This paper puts forward the view that terminology provides value through its capability to deliver consistently the grade of quality necessary for critical communication using human and machine language to be reliably effective and efficient

The view is presented at the micro-level i.e. as value to individual people or organizations that are at risk in using information that contains terminology.

It does not intend to treat the macro aspects of the value of terminology to the economy of the world or its individual countries. Nevertheless it is suggested that extrapolation from the circumstances of each individual person in each individual organization within a sector of each country’s economy can be easily achieved.

1. Bottom line value - a universal expectation

Value assessed by the amount of monetary profit directly attributable to the activity in question.

It is this value that is generally not recognised as being real or sufficient enough to take terminology needs seriously. The next two concepts of ‘value’ begin the development of a case that begs to differ.

2. Enhanced efficiency and effectiveness in critical communication

At every communication interface between human and human, human and machine and machine to machine there is risk. The communication can be effective or ineffective.

In a general situation where general language is used, the likelihood of arriving at a common understanding is relatively even but the lack of importance for the consequences makes it unnecessary that either party should take special care over their choice of words. The risk is low and humans are especially adept at using general language for general purposes and dealing with any ambiguities or nuances that might result.

However, In any situation, where advantage can be achieved by an effective communication of common understanding or harm can be suffered by a misunderstanding there is clearly a corresponding change in the consequences of the risk. This change can range from minor inconvenience to life threatening danger.

Once these potential consequences are known, value can begin to be gained by taking appropriate care to increase the likelihood of transferring a common understanding and reducing the likelihood of injurious misunderstanding. By providing a wider scope for the concept of terminology as developed below, ‘appropriate care’ here involves the application of the ‘science’ or ‘art’ involved in the application of terminological principles and practices.

3. Reduction of waste

Saving the time and effort wasted as a result of inaccurate, ambiguous or non-transparent terminology is related to increased effectiveness but requires a special mention because this form of harm is widely endemic yet goes largely unrecognised.

One problem for recognition by managers that unnecessary waste and damage is occurring can be that the damage and related cost tends to be in the nature of a steady trickle rather than a major disaster.

Another is that the damage is generally done at a time and distance far removed from the cause and either not recognized to be the cause or felt not to be worth following up even if it is.

Even when there are major disasters that could be the result of misunderstood terminology - people generally find someone or something else to blame. This will often be the organization or people who are in fact the victims of poor terminology work. Without any proof of the matter, it is not unlikely that some of the more spectacular failures for expensive computer software programs to meet complex needs of their customers so that investigation of this possibility would be a good recommendation for organization delivering the program. Better still, of course would the parties taking preventive action in the first place.

4. Individual and therefore subjective perception of value –

As with any other product, the subjective preferences, needs and expectations of the intended users of a terminology product should be identified and input at the planning stage of the design of the terminology product

Transparent, accurate, unambiguous and terminologically crafted and used (TAUT) vocabularies, thesauri and glossaries for specialised language use.

’Terminologically crafted’ is used to differentiate use of the principles and practices of terminology work in the production processes. This is as opposed to ‘terminology’ produced without any knowledge of these specialised principles and practices. This unspecialised method of producing terms and definitions which can be referred to as ‘word-smithing’ will generally result in a variety of errors in concept description – they may be inaccurate, ambiguous, non-transparent or a combination of all three.

’Terminologically used’ is included to emphasise the need to be aware that, where one person has formed the terminology which is subsequently used by the writer of a communication, it is important for the writer of the communication also to be aware of the principles and practices of terminology.

Terminographically sound documentation for presentation and representation of information involving use of specialised languages.

Computationally interoperable programs for transfer of language based data between previously autonomous developers or users

The value derived from these three aspects that can be assured through careful implementation of the related standards emanating from ISO/TC 37 is not restricted to their individual contribution.

Incremental value can be achieved by the extent to which the addition of each aspect of terminology work is able to progressively benefit from iterative reflexive contribution from the others. That is to say, terminology can be seen as a product of any of these three individually but a product of all three combined will provide the highest quality and continual improvement as a natural result.

This paper suggests that any critical communication can achieve the same value if the same TAUT terminology work principles and practices are employed as part of the process

A communication is critical if it carries significant risk.

Where necessary, risk can be assessed for significance by balancing the likelihood of the desired or undesired event occurring against the level of beneficial or detrimental consequences that could result from the event occurring

Examples of critical communication i.e. where significant risk is assumed to exist, include

communication along and within all organisational supply chains, external and internal
government documentation for public dissemination
product, process or systems standards
contract making, writing and performing
work instructions and working to them

Note: legislation is not provided as an example of critical communication even though it is of course highly critical. The reason is that legislative terminology work is fundamentally different from general terminology work. And is not addressed in this paper.

An inherent risk in critical communication comes from the likelihood of it containing special use of language that may or may not form part of a formal terminology.

Whatever form the special language takes it can be managed with greater confidence that the desired result will occur if a terminological approach has been adopted for crafting the communication as against the general language based, lexicographical approach that is almost universally adopted.

Even where there is no special or technical language in the communication there are aspects of terminology work that will reduce the risk of misunderstanding
arising from the use of general language

The standards for the management of terminology work and the standards for the management of quality

The diagram is intended to be applicable to any organization and will described moving from left to right.

The shaded disc indicates that benefit is to be obtained by application of both sets of standards to the critical communication needs of any organization and that applications flowing out from those activities appearing as the second disc and third disc are parts of the whole.

The arrow between the two sets of standardized requirements and guidelines indicate the reflexive nature of their inter-relationship.

The quality management system is a mass of critical communication that will benefit from a terminological approach to its development and use at every interface.

The quality management system is as applicable to the process that implements the TAUT terminological handling of critical communication as it is to any other system, process or product.

At this first level therefore, the value adding result is continual improvement of user focused TAUT critical communication throughout any organization and out to its interested parties.

The second, central disc indicates one form of critical communication that will apply to any organization and for which value will be clearly provided if it is managed with the highest level of assurance of effectiveness for purpose.

Specifications are a form of critical communication. If an organization is managing its quality using an ISO 9001:2000 approach and managing its critical communication to be TAUT using the ISO TC37 approach, it will have process specifications that assure this management of critical communication at every interface.

The arrow between the shaded disc and this second section is intended to indicate that feedback from the effectiveness of the TAUT communication process specifications add to the improvement of the dual management tools in the first section which in turn improves the TAUT communication process specifications.

The final disc indicates two forms of critical communication that applies to manufactured goods.

First, the specifications that come from customers, legislators and others including the organization itself. These have to be received and interpreted at each interface between the formation of the specification and the delivery of the goods. This flow is essential to customer satisfaction.

Secondly, information that is supplied to the customer with the goods is very often a critical communication.

Both of these can benefit from effective TAUT communication specifications and the arrow once again indicates that feedback will have reflexive beneficial results.

Of course, where the organization is in the business of producing terminology products the added value from application of a TAUT terminological approach is that much higher.

A strange shortsightedness seems to pervade top management of most organizations.

They recognise that high resource input is necessary for production of high quality grade goods and services. However, the same managers seem to believe that little or no input of resource is necessary for production of high quality grade of information content in critical communication including its use.

A major contributor to this situation is the general lack of awareness or cavalier attitude to the costs of low quality grade of information content in critical communication.

There is no doubt that overcoming this situation is among the most important remaining challenges for the terminology community.

The science is ready for use it is a matter of making it so obviously cost effective for top management that they will demand their share of the benefits!

The message can be put quite simply

The classic chart that establishes the value of preventive action “costs of quality” or the extent of “gain for pain” applies as much to management of TAUT critical communication and its use as to management of quality

The “gain” can be substantial whereas the “pain” in adopting a commitment for managing TAUT critical communication and its use across and beyond the organization is little more than initial training, standards and software

Addition of the separate “pain” of a complementary quality management system provides the fully focused and continuing “gain” to be achieved from the iterative and reflexive interaction described in the diagram on page 4.

Work continues to be done to produce the sales package needed to turn top management skepticism of cost effectiveness of terminology work benefits into commitment. There are encouraging signs that these efforts are heading towards landing the hundredth monkey that is needed ti turn the tide.

The results of attestations made on the basis of these standards can provide confidence to others that a person or organization’s claims of conformity to requirements are reliable.

This can be especially important in today’s tendency towards globalization of trade and movement of people.

The organization that has implemented systems and processes or has people or products that conform to the requirements of specification standards can make their own declarations of conformity based on these standards or they can, if necessary for business reasons, obtain third party certification of their conformity to the requirements of the appropriate specification standards.

There is soon to be a new standard to manage and control first party (self) declarations of conformity to requirements by an organization with supporting documentation.

There are then standards that certification bodies have to comply with when providing their third party conformity assessment services e.g. in the form of

certification of product conformity or
certification of management system conformity, or
certification of the competence of persons,

There is then a standard that the authoritative body that accredits the certification bodies has to comply with when assessing their conformity to their standards

Finally there is a code of practice standard that both certification bodies and accreditation bodies can follow to add to their credibility by forming peer groups based on assessment.

*Conformity Assessment Policy Committee of the International Organization for Standardization.