Attachment J.8_PMO Formatting and Style Guide.doc

Comptroller of the Currency Office of Management

Business Relations and

Project Management Office PMO <project acronym> Document Formatting and Style Guide July 16, 2010 Version 1.8 Document Control Project Name <project name> Project Acronym <project acronym> Document Title <project acronym> Document Formatting and Style Guide Document Date July 16, 2010 Document Version 1.8 Client Organization Business Relations and Project Management Office (PMO) Primary Client Contact <primary client contact>

Primary Author Glenn Cadoret Contributing Authors <con. author 1> [(contractor)], . . . <con. author n> PMO Project Manager <PMO project manager>, <PMO PM team lead>

Supporting Contractor <company name>

Contract Number <contract number>

Task Order Number <task order number>

Deliverable Number <deliverable number in the form 0#.00#>

Version Name Management Review Version | Quality Assurance Review Version | PMO-Customer Review Version | Final Version

Open Text Document Category <Open Text document category>

Open Text Document Type <Open Text document type>

Open Text Document Number <Open Text document number>

Table of Contents

Introduction

Document Formatting, Layout, and Branding

22.1 Word Styles and Proper Formatting

22.1.1 The Normal and Normal Sans Serif Styles

22.1.2 The Body Text Style

32.1.3 The Title Page Styles

32.1.4 The Page Heading Style

32.1.5 The Heading Styles (Section Headings)

32.1.5.1 The Heading 9 Style

32.1.6 The Caption Above and Caption Below Styles

42.1.7 The Header and Footer Styles

42.1.8 The In-Line Heading Style

42.1.9 The In-Line Graphic Style

42.1.10 The Page Number Style

42.1.11 The TOC Styles

42.2 Word’s Hyphenation Feature

52.2.1 Preventing Hyphenation

52.3 Bookmarks

52.4 The Title Page

52.5 The Document Control Page

92.6 Page Titles

92.7 The Table of Contents

92.8 Section Headings

102.8.1 Page Breaks before Major Sections

112.9 Appendix Headings

112.10 Standard Header

122.11 Standard Footer

122.12 Page Numbers

132.13 Inserting an En Dash and Other Common Special Characters

142.14 Figure Captions and Numbers

152.15 Table Captions and Numbers

152.16 Formatting Vertical Lists

162.17 Cross References

Editorial Style

183.1 Acronym Definition and Use

193.2 Ampersands (&)

193.3 Capitalization

193.3.1 Capitalization in Body Text

203.3.2 Capitalization of Titles, and Headings

203.4 Ending Sentences with a Preposition

203.5 Indefinite Articles before Acronyms

203.6 Punctuating Vertical Lists

203.7 Serial Commas

203.8 Space after a Sentence

213.9 Trademark Designations

Word Tips

224.1 Adding Forward and Back Buttons to the Reviewing Toolbar

A-1Appendix A Acronyms

B-1Appendix B Characteristics of Document Quality

List of Figures

4Figure 2–1 Word’s “Hyphenation” Window

Figure 2–2 Word’s “Paragraph” Window Figure 2–3 Word’s “Symbol” Window

List of Tables 6Table 2–1 Suggested Document Control Metadata

Table 2–2 Sample Table Caption

1 Introduction

The <project acronym> Document Formatting and Style Guide provides practical guidance to authors, editors, reviewers, and all others involved in the development of documents for the Business Relations and Project Management Office (PMO). The guide provides guidance in several ways:

Direct Example The guide itself is laid out and formatted the way a formal PMO document should be laid out and formatted. As a result, users of the guide can understand how their documents should look by looking at the guide.

Detailed Formatting Instructions To go beyond direct example, the guide provides detailed instructions on a variety of formatting issues—from pager headers, to section headings, to captions, to vertical lists—explaining exactly how to format elements of the document. Because the same formatting result can sometimes be achieved in different ways, consistency in how elements are formatted helps simplify document maintenance within and across documents.

Style Definitions Properly defined and consistently applied text styles are the cornerstone for properly formatting a document. With a few exceptions, the guide defines all of the text styles needed in a PMO document. The guide also describes where particular styles should be used in a document.

Guidance on Editorial Style This guide provides guidance on editorial style based on the OCC’s style manual and The Chicago Manual of Style, the two reference preferred by the OCC for editorial style. Most of the editorial style issues addressed in this guide are issues where the two preferred manuals conflict or allow for choices on a given matter.

Guidance on Word Features While the guide is not intended to be a reference for Microsoft Word, it does describe Word features that are important to proper formatting.

This guide is organized into three major sections. Section 2 focuses on practical matters related to document formatting and layout, section 3 focuses on editorial style, and section 4 presents tips on using Microsoft Word 2003.

2 Document Formatting, Layout, and Branding Consistent formatting within a document gives a document a professional look and feel and an overall sense of quality. Consistent formatting and layout across multiple documents from an organization creates a familiar look and feel that allows documents to be instantly recognized as a product of that organization. That is, it creates a brand for the organization.

This section provides practical guidance on how to consistently format and lay out documents so that every document looks professional and helps to establish a brand for the publishing organization.

2.1 Word Styles and Proper Formatting

Microsoft Word has a feature known as styles that allows publishers to easily format documents in a consistent, professional manner. There are styles for paragraph, character, list, and table formatting. Proper style definitions and their consistent application to the text in a document are absolutely key to proper document formatting.

A full discussion of Microsoft styles and all of their features is beyond the scope of this guide. Publishers should take the time to familiarize themselves with Microsoft styles. Information about styles is available in Word’s online help, at various sites on the web, and in many of the better books on Microsoft Word.

This guide does describe the definitions for the most common styles used in PMO documents and where they should be applied. Publishers should take the time to familiarize themselves with these style definitions and their proper application.

2.1.1 The Normal and Normal Sans Serif Styles

The “Normal” and “Normal Sans Serif” styles are basic styles upon which most other styles are based. Generally speaking, a document will not have text formatted with either of these styles. (One notable exception is the text on the document control page.)

2.1.2 The Body Text Style

The “Body Text” style is the core document style and should be used to format the bulk of the text in a document. They style is defined to fully justify text and properly space paragraphs without the need for inserting blank lines.

2.1.3 The Title Page Styles

Formatting of a document’s title page is done with four separate styles: Title Page 1—4. In combination, these styles provide the right mix of colors, sizes, and justifications for formatting a title page. Generally speaking, other than the title page, these styles will not be used anywhere else in a document. (See section 2.4 for information about formatting a title page.)

2.1.4 The Page Heading Style

The “Page Heading” style is typically used for headings on pages outside the body of a document, like the document control page or the first page of the table of contents. That said, it is also appropriate to use it at the top of other pages when it makes sense.

The “Page Heading” style definition automatically inserts a page break before the text it is applied to. Eliminate the page break when necessary.

2.1.5 The Heading Styles (Section Headings)

Heading styles 1—8 should be used to format the section headings of a document. These styles will automatically generate section numbers before the text they are applied to, and they will properly set the color, size, and type style (i.e., bold or italic) for each heading. (Note that there is no differentiation in the formatting between styles 5 through 8, since the need for headings to that level are uncommon. If necessary, publishers can modify these style definitions to differentiate these headings.)

Text that is formatted with a heading style will automatically appear in the table of contents and can be referred to with a Word cross reference. (See section 2.17 for information on Word cross references.)

2.1.5.1 The Heading 9 Style

Use the “Heading 9” style to format the title of an appendix. The “Heading 9” style will automatically generate the word “Appendix” and an appendix letter before the text it is applied to.

Like other heading styles, text formatted with the “Heading 9” style will appear in the table of contents and can be referred to with a Word cross reference.

2.1.6 The Caption Above and Caption Below Styles

Use the “Caption Above” style to format captions placed above the captioned object (like tables). Use the “Caption Below” style to format captions placed below the captioned object (like pictures and diagrams). These style definitions will automatically adjust the space between the caption and the captioned object and between the caption and the text before or after the caption.

2.1.7 The Header and Footer Styles

Use the “Header” style to format text in page headers and the “Footer” style to format text in page footers.

Sections 2.10 and 2.11 discuss standard formatting for headers and footers.

2.1.8 The In-Line Heading Style

The “In-Line Heading” style is defined in two colors: black and red. Use the In-Line Heading style to introduce a paragraph that benefits from more than a bullet to introduce it. Do not use punctuation—colons, hyphens, dashes, etc.—after an in-line heading. Avoid using the “In-Line Heading” in combination with bullets. One graphic device is usually sufficient.

2.1.9 The In-Line Graphic Style

Format pictures, charts, diagrams, and any graphic in the body of your text with the “In-Line Graphic” style. This style will center the graphic and properly space the graphic and the caption.

2.1.10 The Page Number Style

Do not use it. Use the “Footer” style to format the page number (see 2.1.7).

2.1.11 The TOC Styles

The nine table of contents (TOC) styles have been defined to give the document’s table of contents a look that is consistent with the body of the document. They Word will automatically apply these styles to the table of contents when it is generated. One should rarely—or never—have to modify a TOC style.

2.2 Word’s Hyphenation Feature

When using fully justified text in documents, Word’s hyphenation feature should be turned on to limit noticeable gaps in the typesetting. Turn this feature on by selecting “Tools → Language → Hyphenation . . .” from the menu bar. The following window will appear:

Figure 2–1 Word’s “Hyphenation” Window Make sure “Automatically hyphenate document” is checked. “Hyphenate words in CAPS” should also be checked, but even if it is unchecked, the chance of it impacting a document is small. With fully justified text, the hyphenation zone setting essentially has no effect and can be kept at the 0.25” default value. The limit on consecutive hyphens should be set to “No limit.”

Word’s ability to fully justify text has improved with each version. In Word 2003, there are usually very few problems with fully justified text. But one common situation is when a very long URL is used in a sentence. For example:

Support information can be found at http://www-306.ibm.com/software/rational/support/contact.html?rcss=rtladadev.

Avoid situations like this by rewriting the URL so it is introduced with a colon. For example:

Support information can found at the following URL:

http://www-306.ibm.com/software/rational/support/contact.html?rcss=rtladadev.

2.2.1 Preventing Hyphenation

Generally speaking, hyphenation in titles, headings, table of contents entries, etc. is undesirable. The style definitions for those types of text have been set so that they will not hyphenate when Word’s hyphenation feature is turned on. Hyphenation should also be turned off on the document control page.

You can prevent hyphenation of a single word by selecting the word and typing ATL-r-u. In the “Language” pop-up window, check “Do not check spelling or grammar.” The selected word should no longer be hyphenated.

2.3 Bookmarks

[Content of this section TBD.]

2.4 The Title Page

[Content of this section TBD.]

2.5 The Document Control Page

The document control page provides a single location for document metadata, i.e., data about the document. The page is formatted with the page title “Document Control Page” (see section 2.6). The remainder of the page consists of metadata descriptions and values. Each line on the document control page should have tabs placed at 2 1/8 and 2 3/4 inches from the margin. The tab location can be adjusted if necessary. Metadata descriptions are formatted with the In-Line Heading Black style. Group similar metadata together by inserting an extra line between items.

To properly format the metadata description and its value, type the description, a tab, and the value; format the line with the Normal style; and then format the description with the In-Line Heading Black style.

There are no hard-and-fast rules about what metadata to include on the document control page. Publishers are encouraged to exercise their good judgment. Table 2–1 suggests what metadata to include given certain circumstances.

Table 2–1 Suggested Document Control Metadata

Metadata values that are used other places in the document—like a project name used in a header—should be bookmarked and then cross referenced from the other places they are used. Because of this, take care when editing metadata values, otherwise you may inadvertently clobber a bookmark. (See section 2.3 for a discussion of bookmarks.)

In older documents it was common to include a description of changes or version history on the document control page or right after it. Avoid both of these. Descriptions of changes are rarely complete or detailed enough to be useful. If it is important to detail changes between versions of a document, create a “delta version” of the document using Word’s document compare feature.

Version histories are difficult to maintain and are of little use to the average reader. Instead, rely on the features of repositories like SharePoint or Open Text to properly maintain version history.

The document control page for a typical contract deliverable would appear as follows:

Document Control Page

Project Name <project name>

Project Acronym <project acronym>

Document Title [<project acronym>]< <short title>> Document Date <document date>

Document Version <version number>

Client’s Organization <client’s organization>

Primary Client Contact <primary client contact>

Primary Author <primary author>

Contributing Author <con. author 1> [(contractor)], . . . <con. author n>

PMO Project Manager <PMO project manager>, <PMO PM team lead>

Supporting Contractor <company name>

<company address>

Contract Number <contract number>

Task Order Number <task order number>

Deliverable Number <deliverable number in the form 0#.00#>

Version Name Management Review Version | Quality Assurance Review Version | PMO-Customer Review Version | Final Version

Open Text Document Category <Open Text document category>

Open Text Document Type <Open Text document type>

Open Text Document Number <Open Text document number>

2.6 Page Titles

Pages between the title page and the first page of the document’s main body should include a page title at the start of different types of content. Page titles that typically appear in a document are “Document Control,” “Table of Contents,” “List of Figures,” and “List of Tables.” If the document does not require a given page title, leave it out. For example, if a document does not contain any figures, making a list of figures unnecessary, do not include a “List of Figures” page title. Publishers may add additional page titles when necessary.

“Document Control” should always be the first page title after the title page, followed by “Table of Contents.” The order for subsequent page titles is left to the discretion of the publisher.

Page titles are always formatted with the Page Title style.

2.7 The Table of Contents

Include a table of contents in the document right after the document control page. The table of contents should start on a new page with “Table of Contents” at the top of the page. Format “Table of Contents” with the “Page Heading” style.

Use the following field code to generate the table of contents: { TOC \h \o \u \w \* MERGEFORMAT }. If the heading styles are properly applied to all section headings, including appendix headings, then this code should properly generate a table of contents.

As an example, see this document’s table of contents on page ii.

2.8 Section Headings

Section headings consist of a section number and a section title:

<section number> <title>

1 Introduction

2.3.1 Technical Approach Details

Sections are numbered using a hierarchical numbering scheme: 1, 1.1, 1.1.1, etc. The formatting applied to the section heading depends on the level of the section in the hierarchy. Generally, headings at the top of the hierarchy have a larger font and are distinguished with color or a bold typeface.

To properly format section headings, use one of the eight heading styles, “Heading 1” through “Heading 8.” (“Heading 9” is reserved for appendix headings.) If heading styles are properly applied, Word will generate the section number automatically, the level-specific formatting for the heading will be correct, the heading will automatically appear in the table of contents, and it will be possible to refer to the section with a cross reference.

Note that major section numbers never have a trailing zero; it is section 1, not section 1.0, anymore than it would be section 1.1.0.

2.8.1 Page Breaks before Major Sections

The “Heading 1” style is defined so that it inserts a page break before the section, forcing major sections to always start on a new page. In shorter documents, starting major sections on a new page may not be desirable. To disable the automatic page break, select “Format → Styles and Formatting . . .” from the menu bar. In the “Styles and Formatting” window, find “Heading 1” in the list of styles, and select “Modify . . .” from its context menu. The “Modify Style” window will appear. Click the “Format” menu control in the bottom left corner and select “Paragraph . . .” In the “Paragraph” window, select the “Line and Page Breaks” tab, and then unselect the “Page break before” option. Click “OK” and “OK” again to save the change.

Figure 2–2 Word’s “Paragraph” Window

2.9 Appendix Headings

Appendices are labeled sequentially using a capital letter: A, B, C, etc. The complete header for the appendix consists of the word “Appendix,” followed by the letter label, followed by the title:

Appendix <capital letter> <title>

Appendix A Acronyms

Appendix B Address List

There is no punctuation between the letter and the title.

To properly format the appendix header, apply the “Heading 9” style to the title. Word will automatically generate the word “Appendix” and the proper letter. With the “Heading 9” style, the appendix will also show up in the table of contents and you can refer to it with a cross reference. (See Appendix A as an example.)

2.10 Standard Header

The standard header is used on every page except the title page. The standard header consists of two lines with the following items positioned and formatted as described:

1. The project acronym or name, if there is no acronym, on the first line, left justified, and formatted with the “Header” style

2. The document title or subtitle on the second line, left justified, and formatted with the “Header” style

3. The acronym for the client organization on the second line, right justified, and formatted with the “Header” style

In this document, all of the text in the header is generated automatically from bookmarks on the document control page (see sections 2.3 and2.5). The project name is generated from the projectName bookmark, the title from docTitle, and the client acronym from clientOrgAcronym. If you properly edit these bookmarks on the document control page, you will not have to make any edits to the headers in the document.

Deviate from the standard and adjust information in the header when it makes sense. For example, if you are creating an internal PMO document, then it probably does not make sense to have a client organization in the header. Instead, you might just want to replace it with “PMO.” In this example, it may also make sense to omit a project name.

2.11 Standard Footer

The standard footer is used on every page except the title page. The standard footer has the following items on a single line, positioned and formatted as described:

1. “Business Relations and Project Management Office,” left justified, formatted with the “Footer” style, and color set to dark red

2. The page number, centered and formatted with the “Footer” style

3. The document’s date, the word “Version,” and the document’s version number, right justified and formatted with the “Footer” style.

Top the footer with a single graphic line with width ½ point and colored dark red.

For guidance on page number style (i.e., Roman, Arabic, with or without section numbers, etc.), see section 2.12.

There are a number of methods for positioning items in the footer. This guide does not dictate the method, but does suggest using a center-aligned tab and right-aligned tab to position the page number and document date and version.

Use Word’s page number feature to automatically generate page numbers.

The document date on the document control page is bookmarked as “docDate.” For the document date in the footer, use a cross reference to the bookmark, that way the date in the footer will always match the date on the document control page.

See the footer on this page as an example of a properly formatted footer.

2.12 Page Numbers

Except for the title page, all pages have a page number in the footer in the center of the page.

Pages numbers on pages before the main body of the document, like the document control page or table of contents, are lower case Roman numerals, e.g., i, ii, iii.

Page numbers for pages in the main body of the document are Arabic numerals, e.g., 1, 2, 3.

Page numbers for appendices have the form:

<appendix letter>-<Arabic numeral>

Use Word’s page number formatting features to get the appendix letter and hyphen to appear before the page number. A section break before each appendix will be necessary to allow for proper formatting of the appendix page numbers. The first page of an appendix should always be page 1.

If the content of an appendix is from an external source and already contains page numbers, simply make the first page of the appendix a page with only the appendix header, number that page as described above, and then place the external content on following pages with its original numbering.

2.13 Inserting an En Dash and Other Common Special Characters

To insert an en dash (–), em dash (—), section symbol (§), or other common special character, select “Insert → Symbol . . .” from the tool bar. In the “Symbol” window, click the “Symbol” tab. Click the special character you want to insert, and then click the “Insert” button (see Figure 2–3).

Note that there are shortcut key sequences defined for most of the special characters. You can also directly insert the character by typing the shortcut key sequence.

If the special character you need appears somewhere else in the document or in another document, you can also simply cut and paste it.

Note that an en dash is longer than a hyphen, which is easily typed from the keyboard, and an em dash is longer than an en dash. An en dash is used in figure and table numbers. See Sections 2.14 and 2.15 for details about the structure and formatting of figure and table numbers.

Figure 2–3 Word’s “Symbol” Window

2.14 Figure Captions and Numbers

Place a caption below all figures. Format the entire caption with the “Caption Below” style. In the caption, include a figure number and short text describing the figure. The figure number should include the word “Figure” followed by the major section number in which the figure appears, followed by an en dash, followed by a one-up sequence number (starting with 1) that sequentially numbers all of the figures in the primary section:

Figure <primary section number>–<sequence number> <caption text> Primary section numbers and the sequence number should be formatted as Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, . . .). Use an en dash, not a hyphen, between the primary section number and the sequence number. Do not use any punctuation between the figure number and the caption: no colons, semi-colons, commas, periods, etc. Capitalize the description of the figure as you would a title.

See the caption for Figure 2–1 as an example.

If your heading styles are applied properly, you can generate the major section number with this Word field code: { STYLEREF 1 \s }. The sequence number can be generated with { SEQ Figure \* Arabic \s 1 }. You can get the correct field codes into your document by cutting and pasting a figure caption from this document, or you can enter them directly from the menu with Insert→Fields . . .

We use an en dash in figure and table numbers because en dashes are typically used to connect numbers (see Chicago §6.83).

2.15 Table Captions and Numbers

Tables should be captioned like figures (see section 2.14.), with the following differences:

1. Place the caption above the table

2. Format the caption with the “Caption Above” style

3. Use the word “Table” before the number in the caption

4. Use { SEQ Table \* Arabic \s 1 } to generate the sequence number.

See the caption on Table 2–2 as an example.

Table 2–2 Sample Table Caption

2.16 Formatting Vertical Lists

For information on punctuating vertical lists, see section 3.6.

When possible, introduce vertical lists with a complete sentence. Whether introducing the list with a complete or incomplete sentence, follow the introductory text with a colon—no semicolons or commas.

To format a bulleted or numbered list:

· Type the list into the document, one item per line, without entering bullets or numbers.

· Select all of the items in the list.

· Apply the Normal style.

· For a bulleted list, apply the Outline List-Bullet style. For an enumerated list, apply the Outline List-Number style. Do not use the List, List Bullet, List Continue, or List Number styles.

· Apply full justification to the items by clicking the icon on the formatting toolbar.

· To increase the indent level on an item, select the item and hit the tab key.

· To decrease the indent level on an item, select the item and hit the backspace key.

The Outline List styles will inert a bullet, number, or letter at 0.25” and set the text of the item at 0.5”.

If you want a blank line between the items in a list, format the items with the Body Text style instead of the Normal style before applying the Outline List style.

First sample list:

· Item 1

· Item 2

· Item 3

· Item 4

Second sample list:

· Item 1

· Item 1.1

· Item 1.1.1

· Item 2

· Item 3 Third sample list:

1. Item 1

a. Item 1.1

i. Item 1.2

2. Item 2

3. Item 3

2.17 Cross References

Always use Word’s cross reference feature to refer to sections, appendices, tables, and figures in the body text of the document. Using this feature will reduce the number of incorrect cross references, especially in documents undergoing a large number of revisions or documents with multiple authors. You can access the cross reference feature from “Insert → Reference → Cross-reference . . .”

Using just the section number or appendix letter in a cross reference is sufficient. For example, “See section 1.” or “See Appendix A.” rather than “See section 1 Introduction.” or “See Appendix A Acronyms.” However, either style is acceptable.

In cross references to sections, do not capitalize the word “section.” (See section 3.3 for additional guidance on capitalization.) Note that when using Word cross references to appendices, tables, and figures, capitalization of the words “Appendix,” ‘Table,” and “Figure” is, regrettably, unavoidable.

Word cross references do not update automatically. Printing the document will force an update, if your preferences are set properly. (Print to a PDF file to avoid wasting paper.) Closing and re-opening the document will also update the cross references. As part of the final check of a document, it is a good idea to search for “Error!” to find any dead cross references.

2.18 PMO Red

The specific color of red used in PMO documents for headings, graphic lines, and elsewhere is a custom color. The red, green, blue components for the color are red=128, green=0, and blue=0.

To set the specific color, choose “More colors . . .” from any color selection menu. When the “Colors” window opens, click the “Custom” tab and set “Color model:” to “RGB” and set the values for red, green, and blue.

Figure 2–3 Word’s “Colors” Window 3 Editorial Style The OCC has a style manual that can be found online at:

http://occnet/OCCnet/style1.asp The OCC style manual covers a number of editorial style issues, but much of it is devoted to defining acronyms. Still, it is a good first reference for editorial style. For matters it does not cover, it directs readers to consult the Chicago Manual of Style, probably the most complete style manual for United States English.

This section addresses some of the most common editorial style issues. Some of the issues included here are also clearly addressed in one of the style manuals and are only included for convenience or emphasis. Other issues are included because the other manuals (usually the Chicago Manual of Style) allow for multiple possibilities, and this guide decides the matter.

Where applicable, references to the OCC style manual and the Chicago Manual of Style have been included, so that readers can get further guidance on an issue.

3.1 Acronym Definition and Use

When defining and using acronyms, keep these guidelines in mind:

1. Define an acronym by placing it in parentheses after the term for which it stands.

2. Define acronyms in the body text of the document—do not define acronyms in titles, page headers, page footers, or section headings.

3. When possible, define an acronym before you use it. (The previous guideline may not make this possible, so it is sometimes okay for acronyms to appear in titles, page headers, page footers, and section headings before they are defined.)

4. When possible, do not define an acronym more than once. (In certain situations, when a document is compiled from a variety of sources and the time to publish is short, editors can allow for duplicate definitions.)

5. If the term for the acronym would not normally be capitalized, do not capitalize it when defining the acronym.

6. When an acronym is defined after the plural form of the term for which it stands, do not make the definition in the parentheses plural: “a dozen passport applications (PA)” and not “a dozen passport applications (PAs).”

7. After defining an acronym, make it plural, as appropriate, by adding an “s” with no apostrophe: “We processed a dozen POs today.”

8. Even after you have defined an acronym for a term, you may still opt to use the full term rather than the acronym. You may want to do this in situations where you want to reinforce the definition of the acronym in the reader’s mind or when the acronym is being used repeatedly to the point where it feels repetitive.

Note that the second guideline sets up situations where you might use an acronym before you define it, especially in document titles or section headings. It is correct to have a document title on a title page like CATS Functional Requirements Document. That title is preferable to Central Application Tracking System (CATS) Functional Requirements Document, even though the first title uses the acronym “CATS” before it is defined.

Definition of an acronym more than once happens most frequently in documents where multiple authors contribute content. Use extra care when editing those documents to eliminate multiple definitions. In some cases, like when documents contain appendices with content that has been created independently from the document, duplicate definitions may be unavoidable.

Using the full term for an acronym, even after the acronym has been defined, is acceptable, and it is sometimes a good strategy for reinforcing the meaning of unfamiliar acronyms.

3.2 Ampersands (&)

Unless there is a pressing space issue, avoid using ampersands.

3.3 Capitalization

For all the detailed rules in this area, see Chicago. More generally, remember the following key rules.

3.3.1 Capitalization in Body Text

In general, capitalization of nouns and adjectives in body text is limited to proper nouns and adjectives. Words that merely seem to be important because of their context should not be capitalized. So if you are writing a section about how the “application server” works, it is just that: an “application server” and not an “Application Server.”

Words that are capitalized in titles or headings should not be capitalized in body text unless they are proper nouns or adjectives, or unless you are making a literal reference to the title or heading. For example, consider the heading: “Starting the Application Server.” It would be correct to write:

In the section “Starting the Application Server,” we discussed the various methods to start the application server.

It is also correct to capitalize literal references to labels on components of a graphical user interface. So if there is a button labeled, “Click Here to Continue,” it would be correct to write:

When you are finished, click the “Click Here to Continue” button and wait for the next page to appear.

Generally speaking, we treat roles as titles and consider them proper nouns, so it is correct to capitalize terms such as Project Manager or Requirements Analyst.

3.3.2 Capitalization of Titles, and Headings

Use headline style when capitalizing a document’s titles and headings. See Chicago §8.167 for the details on headline-style capitalization.

3.4 Ending Sentences with a Preposition

Despite what your high school teachers told you, it is okay to end a sentence with a preposition.

3.5 Indefinite Articles before Acronyms

Select the indefinite article (“a” or “an”) before an acronym based on whether the acronym is usually spoken phonetically as a word or spoken as a series of letters. For example, the acronym for reduction in force (RIF) is usually spoken as a word, so one would write, “A RIF became necessary when . . .” and not, “An RIF became necessary when . . .” But the acronym for return on investment (ROI) is usually spoken as a series of letters, so one would write, “An ROI of 15% is . . .” and not, “A ROI of 15% is . . .”

3.6 Punctuating Vertical Lists

3.7 Serial Commas

The comma before the conjunction between the last two elements in a list is known as a serial or series comma (see Chicago §6.19). While optional, its use is strongly suggested by Chicago, as it can sometimes avoid ambiguity. PMO documents should always use a serial comma.

3.8 Space after a Sentence

Put one space after the end of a sentence, not two. Professionally printed books, newspapers, and magazines have one space after the end of a sentence (see Chicago §6.11 and §6.13).

3.9 Trademark Designations

There is no legal requirement to include trademark symbols (® or ™) with brand names (see Chicago §8.162). Leave them out, as they are invariably forgotten in one place or another and lead to inconsistency in the document.

4 Word Tips

4.1 Adding Forward and Back Buttons to the Reviewing Toolbar

[You want to do this so when editing, if you follow a hyperlink to test it, you can quickly get back to where you were in the document.] Appendix A Acronyms

Appendix B Characteristics of Document Quality When preparing any document, keep these characteristics of quality in mind to help you produce a high-quality document.

Correctness For this context, the most appropriate Merriam-Webster definition defines correct as conforming to or agreeing with fact, logic, or known truth. Strive to make your documents correct at all levels—from grammar to all aspects of content.

Completeness Again according to Merriam-Webster, something is complete when it has all necessary parts, elements, and steps. Produce comprehensive content at the appropriate level of detail.

Consistency A more complex concept than correctness or completeness, we leave it to readers to consult the dictionary themselves. Suffice it to say that consistency, especially consistency of terms, can have a huge impact on reader understanding. It also conveys a sense of care on the part of the creators of a document.

Relevance Because of attempts to pass the “weight test,” this quality characteristic is the most often abused. If it is not important at every level—document, section, paragraph, sentence—to the matter at hand, then leave it out, maybe not entirely, but at least until the point where it is appropriate for it to be included. This is key to strong composition.

� University of Chicago Press. The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003 (hereafter cited as Chicago).

� This is one of the few times that it is acceptable to space text on a page with extra lines.