and development methodologies promised great increases in our productivity and the quality of our work. But the payoff didn't match the hype, so the term "methodology" fell out of favor. Some people carefully distinguished overbearing, big-M Methodology from thoughtfully applied, small-m methodology, a distinction that is problematic when communicating verbally. But now methodology is back, with the preceding word "agile" to distinguish it from the old, big-M Methodologies. I guess it's okay to use the "M" word again in polite company.
You might have good reasons for avoiding some key words in your environment. Some organizations reserve the title "engineer" for individuals who hold a professional license in, say, electrical or mechanical engineering. Thus, referring to a software developer as a "software engineer" might be viewed as an affront (or an oxymoron) by licensed hardware engineers.
Rather than avoiding certain overloaded, hot-button words, make your definitions clear and call objects and activities what they are. A little education goes a long way toward improving the interpersonal communications that contribute so much to software success-or failure.
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