error · Section 1: Words
Rule 1.11: Use the same technical noun for the same item throughout
Once you select the approved technical noun for an item, use that exact same term every time you refer to that item in the text — never switch to a synonym or a different technical noun for it.
What a checker looks for
A clear deviation from the rule.
- Track each distinct physical item, part, or system referred to across the text and flag any place where a different noun or noun phrase refers to an item already named with a different term elsewhere in the same text.
- Treat near-synonyms and superset/subset terms as different technical nouns for this check (e.g. 'valve' vs 'check valve' vs 'shut-off device' for the same physical component is a violation) unless they are genuinely different objects.
What this rule does not cover
- Different items that happen to be described with similar words are not a violation — only the same item referred to by different terms is.
How to fix it
Pick the single approved technical noun for the item (usually its first or most standard mention) and replace every other reference to that same item with that exact term.
Constraints on the fix
- Do not merge references to genuinely different items into one term.
Examples
Not STE: Make sure that the servo control unit is in the open position. Do the operational test of the actuator. Disconnect the control unit from the test rig.
STE: Make sure that the actuator is in the open position. Do the operational test of the actuator. Disconnect the actuator from the test rig.
Related rules
Where this fits in AI governance
A rule a checker can test is a rule a model can be held to. The same discipline, on the governance side of this site.
- Hallucination
An approved word used in an unapproved sense is the controlled-language version of a plausible wrong answer. - Misinformation and confabulation
The register entry for text that reads correctly and is not. - Output validation guardrails
A controlled language is a checkable output constraint. This is the control that treats model output as something to be checked rather than trusted.
Source
ASD-STE100 Issue 9, Section 1 - Words, page 1-1-13.
This page is commentary and does not reproduce the standard. About this rule pack.