Alternatives to "tasks"

[Ben Kovitz <apteryx -at- CHISP -dot- NET>]

I was just about to put together a user's manual that has some tasks for
people inside the company and some tasks for people outside the company.
The internal people also have some need to do the external tasks.  I want
to divide the manual into two main sections, each named for the kind of
tasks that it's about.

Well, I sure don't want to call these things "internal tasks" and "external
tasks", but I'd like to make a clear division between them in the manual.
To replace "internal" and "external" I'll use the company's name and
"customer" (as an adjective).  But "tasks".  Ecch.  Such a distasteful
word.  We tech writers call them "tasks" when we speak of things like
"task-oriented organization."  Sounds like some dreadful chore to try to
get out of.  Does anyone have any suggestions for a better word?

Framemaker's thesaurus turns up the following:

  assignment, chare, chore, devoir, duty, job, stint

  load, burden, charge, deadweight, duty, millstone, onus, tax, weight

Well, obviously those are even worse, except for "job".  I don't want to
use "job", though, because it sounds more like the complete set of, um,
tasks that one was hired to do.

"Responsibility" is another option, but the external tasks mostly have to
do with placing orders, which I wouldn't call a "responsibility" (or a
"job").

"Procedure" might do, but it seems that there ought to be something better.
My braims are just not finding words today...

--
Ben Kovitz <apteryx -at- chisp -dot- net>
Boulder, Colorado


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