I encourage people on my teams to use Plain English in all forms of communications. This is especially helpful in email but also in test plans, test cases, and defect records. I include that advice in defect management and test case management guidelines. Plain English works because it makes communication clear, accurate, and easy to understand. This in turn improves decision support, business velocity, and reduces faults. It also reduces waste in the form of reading/re-reading and clarifying. Plain English is not always easy but it is always worth it. Make it a habit to help improve quality in your organization.
From the PlainEnglish.org How-to guide:
• Keep your sentences short
• Prefer active verbs
• Use 'you' and 'we'
• Use words that are appropriate for the reader
• Don't be afraid to give instructions
• Avoid nominalisations (i.e., adding suffixes to nouns. Example: gearhead, Parrothead, Deadhead).
• Use lists where appropriate
Advantages:
• it is faster to write;
• it is faster to read; and
• you get your message across more often, more easily and in a friendlier way.
