Tech versus non-tech terms

There are times that when you are listening to a group of people have a discussion you may think that they are talking a foreign language, but they are speaking English, just that they are using terms that don’t seem to make sense in the conversation. In some of these cases, it isn’t the word or term that they are using, it’s how it is understood by everyone that is part of the conversation. I do know that a lot of technical people have what seems to be a secret language that they speak, and it can be very confusion for those that are not directly related to a particular expertise.

I have decided to try and decode some of the words that I have been hearing and how they can be misunderstood by those around us. Now let’s have some fun and see how one acronym or term can mean a lot of different things, and it all depends on who is listening to the conversation.

DC

• Direct current
• District of Columbia
• Domain controller
• Data centre

Backup

• Extra help or support
• Copy of a file
• A situation in which something is not moving
• Music that accompanies the main singer or tune

SAN

• Storage Area Network
• SANS institute

Farm

• A plot of land that grows crops and livestock
• A group of computer systems in one or more cabinets.

These are just four examples of how a word or acronym can have more than one meaning and when you are in a conversation with a bunch of people it can be very confusing to listen to a conversation. One important thing to remember is when you are writing an email, or a document, and you use any of these terms it is important to ensure that everyone that may read the email or document understands the correct meaning of the term. Be careful of prejudging what "Everyone" knows.

It is very important to know the audience that you are writing something because even if they are in a different area of Technology, they may have an entirely different meaning for the same term. So, a term can have a lot of different meanings, and understanding how to communicate to the various people in an organization is very important. It is the translating infosec into regular IT and IT into regular business terms that is vital for good communication.

Docs or It Didn't Happen

On your job, how many times have you been asked for the documentation to back up your decision or your work? Well, here is why documentation is so important when it comes to work.

1. Provides guidance to someone else if you are unable to do the task, such as when you are on vacation or maybe just too busy to get everything done or no longer with the company.
2. Helps to provide why something is done in a specific way.
3. Provides the necessary steps in a process to ensure that a business can continue to operate.

What is funny about writing this is so many individuals in IT don’t like writing documentation or even quick notes about why something is being done a specific way. I know that as someone that enjoys writing documentation, I normally get a very funny look when I say I love writing documentation. Yes, documentation can be a challenge to write, but in so many ways it is also enjoyable because you can help a department, or a business get the necessary notes down, so everyone is working the same way.

For various departments there are different needs for the documentation, but I do know that for IT departments it can the virtual process that needs to be done if the servers are compromised or if there is damage to the equipment and how does the department get everything up and running again because downed servers mean people aren’t able to get work done.

I have once heard someone say that “If I document what I do, it means that they can replace me easily, but if I don’t document stuff they need to keep me.” Well, that might sometimes work, but there are also the times that not documenting something can mean that you end up being a cost to the business, and you will be replaced. Knowing how to write the documents is also important because it can help others as well as yourself. If the document is good, you can even use it as a reference when you are doing a task that you don’t do frequently.

Docs or it didn’t happen is something that I have heard so often when talking to people, but these same people are the ones that don’t write the documentation. So, next time you are doing something think about the steps that you do and maybe make some notes even if it isn’t every step but at least it could remind you how to do something quickly or it could help someone else.

Get writing

These are some of the words that I can hear some days from my husband/business partner.

I normally hear these words "Get writing" when I am talking about my writing total for the day and I am saying that I haven’t got as much done as I would have liked. I can also hear these same words when I have let him know that my writing has been really good and I am happy with what I have accomplished. The words “get writing” aren’t done in a negative way because I normally am getting the writing done that I want to write.

“Get Writing” is normally done with a big smile on his face because he know that for me my writing is something that I really enjoy doing. Writing to me is an escape from the rest of the world sometimes. There are things that I write for fun and then there are the things that I write professionally. Yes there are times that the writing is a blend of both fun and professional.

What makes people laugh is when I say that I enjoy writing how to manuals and policies and procedures. Yes, a lot of people find these to be such a challenge and to me they are a means of assisting others in understand what they should be doing. In IT, when you say to someone you should document that you get those looks (normally a glare) because the individual doesn’t want to sit down and figure out how to word it. Being able to communicate to others a task can be a challenge but it can also be very rewarding. If someone says they don’t want to write a document, I will let them know that all they need to do is get the basic information down and then I will take it and make sure it makes sense. Maybe what gets a lot of people is they figure that when you say document it you mean it needs to be perfect right away. A lot of documents have to go through quite a few edits before they are at the final stage and that is when normally happens. Getting your thoughts down first is the key part that needs to be done and then making sure all the other information is where can be done after that.

Writing the how to manuals or policies and procedures can be a challenge to ensure that you get the information correctly communicated but that is why you get a few people to read it before you make it public. Manuals in some cases are going to be used for a short people of time and then the task will be learned and the manual will be put on a shelf and forgotten. Policies and procedures are something that people will look at from time to time if they need to verify something. Making sure that both of these types of documents communicate accurately what you are saying is very important.

Get writing in so many ways for me is now something that makes me smile. Yes, I write quite a bit of my day and I enjoy it. Being able to love what I do is very important and it also helps me know that in some of my writing I am helping others as well.

It is now time for me to “Get writing” and see what else I can accomplish today.

Documentation and its importance

Lately I have been dealing with a major project with a deadline of the end of November. At the beginning of the project, it looked like it would be a pretty easy project, but after doing some discovery, I found out that the project was going to be a lot more work than first anticipated.

The project was to gather information together and submit it as a complete report. That sounded pretty easy until I discovered that the information was in various spots and some of it wasn't even documented, so I had to do the documentation as well. I am not complaining about the documenting because that is something that I really enjoy doing. What I did learn through all of this is the importance of good documentation of policies and procedures and the need for having extremely good organization of these documents.

Organizations have to realize that documentation is required because if it is just in a person's head it can be easily lost. What if the person leaves the organization or isn't able to work for some reason for a long period of time. It is going to cost the organization a lot of extra time and energy to figure out how something is actually done instead of being able to look at the documentation and quickly do the work required.

I have heard people say that there is no need for documentation because I know what to do, so that is what is important. Well, it's great if you plan to be around forever and never have to be away from work, so no vacation or sick days. So even if you don't want to document what you do because you feel that it could result in you being let go, I am telling you that it's extremely important to document what you do. What if the company is audited for processes, and you are asked to show documentation about your job, can you do it?

So yes documentation may be a lot of work to do it, but having it does really help an organization. With proper documentation you can show that you do what it documented and what is documented is what you do.