methodology
1. <programming> An organised, documented set of procedures and guidelines for one or more phases of the software life cycle, such as analysis or design. Many methodologies include a diagramming notation for documenting the results of the procedure; a step-by-step "cookbook" approach for carrying out the procedure; and an objective (ideally quantified) set of criteria for determining whether the results of the procedure are of acceptable quality.
An example is The Yourdon methodology.
2. A pretentious way of saying "method".