I’m designing the foundations of a new software system at work that will replace a very large existing system called “Manager Series”.  It was called “Manager Series” because the various parts were called things like “Study Manager”, “Output Manager”, “Library Manager”, etc.

One of the things that gives me the most trouble is coming up with names for things. For example, I gave up trying to come up with a name to replace “Manager Series” and have been calling the new system “Project Akita” just so I could have discussions without having to keep saying, “The New Software System That Will Replace Manager Series”.

I need a name for the thing that will replace “Output Manager”. I could simply call it Output Manager, but I think the name has been ruined by the current version which has gotten very old and is not very well liked. So, I’d like to avoid using either the word Output or Manager. I thought of calling it “Report Builder”, but it does more than just build reports; it outputs reports as well (there’s that ‘output’ word again).

I could just give it another code name and call it “Beagle”, but I think one code name per project is enough.

If anybody has any ideas, please leave a comment to this article.