Re:Beware techies talking gobbledegook
by alextingle on Saturday January 04, 2014 @08:47AM
(#7011020)
That's completely the wrong way to explain a stack overflow to board level. Try this:
A "stack overflow" is a common programming error that can lead to a security compromise. While vendors have made their products more resilient to this problem in recent years, it remains a major risk, especially for systems connected to the Internet.
Re:Beware techies talking gobbledegook
by einhverfr on Saturday January 04, 2014 @08:52AM
(#7011037)
Board level is different. I was talking about history student level. Board members don't care what a stack overflow is. They want to know how it affects them. My comment was about the history student who asks "what is this? I read it in an error message."
1. Drop the level of detail, and
2. Explain using analogies derived from the computer terms you are using.
For example, can you explain what a stack overflow is to someone who's basic knowledge of computers amounts to writing school papers in Microsoft Word?
I can:
"A stack is exactly what it sounds like. It is a logical way of setting up data so you can put data on the top of the stack or take it off. Let's look at books here and stack them up. At some point I will run out of space. That's a stack overflow."
If they don't have the concepts, they don't need the low-level detail. I don't need to explain frames, heap allocation, etc. You have to start with the concept. But it isn't that hard.
I am not sure I can explain magnetism to you, but I am not deeply immersed in that field.