Real-Time Linguistics Analysis for Authors and Reviewers of Technical Documents

We are human.

We make mistakes.

We (humans) tend to miss many problematic structures in text which results in words, terms, and phrases misconstrued by others.

Vital Text Systems can help you fix that.

Generate better documents, faster

Catch problematic language before it becomes a problem

Rectify linguistic imprecision and ambiguity

Reduce risk

Let us take care of the hard stuff.

Analyze areas of at-risk language.

Coordination Ambiguities

These are patterns of language constructed around coordinator constructions. An example is “the old men and women went to church.” The risk occurs because the modifier “old” is not clear in its applicability to “men” and “women”. Did both old men and old women go to church or only old men and women of any/all ages?

Referent Ambiguities

These are typically pronouns distant from the referent to which they are attached. The more distant the referent, the more likely the pronoun will be thought to apply to an unintended referent.

Speculative Modals

These are usages of language that express uncertainty, necessity, ability or permission, most often in a weak manner. Examples are words like can, could, may, ought, should and others of like expressions.

Long Sentences

These warnings occur when the sentence in question is long enough to present a misunderstanding. Studies have shown that sentences more than fourteen words in length have a greater risk of ambiguity.

And when you're risk-free, Vital Text Systems will give you the green light!

Well, the green check mark.

Precision is critical.

Vital Text Systems could save you.

Case 1

Boeing 787

Boeing produced huge volumes of requirements documentation for the Boeing 787. The CSRT (a collaboration of the FAA & Boeing) concluded that ambiguities in these documents were the underlying cause of many problems, like the lithium-ion battery production issues. Issues that caused the FAA to ground the entire 787 fleet for over 90 days, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenues for Boeing and its airline partners. Read the FAA report here.

Case 2

Thoratec HeartMate II

The Thoratec HeartMate II pocket system controller, for an implanted heart pump, was recalled by the FDA. But the recall was not because of a manufacturing defect. Seemingly small language flaws and ambiguities in the labeling, and written installation procedure, led to misunderstandings which resulted in several injuries and 4 fatalities. Read the FDA report here.

Case 3

Maine Dairy company

The lack of a simple comma in the wording of a contract between a certain dairy company in Maine and its workers led to a $5M lawsuit. The contract listed items not eligible for overtime in this matter: "the canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of" various food products. Because there was no comma after "shipment," the drivers argued that packing for shipment and distribution (a single entity revolving around packing) wasn't overtime-eligible, but that distribution without packing (what the drivers do) was. Read the complete article here.