Another terminology question?

["Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>]

Tammy VanBoening wonders: <<One of these modules is a report generator. This
module term is used on some of the menu options in the application, but when
you actually get into the module, the option to generate the report is
labeled "Run Report". So, when I am writing to this module, I have a hung
jury of SMEs - half the SMEs want Generating a Report as the module title,
the other half wants Running a Report.>>

"Running" describes the underlying mechanism (you run the software), whereas
"generating" focuses on the user's perception of the task--which is where
you should be focusing. However, it's a $10 word for a $1 concept.

When you have two groups deadlocked on choosing between two words, consider
thinking outside the box and proposing a third word. The most common term
for this activity (based on the many manuals I've read) is "Creating a
report", and that's what I'd recommend using.

--Geoff Hart, geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada 

Vah! Denuone Latine loquebar? Me ineptum. Interdum modo elabitur. (Oh! Was I
speaking Latin again? Silly me. Sometimes it just sort of slips
out.)--Anonymous

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