19.7 Minimize Organizational Jargon, but Keep the Industry Language

19.7 Minimize Organizational Jargon, but Keep the Industry Language

Acronyms such as CEO, COO, and CFO are fairly well recognized internationally. However, short forms like DQA (director of quality assurance), and DCA (document control administrator) that may or may not be familiar within the organization (and I will tell you from experience they seldom are) place a burden on the reader—that in most cases will simply turn them off.

As big a pain in the neck as it is, it is far better to spell out the titles every time than to rely on the reader's memory. It will be appreciated. However, do not throw away the language of the industry. The manual is read by experts—write to their level.