FAT means WHAT???? The use and misuse of acronyms

Alfred Richardson, VP R&R System Solutions

We have all been there.  Sitting in a meeting, reading a document, or writing a report ourselves and we use or hear an acronym. Acronyms can be misleading.  Why? Because your industry meaning may be different from the speaker, reader, or in the worst case, the client. (FAT = File Allocation Table) I have always considered the use of acronyms lazy, time wasting, and dangerous. As consultants we cannot assume the meaning of any acronym we read or hear.  We always ask for the definition to insure clarity. (FAT=Fluorescent Antibody Test)

Why do we consider it lazy?   Let’s look at the acronym TS for Test Set.  Really?  That saves 5 letters. Have you been in a meeting where the people seem to talk in acronyms?  You have no idea what they are saying.  Don’t worry, they don’t know either. (FAT=Fully Automatic Timing)

Why do we consider it time wasting? Take for example a new person on your team / project.  How much time is wasted trying to figure out what some or all of the acronyms mean?  It can take months for someone to come up to speed.  Why add to that? (FAT=Fatty Acid Transferase)

Why do we consider this dangerous?  When reading a specification, when bidding a proposal, when developing a program plan, it is easy to misinterpret the meaning of an acronym.  I am a hardware person so I will use FAT as an example. If you look to “Acronym Finder,” you will find 55 active meanings of FAT and 154 in the “Acronym Attic.”  (FAT = Flight Aptitude Test)  Now most of these do not apply in the development world but some do.  Does FAT mean?

1.       Factory Acceptance Test(ing) or

2.       First Article Test(ing) or

3.       Final Acceptance Test(ing) or

4.       Facility Acceptance Test or

5.       Field Acceptance Test or

6.       Functional Acceptance Test(ing) or

7.       ????

You see what I mean with just these six examples. I have had to halt a kick off meeting between a customer and their supplier because I knew they had different meanings for an acronym. You don’t need them, so don’t use them. Use words, not letters. Make a misread and it can cost you and your company big time. As a final thought, the fourth meaning of FAT by Acronym Finder is Faithful and True. Think about it!

The Myth of Lessons Learned

We’ve all been there. We are starting a project, we are working on a project, we are about to finish a project and we know, we just know someone has done something like this before. So what do we do? Well, all good companies have a “Lessons Learned Knowledge Base,” a store of historical information and lessons learned about both the outcomes of previous project decisions and previous project performance.  So says the Project Management Institute.  But wait, you can’t seem to find yours. People say we did something like that a few years back.  So why is it so hard to find out what happened?

It’s so hard because most companies do not have an easy way to find lessons learned if they keep them at all.  Do you know where to find them in your company? If so, you are one of the lucky ones.  If not, join the crowd.  Of course we are all responsible.  This is not just a Program Management or Quality responsibility, although they deserve much of the credit or blame. When you finished your last project there were actions and decisions that worked well and others, not so well.  Where did you record these actions so others could benefit from your experience? And can others find these results?

In most companies / organizations, small, medium and especially large, Lessons Learned are a Myth.  Do something about it. In both the short and long run, using tools and techniques to make decisions that have been proven to work before makes money; making the same mistakes over again doesn’t.

In any given ocean project from concept to completion there are usually around a 100 major steps.   Somewhere within these  steps will be the design, manufacture, termination and maintenance of the cable that is to be used in an undersea environment.   Cables could develop into becoming the weak link of an ocean system based on a number of factors and require attention.  To get the cable you need that assures your ocean system functions properly, and can be built in the scheduled time and stays within budget, the following steps are basic but very essential:

•      Know what you need
•      Communicate your needs to the cable supplier
•      Manage the procurement cycle; do not strictly depend on the supplier

The first step in getting the cable you need is to get a firm grip on the cable and performance requirements.   Focus first on the key requirements of working tension, power demand, communications needed, and size and weight constraints.  More often important requirements are forgotten rather than done improperly so developing a check list of cable requirements is a useful way to check that potential requirements are covered.

Once your requirements are in place they must be communicated to the cable supplier.   This is the job of the cable specification.  Cable specifications should be clear, complete, and concise.  As much as possible the requirements should be performance based rather than a specific design to allow the cable supplier the most freedom to meet your performance needs.   However, interfaces are one area where details are essential.

The final step in getting the cable you need is to manage your cable supplier during manufacture and test of the cable.   Make a plan.   The amount of effort expended in the plan depends on the complexity of the cable and how crucial it is to the project.  Maintain clear communications by establishing single points of contact and understanding the Quality Control system of your supplier.  Have regular meetings to keep current on program status.  Non-compliance issues must be addressed early which can only happen with good communication.  Have a thorough test program.  Testing of cable systems is a key to averting problems later in system operation.

Following a disciplined Program Quality approach of knowing your requirements, writing a good specification, and monitoring your supplier can prevent cable problems from occurring in your ocean system.

R&R System Solutions (R&R) welcomes you to Ocean Cables, etc.  blog. The R&R blog will be exploring the world of undersea cable, and its relative parts.   This is the place to discuss undersea cable from beginning to end including design, manufacture, integration, test, managing cable construction, deployment and maintenance.

Do you want to learn from people that were there at the birth of undersea fiber optic cables? 

Entering the field in the 1970’s, when the ultimate goal for optical fiber bandwidth was 1 Mbps, R&R staff is in the unique position to provide the scope and history of the fiber optic undersea cable issues.  Having the deep mixture of engineering, quality, and management experience we will discuss the finer points of cable elongation one minute and the intricacies of running a project in Malaysia.  Questions and comments are welcomed.

 Join us in exploring the interesting world of undersea cable.

Visit our website: rrsystemsolutions.com

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