I recently overheard someone use the expression, “it’s a work in process”. Huh? Work in process?  The expression is, “a work in progress,” isn’t it?

I had just enough doubt about whether I had it right to do a search. Turns out WIP is in fact used for “work in process” as well as for the, I assume, more commonly known “work in progress.”

The interesting part of my search was learning that, according to the site I was using, WIP also stands for a great many other things. (See list below. You might notice that the items in number 18, 23, 24 and 26 are all related to our work.)

1. War-Fighting Improvement Plan
2. Warden Intercommunication Point
3. Warfighter Involvement Process (Department of Defense)
4. Wartime Intelligence Plan
5. Wash-In-Place
6. Water Injection Pump
7. Weapon Impact Point
8. Weapons Installation Plan
9. Web Impact Factor
10. Web Interoperability Pledge
11. Weight Improvement Program
12. Westchester Insurance Professionals
13. Western Independence Party (Canada)
14. Wholesalers Insurance Plan
15. Wireless Internet Protocol
16. Women in Philanthropy
17. Women in Prison (movie genre)
18. Women in Publishing
19. Women Inventors Project (Canada)
20. Work Improvement Program
21. Work In Place
22. Work in Process
23. Workforce Investment Program
24. World Institute of Pain
25. World Internet Project
26. Write in Peace
27. Wireless Industry Partnership
28. Wireless IP