warning · Section 1: Words
Rule 1.8: Use only approved technical nouns
When your company, industry, or subject field has an approved technical noun for something, use that exact term rather than an invented, generic, or overly obscure alternative.
This rule needs human judgement. A checker can flag candidates; it cannot decide.
What a checker looks for
Usually a deviation, and context can excuse it.
- Flag vague or generic terms used in place of the approved, specific technical noun for the same thing.
- Flag obscure, overly formal, or invented terminology where an approved industry/company term exists and would be clearer.
What this rule does not cover
- An already-approved technical term is compliant even if domain-specific; this rule is about picking the approved term, not simplifying it further (see rule 1.9).
How to fix it
Replace the non-standard term with the specific, approved technical noun used in the relevant company/industry/subject field.
Constraints on the fix
- Keep the level of specificity the passage requires — do not over-generalize into a vaguer term.
- Do not substitute a term without verifying it against the applicable glossary/terminology database; if no verification is possible, flag for manual review instead of asserting a specific replacement.
Examples
Not STE: The front panel of the phone has a touch-sensitive display and a home key.
STE: The front panel of the phone has a touchscreen and a home button.
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 1-1-11.
This page is commentary and does not reproduce the standard. About this rule pack.