring others up to speed. It might not always be practical, but everyone appreciates starting communication with a brief update on the background of the topic. This usually requires some preparation and consumes time and effort as it is an abbreviated form of training. Some SIs may be reluctant to invest this effort, while more experienced SIs understand the...
PublisherWater Environment Federation
Copyright2019
Word count395
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Description: Say What?
4. Build Trust
Say What?
Contractors can’t build excessive unrequested training hours into their prices. On the other hand, promoting a culture where project managers devote time to teaching acronyms and technology in use ensures that others understand the key technical points. Communicating, with the patient heart of a teacher, is an opportunity to make allies on a project and elevate an SI to the role of trusted...
PublisherWater Environment Federation
Copyright2019
Word count598
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Say What?