W. Edwards Deming said, "In the opinion of many people in industry, there is nothing more important for the transaction of business than the use of operational definitions. It could also be said that nothing is more neglected." Operational definitions allow everyone to come to the same conclusion about a specification, instruction, measurement or regulation.
He went further with his own explanation of "operational definitions" leaving no doubt about how to arrive at terminology that participants in a business system could use to communicate.
Russ has a good start with today's post. I still find myself pausing when I attempt to describe my desktop Radio application, my public web site, my local web site and the desktop where I enter my posts. What should we call each of these things - or, more likely, where are these things defined - a place I'm sure I overlooked!?!
