Reasons to avoid using acronyms

I started working in government about a year ago. The first thing that hit me about this new world was that I didn’t speak the language. I struggled to follow a conversation.

There were so many acronyms and abbreviations that I was saying “what does that mean?” in most conversations. I felt like I was interrupting, ruining the flow of the update or meeting, and getting on people’s nerves.

I now work on a joint team which is made up of people from the Department for Work and Pensions and NHS Digital. One of our first barriers as a team was understanding what each other were talking about. Literally. We didn’t know each other’s acronyms and abbreviations, and they were everywhere. Tripping us all up, 3 letters at a time.

Based on my own experience starting in government and those of forming a team between 2 organisations that heavily rely on acronyms and abbreviations, I’ve put together some reasons to avoid them.

1. They’re not plain English.

Plain English is fundamental to content design. We never stray from it in our public facing services. It helps to make things clear, simple and quick. It would be great to show each other the same considerations that we show the people who use our services.

2. They make life harder for new people and slow them down.

When you start somewhere new there’s a lot to learn — getting to grips with a different culture, getting up to speed with projects, getting to know new people. Learning a new language shouldn’t be one of those things.

3. They can make people who don’t know them feel excluded or silly.

When you’re part of an organisation it’s assumed that you know what certain acronyms and abbreviations mean. I must have asked what “OED” stood for about 10 times (it stands for Operational Excellence Division, in case you’re wondering). My colleagues were very patient with me but I was embarrassed to keep asking.

This happened a lot when the joint team started working together. We’d keep apologising to each other for asking again when we knew we’d already been told.

The fact that we were all on the receiving end of not understanding was key to the team avoiding acronyms. Nobody wants anyone else to feel daft.

4. They don’t help to create an open culture where people feel they can ask questions.

A major part of a content designer’s job is to ask a lot of questions. In user centred design we pride ourselves on curiosity. We need it to design services that work for the people that need them. Asking questions is vital for a team to function well, and to be open and clear with each other.

When you feel embarrassed that you have to keep asking what things mean, you stop asking.

5. They leak out to the public.

I’ve often heard that acronyms and abbreviations are only internal, that “we” know what they mean, and that the public don’t have to deal with them.

“JSA” (which stands for Jobseeker’s Allowance) has 15 million Google results. One of the department’s more obscure abbreviations “WRAG” (this is the “work related activity group”) has 263,000 Google results. They aren’t staying inside departments.

6. They’re an easy, but unhelpful way to name things.

One of the worst things about government acronyms and abbreviations is that when someone tells you what they stand for, it’s not descriptive so you don’t remember it. It’s no easier to remember what it stands for than to remember the acronym.

It’s hard work to give something a proper descriptive name as you have to work out exactly what it does and why. You have to carefully consider what problem it’s solving. It’s much easier to use an acronym that stands for 2, 3 or 4 nondescript words (Single Operating Platform and the totally unrelated Single Health Operating Platform- I’m looking at you). This easy naming strategy usually ends in the user having no idea what it is, or where to find it.

What we can all do to change this

The main reason that people give for using acronyms and abbreviations is that it’s quicker than saying or writing it in full. So, if someone uses an acronym or abbreviation — ask what it means. Every time. Even if you know what it means. Someone else might not know but not want to ask. Do the same for emails, slack, and any other ways you communicate.

We can take away the one perceived benefit and help make things more clear and inclusive. Let’s change the culture, one question at a time.