
The Heilmeier Catechism (1977) - rfreytag
https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/heilmeier-catechism
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fermienrico
I think everyone can learn from "Articulate your objectives using absolutely
no jargon."

I love this fact very much. Jargon is necessary when publishing scientific
papers or presenting technical material. When it comes to marketing, the
moment there is jargon - I smell bullshit (even if it isn't). Honest, truthful
marketing is so much more valuable and impactful. Reminds of the stark
difference between how Steve Jobs spoke and how Satya Nadella speaks. Every
time I hear Satya, I feel like I am listening to a pre-recorded HR blessed
robot.

~~~
seanmcdirmid
Jargon are just words, abstractions. I mean, even the term HR is considered a
jargon term if you aren’t familiar with the concept.

Nadella isn’t speaking to you, but to a bunch of shareholders, his messaging
is extremely optimized for that target audience (I learned this when working
for MS). Likewise, Jobs was talking to you, his messaging was similarly
optimized to a different audience.

~~~
BadThink6655321
Yes, jargon is just words. But words can clarify or confuse, enlighten or
darken, convey truth or lies, exaggerate or be accurate.

As someone famous once said, “if you can’t explain it so your grandmother gets
it, then you don’t understand it.”

~~~
seanmcdirmid
Just because you don’t doesn’t mean you can’t. Again, you speak and explain
for your intended audience, who is often not your grandma.

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jeffalyanak
I think that good researchers and engineers already ask themselves some form
or subset of these questions but I'm perhaps somewhat morbidly curious about
those who don't even consider the heart of what these questions beg at when
approaching a project.

So many people doing research or building software which is doomed to crash
headlong into a fundamental problems that everyone else saw coming.

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sonnyblarney
Most software is not 'research' it's just 'building stuff'. Like an accounts
payable portal. Or script to analyze and process support calls. Or to manage
sales relationships.

~~~
jeffalyanak
And that type of project has its own set of fundamental problems to consider.

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userbinator
"Catechism" \--- not a word one regularly encounters these days. I've seen it
used most commonly in late 19th/early 20th century books. One recent example:

[https://archive.org/details/newcatechismele01hawkgoog](https://archive.org/details/newcatechismele01hawkgoog)

~~~
booleandilemma
I thought of the catechism of the catholic church.

~~~
analog31
Indeed, and the published Catechism that I've seen is presented in a question-
and-answer format, so maybe that's why this thing is called a "catechism" as
well.

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michaelsbradley
Q&A format is not an uncommon one for catechisms, but not normative. The two
universal catechisms of the Catholic Church (the first finalized in 1566, the
second in 1997) do not employ such a format:

(1566)
[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015038914233;vi...](https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015038914233;view=2up;seq=6)

(1997)
[http://scborromeo.org/ccc/ccc_toc.htm](http://scborromeo.org/ccc/ccc_toc.htm)

The word "catechism" is ultimately derived from the Greek word κατηχήθης
(transliterated — katécheó), meaning "instruction". See Luke 1:4:

[http://biblehub.com/interlinear/apostolic/luke/1.htm](http://biblehub.com/interlinear/apostolic/luke/1.htm)

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foobiekr
I have used this at work for many, many years to answer questions about
projects. Until very recently, I would basically use it kind of indirectly so
that people wouldn't catch on and realize I was repeating myself, but I
actually think that is a good thing and have stopped even trying to mask it.

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todd8
I feel like this is missing from many of the most important projects
(especially big government projects, e.g. war on drugs, war on poverty, war on
terror, inner city education). I’d like to see an honest application on these
points. Especially,

> What are the mid-term and final “exams” to check for success?

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pjc50
Rather similar to the Five Ws, but in the conditional future tense.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Ws](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Ws)

~~~
Animats
One once saw those on the walls of newspaper city rooms.

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mannykannot
Has someone found the manuscript of a lost Robert Ludlum novel?

~~~
ams6110
I got a chuckle from that comment. It definitely sounds like a title that
Ludlum would use.

