English Advice; Correct Title for document descriping the development of electronics HW

I think "SMPS Design Journal" is good, although a journal is usually something that grows (or has grown) serially.

A few possibilities: SMPS Design Guide SMPS Development Journal SMPS Design Specification

-- Joe Legris

Most of the places that do this at all, that I am aware of, describe the document as a "Circuit Description". If you're trying for traceability you'll want to have a requirements document, and you'll want to make sure that you mention each requirement in your circuit description, and show how you're going to meet it.

If the circuit is large, or if the audiences are going to be different, you may split out the testing portion into a Design Validation Report, where you put your descriptions of the tests and their results, and a matrix showing all the requirements, how you tested for them, and what their results were.

Hi Klaus, I hope you'll take this advice in the spirit in which it's given:

A lot of english writing by non-native english folks, especially technical writing, is just plain unusable. The intent is there, there are nouns and verbs, but quite often really critical words get omitted. For example, see most any tech writing from Asia.

Now I know that many Asian languages have no concept of the "article" and other semi-redundant joining words. And the word order is different. So when they write in English, there's a natural tendency to omit and/or shuffle those words. But it makes writing out of technical procedures anywhere from somewhat ambiguous to totally unintelligible. For example, the sentence:

"The machine operator places the PC board face-up in the jig using the NEMA rated gloves with anti-static wires connected to a 1.2 megohm resistor"

might end up as:

"resistor 1.2 megohm connecting glove wire jig PC plank locale glorious man"

Which might be *totally* intelligible to someone used to the original language, but is of no use in an English ISO 9000 context !!!!

Here's a paragraph from a MP3 player manual:

"ABNORMITY DISPOSAL:

So IMHO please have a native English reader and writer look over a lot more than the title of the document. Better yet, have them walk thru the steps and see how many things they do wrong.

On the other hand, if this is just a documeent to satisfy some "we mush have eighteen centimeters thick of document per employee workstation", forget what I just said.

Actually, there's a lot of English technical writing by native speakers that's totally unintelligible, too (admit it -- you could replace "English" with "Danish" and say the same thing, couldn't you?)

Yes, or a _really good_ English speaker, of which you guys have a lot.

"Journal" implies periodical publication, in customary English usage - derived from the French for "daily", or "newspaper"

"Construction" applies more to assembly than to design.

Hence I would suggest " SMPS Design Manual", or "SMPS Design Handbook"

It's a good idea when translating any technical document to have it proof-read by a native speaker who has some technical expertise. This helps to expunge such phrases as "this apparatus is designed with a pure technic", which is meaningless in English. I have seen that in an English technical manual for some German equipment.

With further clarification that "Manual" implies descriptions of a particular SMPS or line of SMPS's, for which then you should presumably have a model number or range of model numbers;

"Handbook" implies explanation of principles of design for SMPS's in general or SMPS's of a particular type, which then would not be limited to a particular SMPS or line of SMPS's.

John Perry

I'd give it a project number. Then you end up with

E301X24 System Requirements E301X24 System Specification E301X24 Electronic Design E301X24 Electrical Design E301X24 Mechanical Design E301X24 Electronic Assembly E301X24 Electrical Assembly E301X24 Mechanical Assembly E301X24 Electronic Test E301X24 Electrical Test

and so on

It's sort of obvious that they are documents so you don't really need to say they are, just say what they are.....

Make it up so it makes sense in terms of the way you really think a project should progress from the beginning to the end. I'm sure you do that already.

DNA

Oh, collectively its called the 'E301X24 Manual'.

DNA

No, collectively it is called the E301X24 design documentation.

Anything called the "Manual" can end up in the customer's hands, and if you have done your documentation properly the documents will include stuff that you don't want the ciustomer to see - like "marketing insisted that we built the scanning circuits into the rack to keep the camera head as small as possible, and the scan waveforms have been 6dB noisier ever since".

Hello Klaus,

In most medical electronics companies where I worked this would have been called "SMPS Design Procedure".

It would most likely be filed and assigned a document number under the category "Standard Operating Procedures" or "SOP" in short. It would also receive a Revision level that is bumped up whenever someone modifies this document.

Good suggestions from all you guys, thanks :-)

"SMPS Design Manual" sounds like the best option to me.

The idea of letting a native speaker proof the document is good and since we are a worldwide company I'll let one of my forign collegues look it over.

I can only agree that non-native users of the english (or any other) language sometimes use strange constructions both with respect to the grammar, but also spelling. I consider myself in the better half regarding mastering the english language, but at work the discussion came up what we should call this document. I would rarther get it right, so thats the reason for posting here at this NG.

As always commenting any misspelling/grammar-faults on my behalf are highly welcome :-)

Thanks

Klaus

That would make me interested in reading it.

Yes. Otherwise you may be the butt of jokes on late night TV.