Chapter 4 Addiction to acronyms
I started my career in IT at NAB, as a TCO in FES, which looked after NAB's ATM and POS network.
Did you understand that sentence? My guess is, no. You may have deciphered some of those acronyms and abbreviations, but probably not all of them.
Now, let me rephrase it without all the shorthand: I started my career in information technology at National Australia Bank, as a trainee computer operator in front-end systems, which looked after National Australia Bank's automatic teller machines and point of sale network.
Which is easier to understand? The second explanation without acronyms, I expect.
A lot of acronyms we are familiar with today start in a technical environment such as information technology (or IT).
In the early years of my work in technology, for example, everything was about RAM (random-access memory) and DOS (disk operating system). Then we moved to Y2K — remember that? — the Year2000 bug or millennium bug, a coding problem that was projected to create havoc in computer networks all around the world at the beginning of the year 2000. That amounted to, well, nothing.
After this, projects all became about implementing SAP (systems applications products) and LMS (learning management systems). Now we have CX (customer experience), UX (user experience) and even EX (employee experience).
The list of acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms never ends! It's confusing and at times overwhelming.
In fact, let's explore what we mean by acronyms, ...