MOM's the word

If Indians in general have a predilection for acronyms and jargon, the domestic software industry has honed it to a fine art — often to the puzzlement of their global clients. One such favourite is MOM, which software professionals can easily tell stands for Minutes of Meeting. For example, after a meeting with offshore clients either through video or audio conference, the offshore team usually sends the clients MOM detailing what they discussed. So while talking to them, they may casually say, “We are sending the MOM in a few minutes.” If they are sending the details through an email, the subject line may read: “Sending the MOM”. Americans, though, are less enamoured of an acronym that is also a popular shorthand for mother. Recently a US-based client of a mid-sized IT services company took strong objection and forced people working on the project to drop the term.